Last week Linda Rodriguez wrote about the death count in Game of Thrones. The world of George R.
R. Martin is a dangerous one, and Death acts accordingly in Westeros, taking innocent
and guilty alike. Martin kills off beloved characters, shocking and impressing
his fans with his take no prisoners – and save no favorites – literary attack.
The story is all. He means business.
A writer who kills off a beloved character is taking a
chance. I’ll never forget reading the scene in Jane Eyre where (SPOILER ALERT – BUT REALLY, YOU HAVEN’T READ JANE
EYRE?) Jane’s friend Helen dies in her arms. I don’t know if I’ll ever forgive
Charlotte Bronte for killing her.
In a murder mystery, especially a traditional mystery, part
of the fun can be seeing which character is the first to get bumped off. This
character is usually someone who has done people wrong – a lot of people wrong.
Then there is a pool of suspects who have every reason to resort to murder.
As I was polishing the manuscript of my novel it hit me that
my murder victim was an absolutely wonderful person – giving, funny, talented.
I started to feel bad about his death. I started to wonder if maybe I should
just, well, injure or maim him. Maybe hit him with something temporary, like a
well-timed soap opera coma, and have him revive at the end?
Well, rest assured Writers Who Kill, I soon stopped that
nonsense. I realized that the death of a “good” character left voids and scars
that deepened the emotional lives of the surviving characters. And it made me
see the depth of my killer’s depravity. Utterly despicable! Enjoyably
despicable!
Who was your first victim? Was it just desserts or just a
shame?
I seem to start the murders with a generally nice/benign character. At least liked well enough. Then I kill off some unpleasant people, usually because I set them up as suspects. That seems to be the kiss of death for them.
ReplyDeleteThe first character I killed was a nice guy – not perfect – but truly a nice person. The question, of course, was whether it was a mistake or intentional, and if intentional, then why.
ReplyDelete~ Jim
My first "kill" was a truly terrible man and father. His twelve-year-old daughter, who he was sexually abusing, killed him using only her beach bucket and shovel. It took courage, but she had no choice. The father was threatening to abuse her little sister.
ReplyDeleteMy first "kill" was someone who was a pawn of the killer's. I never really explored who this person was. But I was 22 and really didn't realize that I should give every victim a good back story, even if we only "meet" them later and who they are isn't important.
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ReplyDeleteMy first kill was an innocent man whose strange disappearance started rumors flying about other innocent men.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Shari! I've done a lot of thinking about killing off beloved characters -- especially in the cozy world.
ReplyDeleteKilling off characters is tough--even the bad guys have become my "children." Nobody is all evil or all good, so there have to be mixed feelings. And I'm friends with some people who have done some fairly terrible things. In an unthinking moment, I promised one buddy I'd be his witness if he was ever convicted of another murder & executed. Thank goodness he seems to have gone reasonably straight. Or at least not been caught. And the state has effectively done away with the death penalty, so I don't think I'll have to make good on the promise.
ReplyDeleteThat said, most of the characters I've killed off are not going to be hugely missed.
Hi everyone - I am impressed by the range of motives and situation for your first victims. It's given me a lot to think about - how we use that choice of victim to set up characterization, plot, and theme.
ReplyDeleteEB - First time I've heard of beach bucket and shovel as weapons, but I must say your vic had it coming.
Good post, Shari. The first character I “killed” was a surgeon who preferred money over patient safety.
ReplyDeleteInteresting post, Shari. My first victim was not nice at all so there were a lot of suspects. Then I killed off a sympathetic character in the same book. Since then, I've killed off both nice, so-so or not very nice characters.
ReplyDeleteThe hardest thing for me, is the murderer. I write a biography of him/her in advance to know how and why he/she decides to do such a deed, and then I feel horrible when he/she has to suffer for killing their victim. But it's usually the family of my murderers who suffer the most and I feel sorriest for.
Kara, I murdered a doctor for the same reason in one of my short stories.
Gloria - writing a bio of the killer - what a good idea. We do need to understand where the killer is coming from. And you and Kara now have me worried about going to the doctor.... ;)
ReplyDeleteShari, are you remembering the short I wrote, "The Murder of Dr. Hart?"
ReplyDeleteThe only problem, as I mentioned, Shari, is starting to like your murderer. Few people are actually evil and all bad unless they're a psychopath or something, and I don't write those kinds of books. I don't want to delve into a truly sick and psychotic mind.