My writing group told me to kill my favorite character and the story actually got better.

They said she was a crutch for the protagonist to avoid making hard choices, so I axed her in chapter 3 and suddenly the whole plot had teeth... anyone else ever had to sacrifice a character you loved for the sake of the story?

3 comments

3 Comments

logan56111d ago

Killed off the comic relief in chapter 5 and the whole tone got darker in a good way.

logan56111d ago

That comic relief dying really caught me off guard too. Reminds me of when I tried to be the funny one at my brother's wedding - I killed the mood so bad they got a darker tone to the whole reception afterwards. Lesson learned: stick to nods and quiet smiles.

foster.jordan10d ago

Used to think killing off comic relief was always a bad move, but chapter 5 really proved me wrong. The shift made everything feel more serious and raised the stakes without feeling forced. Now I'm actually hoping more stories take that risk.