You Can't Write That!

Friday, February 1

6:00 AM | Posted by Shawn | | Edit Post

Ever seen one of those funny facebook posts that warn people not to piss off writers? They go something like this: Never piss off a writer. They might put you in one of their books, then kill you off.

Have I ever done this? No. Why? Because it wouldn't make for a good story. Yes, people piss me off. It happens all the time. But they're not interesting enough to be a character in a story.

I get very close to my characters. Even my villains. Except in the story I'm writing now. I truly hate the villain and couldn't wait to kill him off. My other villains. I kind of want to save them. Even Monica from Dreamers. She was truly evil, but I loved her. No, not the mean things she did to the heroine, but she did what she wanted, when she wanted. No apologies, no explanation. She was who she was.

Sorry folks! I had a rambling moment.

8 comments:

Liz Flaherty said...: I liked Monica, too. I'd kind of like to see her in another story. You know...reformed. :-); February 1, 2013 at 7:09 AM
Margie said...: In my first--and only--adult novel, I had a villain who I knew from the beginning was going to die. I had the scene written in my head and in scattered notes for months and months--from basically the conception of his character. And then a funny thing happened on the way to the end--I fell in love with him and couldn't kill him. I understood him too well and why he'd done the things he'd done and how he was as much of a victim as his victim.

If I ever go back and reedit and rewrite that book, I think I'll go back to my original ending because it was a much stronger ending than what I ended up with.

But, yeah, sometimes it can be hard to kill or even maim our villains. Especially if we find out what makes them tick. Because not everyone is evil personified. Therein lies our dilemma.; February 1, 2013 at 3:57 PM
Shawn said...: I know exactly what you mean, Margie. In the original manuscript, Monica didn't die. But, the ending was better with her death.; February 1, 2013 at 4:47 PM
D'Ann said...: I completely agree...; February 1, 2013 at 8:23 PM
Kathryn J. Bain said...: I don't kill off people who make me mad. They become my maid or my dog. And no, Gretchen (the dog in "Knight & Day") isn't based on any one who made me angry. It's my real dog.

In most of my mystery books, so far, the villians have been people pretty frequent in the book. That makes it harder to kill them than just some figure in the dark.; February 1, 2013 at 9:03 PM
Shawn said...: Oh! Turning them into my maid would be very nice indeed.; February 2, 2013 at 2:11 AM
Shawn said...: Actually, Liz, I've been looking for a way to resurrect her!; February 2, 2013 at 2:12 AM
ellaquinnauthor said...: I don't kill them off, but I got angry with DH last weak and suddenly my heroine kneed my hero, who was being equally dense.; February 2, 2013 at 7:35 PM