I wasn't allowed to play Sims growing up. There was something cool about creating a virtual person, dropping it in a world where I had control over where it lived, when/how it ate, the weather, its friends. Whether or not it lived or died. It was much different than a Tomogatchi or any of those similar pocket pets that came out during the early 2000s (toys which I was allowed to have, by the way). The reason I was given was that it was "too adult" for me, and "something you wont understand." (Either that or they don't want me to become a little megalomaniac, but hey, I'm an Ares). To this day, I've never played Sims. I never had a reason to because I could create my own worlds and characters to drop in them. I have control over everything. Especially when and how my characters die. Two of my published stories end in contentment, if not hopeful and happily. The others are somber. Melancholic and heavy on the feels. Three end in death while a forth, its implied. "Have you ever tried writing something... happier?" my dad asked me once after he'd read "The Hanging Tree." Its not that I can't, its just... I write the story that needs to be written. Even if it ends in death. I love watching Romances... but I can never be purely a "Romance" writer.I just finished watching the Chinese drama, Love Me If You Dare (2015). While it had its flaws, it was enjoyable. However, despite the plot being a Sherlock Holmes-esque murder mystery involving heinous crimes, it seemed like the series was afraid to let beloved characters suffer. For example, the female lead, Jian Yao, has a traumatic back story (the gruesome murder of her father and grandparents while she was a young child) that is only mentioned once by another character who found her file. This trauma was never explored. Not in her relationship with the male lead who she helps solves these murders, and not personally. She mentions it once more at toward the end of the series, but there is no emotional pull to it. Then Jian Yao's best friend gets "blown up".... but surprise! He's alive. Not even injured, just kidnapped. They find him, though, but while recovering in the hospital, he's involved in a shootout. Jian Yao sees her childhood best friend shot multiple times in the chest, we see him die, and Jian Yao kidnapped by a serial killer who likes to torture his victims to death. Neither Jan Yao nor her love interest bat and eye. (fear not-- the friend is seen lying in a hospital bed alive, and captive Jian Yao is never harmed by this supposed serial killer, even though we see all of his crimes throughout the series). The male lead, who is the love interest might I add, has no urgency in rescuing Jan Yao. He has no emotional reaction to her being taken by his arch nemesis. When he does finally rescue her, the two are unaffected by any of the events that have taken place, and happily prepare for Jian Yao's wedding. Romance always end in a Happily Ever After (or a "Happily For Now"). It skipped the emotional journey and jumped straight to HEA. There were no equal parts to the story and seemed like, halfway through the series, it wanted to be solely a Romance. I'm not a sadist; I don't want suffering and death just for the sake of it. But sometimes, character deaths just write themselves... ... and tragedies need to happen in order for the remaining characters to grow, (or to progress the plot in an emotional if not jarring way). There's no more compelling and engaging plot device than killing off a major lead or supporting character. In his article on Screen Craft, Ken Miyamoto explains in detail 10 reasons to kill your characters:
A character’s death, when done right, makes sense if viewed in light of the rest of the world you’ve created, even if the initial jolt of surprise and grief is hard to deal with for the reader. However, a character's death should not be trivial.
A year a go, George R.R. Martin weighed in on his heavy handedness in killing his characters, "In our entertainment, television, film, books, over the centuries as it’s evolved, death is often treated very cavalierly... If I’m going to write a death scene, particularly for major characters, I want to make the reader feel it " (The Independent). Death should be difficult-- not only for the writer to write, but for the reader to read. I guess this is why I've struggled to kill off a supporting character in The Path of the Cave Stars. I want to-- so badly! I've visualized the outcomes of the characters death and how it impacts my two MCs. But I don't do it. I cycle through these thoughts with a different character but still just as important to my MCs and their growth. I question myself: am I holding on to this character to be sentimental? Do I want to kill this character just because I can? What does this story need? I control the characters, but sometimes the story has more control than the hand(s) that write it.
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