Writing: Kill Off Someone Who Counts.

My mom,my biggest fan ( and extremely enthusiastic Alpha and Beta reader) used to just grill me about my books when I'd visit her. We had one conversation in particular where she dug in her heels about the plot of my third book. 

I'd had a long stretch where I'd been unable to write. I knew why; I was about to kill off a character. It had taken me months to work up to it.  And after I'd finally written all of it except his final, tear-jerking breaths, I visited her. 

After I told her, she said, "Not him. No. Frabrand has been in the series since book one." (this was the third book).  

I'd also introduced a new villain in this book, Admore.  The guy's insane.  But as often happens with insane people, he doesn't know it. The reader is given enough information to figure it out, though. He's obviously a sociopath, and possesses a split personality.  One of his personalities is meek--and borders pathetic.  The other is arrogant and evil. He bullies the meek personality-and all those around him. There's generous foreshadowing. This guy is going to cause pain, even tragedies, to the core characters.

Mom was adamant; she wanted him killed off. Leave "Frabrand alone. He doesn't have to die."

I said, "Mom, I know it would make you feel better, but for how long?"

"I know. But I don't care. Leave Frabrand alone and kill off Admore. He's going to hurt good people."


I sigh now, just recalling the conversation.  I understood mom's position. She was 80 years old and wanted the world to be right. Can't we live happily ever after?


"Mom, when a writer kills off a bad character, especially a fairly new one, the reader feels the triumph...for fifteen minutes. And then it's done. Over."


She sat nodding her head at me.


"But, when a writer takes out a character that the reader knows and loves, it's a deeply emotional experience--AND a long-lasting one."


Her head was still nodding as she listened.


"So, for maximum impact, it has to be a character who we love.  And the mere fact that you don't want me to kill off Frabrand, and that you DO want me to kill off Admore, is confirmation that I'm on the right track."


She didn't smile when she said, "I understand what you are saying. BUT, I want you to leave Frabrand alone, and kill off Admore."


*smiling*  Oh, I miss her (biased) critiques.  And I miss her longing that everyone lives happily ever after.  This thought is close to my heart now that I've returned to this series, editing and improving:  Beyond this life, I hope she knows that in the end--and it will take four long novels to get there, they will--not quite like Cinderella and Prince Charming, but they will live happily ever after. 

A to Z "I" is for Inspiration: Cinderella and Star Wars

Inspiration...let's see.  

When you write, when you paint, when you play music, when you design, create, tell stories...or just daydream, what is your inspiration? 

An oft asked question during an author interview is, "Who was/is your inspiration?"  And the answers are as different as the authors answering.  Yet, there seems to be a common thread running though the replies.  If the author writes scifi, the answer is generally a well-establsihed scifi author, or a scifi movie or TV series.  If the author writes romance, then the inspiration is usually a romance writer, a movie--or a romantic person in the real world.

For me, with my strange shape-shifting genre...I would have to say, Carl Sagan, Ray Bradbury, CJ Cherryh, Gene Roddenberry, George Lucas, Tolkien, the guys who wrote the 1960s television show "Lost in Space", and Charles Perrault.

Huh?  Charles Perrault?  Who is he and what is he doing on that list?

Well, your useless trivia for today is that Charles Perrault is the person most often credited with having written "Cinderella". Awe, go ahead and Google it. You will find dissension opined freely about who--among the over 3,000 version of Cinderella, was THE author. I am satisfied with Perrault.

But, who wrote it isn't the point.  That the author of a romantic fairytale is on that list, is.

I have read a lot in my lifetime, watched movies, been inspired by real life people and events,  but when it came time to set ink to paper, it was fantasy/scifi/romance that poured onto the pages.  My genre(s) chose me.

I suspect--but have no proof, that our inspiration as writers is seeded deeply within us at an early age.  The child who grew up reading Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys, is more inspired to write mysteries. The kids who wanted to be cowboys,and grew up reading Zane Gray, lean a bit toward western in their writing-even if it is scifi.  Or, the child who was fascinated with crime reporting on television and newspaper, or watched detective series like Mannix, or Magnum P.I. ,grew up to write Crime Fiction.
  

It may not be a specific genre, like Nancy Drew lovers who write mystery--writing a plot (mystery) that they like over and over.  But instead, might be like the Zane Gray fans who write a character type over and over, returning to the image of the cowboy, the loner, the hero, to whom they felt a kindred calling?

Maybe I am just full of crap and have way too much time to think?  That's okay.  If our opinions differ, it is a reassurance that the world is a big, wonderful place full of diversity.

So, back to why I write fantasy/scifi/romance:

I cried every year when I watched this. It  was broadcast on network TV once a year from 1965 until 1974.

And then there was this one:

And this one:

*laughing*  What a mixed up bunch of inspiration.

People have given me advice, "Write what you know."  I thank them and smile, because I know that I write what I love.  

What about you?  Inspiration at a young age, relative to what you write now...