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Yep, that is the question. I keep wanting to kill this guy, but then I think of the mess it will make.
Before you call the cops, I'm talking of course about one of my fictional characters (or am I?).
I hate horror and suspense. I can't watch any of the popular shows today - Walking Dead, True Blood, CSI, etc. And forget going to a movie that has any hint of killing, or slashing or blood. I admit it, I'm a weenie. Give me a good love story, a comedy or family drama any day. This is why I'm having a hard time killing this rat. He deserves to die. He's mean spirited and selfish and weak in character.
The problem I'm having is not in the killing, but in the complications it creates for my main characters. Did one of them do it? Will jail be involved? Will it stop their blossoming romance or enhance it? I realize that's what makes a good book. Twists and turns and mess. What to do, what to do? The ideal would be to write it both ways and see which is better. But, to heck with that.
Tell me what you would do.
(and as you can see by my NaNo graph, I am painfully behind, so any suggestions to help move this along will be greatly appreciated)
Clearly, I don't have this problem because my main character just went nuts and started slaying demons to take a little steam off, but I do run across it when I write vanilla historicals. Well, okay, the last one wasn't so vanilla-y, because there were angry men in masks storming a house and the guy had to decide, do I shoot the man carrying my fiancee away and risk killing her too, or just let him ride off with her?
ReplyDeleteHe took the shot and killed the bad guy. However, his house was on fire, he was wounded, the guy was clearly kidnapping a woman who didn't want to go, and the other occupants of the house were able to fetch the sheriff. It was pretty obvious what had happened.
Me, I'd kill him, just because it makes things interesting. It's a nice little boost to the plot. But consider your characters' circumstances first.
I think you confused me even more ;-)
DeleteKill the bastard, and let it cause as much trouble for your characters as possible. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm leaning that way.
DeletePoison. Untraceable. Writer's Digest has a book called Deadly Doses that can help with that. It's amazing how much lethal things we have growing in our yards and sitting around the house. My husband used to tell friends: "If I die suddenly, look to see what she's got growing in the backyard." True story. Ha.
ReplyDeletePoisons can be fun to look up. What officer? No really I was just doing research for my novel.
DeleteYou could let the character think she has killed him, but he survived and comes back for revenge. That way she can agonize over killing someone. So much angst to write might be fun.
ReplyDeleteI already know who the killer is, but that is an interesting concept.
Delete