Recently Northern California has received some much needed rain. Along with the rain came some pretty serious thunder and lightning. I’m not a huge fan of these kinds of storms, lightning in particular.
One night last week, as thunder rumbled closer and closer, lightning decided to zap us with a thrilling zing of electricity. Our satellite receiver was fried, but fortunately the tv was spared. We did lose a lot of recorded tv shows and movies, much to our dismay.
During the brief – and quiet – period of time between satellite receivers, the hubs and I spent a lot of time reading. A couple of nights ago, he finished a new book by one of his favorite authors and upon completion, he snapped the book shut and said, “I can’t believe it. He killed him off!”
Being a writer, this comes as no surprise to me, so I respond with a casual, “Well, sometimes you have to do that.”
“No you don’t,” replied my husband. “He was a main character. Now the series is over. I liked Cody.”
I looked up from my book with a shrug. “Sometimes you have to make a sacrifice for the greater good.”
I went on to explain that sometimes in an author’s made up world, if a character has already served his or her purpose you have to get rid of them somehow. You can’t just stop writing about them; readers will wonder where they’ve wandered off to.
He frowned then said, “You don’t kill off your characters.”
‘Yes, I do,” I said. “You just don’t know because you don’t read my stories.”
He stomped off in a huff to find another book to read.
As fiction authors we’ve got to do what we’ve got to do. Sometimes our characters just don’t talk to us, or sometimes they go a different direction that we see them going. It happens. And if a character is screaming to be killed, well, as a good and proper author, we must make it happen. It’s our way of saving the world one story at a time.
So how about you – do you kill off your characters? Do you hate it when your favorite author takes an unexpected turn with their characters? Inquiring minds, and my husband, want to know.
Oh, and if for some unexpected, yet delightfully surprising reason CJ Box happens to read this post, please stop killing your characters. It makes my husband really grumpy.
Word of the day: Cozenage
Fun fact about me: I just learned (thanks to Jenny Hansen) that I am neither predominately left or right handed. I have what is known as mixed-handedness. Check out Jenny’s post here: http://jennyhansenauthor.wordpress.com/2014/03/06/lefty-or-righty-are-you-the-hand-you-think-you-are/
Original post by Jansen Schmidt, March 2014. Photos courtesy Google Images.
Definitely kill them off! No use having all that dead weight (hardee-har) in used up characters hanging around. I have to kill off a character in the book I’m currently writing, even though he would actually make a great lead in another story. But sadly, due to some unfortunate turns of events in this book, he’s got to go. There’s no other way. Muahaha!
LikeLike
You understand what I’m saying then. Sometimes, you’ve just gotta kill em. I think only writers can appreciate this concept. And it’s so fun thinking up clever ways to do it to.
I’m glad you’re into killing, too.
Thanks for stopping by.
Patricia
LikeLike
I can’t kill off main characters, but then I have an excuse–I write romance, and that’s pretty much the one thing you don’t do. Also, I like to leave the door open for more books if readers (or I) want them. Secondary characters are fair game, though I don’t kill them off very often either. I do see the point though–in Game of Thrones where one character I liked was killed, I was annoyed but realized it was because he’d served his story purpose.
I think sometimes authors kill main characters off because they want to end a series for good, for sure–probably what happened with your husband’s book.
LikeLike
I’m sure that’s exactly what happened in this case. I think the author got tired of the series, or ran out of ideas, or sales declined, or something so he just decided to end it. My husband doesn’t get it even though I tried to explain it. He’s just such a creature of habit that his world is easily upset when something goes missing. Now he’ll have to find another character and series he likes and start all over again. Heaven help us if NCIS ever goes off the air.
Thanks for visiting today, Jennette.
Patricia
LikeLike
Oh, yeah. I’ve thrown books across the room (I’m talkin’ ’bout you G.R.R.!). It makes me most unhappy when I’ve come to love a character and they die. I read to escape the real world, dammit! I love books that make you think your favorite character has died, and then shazam! They’re not really dead. I have only read one ending of a book, and that’s because I thought my favorite character was surely dead. I wasn’t going to read through 600+ pages if he wasn’t in it. For the record, he lived.
LikeLike
Oh that sounds too much like a soap opera – dead, but not really dead. I’m pretty sure in my husband’s case, Cody is dead for real dead.
600+ pages? What kind of books are you reading my friend? And why in heaven’s name don’t you read the end? What am I missing here?
Thanks for stopping by today, Coleen. Always nice to see your pretty face.
Patricia
LikeLike
I’d hate to spoil any endings, but it’s a very popular series – and all the books are dictionary thick. But I also love fantasy, which tends to be on the longish side, so it’s all good. You read the endings, Patricia? Bad, bad reader! 🙂
LikeLike
Well not before I’ve read up to them. Rarely do I flip ahead.
I thought you meant you read up to a certain point, but didn’t finish the book.
Silly me.
The only dictionary thick book I have is the complete works of William Shakespeare. And my actual dictionary. Neither of which I have reached the end of and probably never will.
LikeLike
I can totally relate to “sometimes they go a different direction.” Just when I think I know them, they surprise me. Sounds like I’m mental, doesn’t it? 😉
LikeLike
Kathy, I think you have to be mental to be a good writer. I never get too attached to my characters any more, because sometimes, they just have to go. Sometimes it’s kind of fun to see what they’re going to do. You have to be flexible is all.
Thanks for sharing.
Patricia
LikeLike
I write murder mysteries so obviously someone has to die. Bwahaha. But my readers get upset with me if it’s a regular in the series, even a minor character. One of my betas almost refused to talk to me ever again because I killed off a bodyguard she liked.
I don’t think I’d kill off a main character, and certainly not THE main character. I’m with your husband on that. By all means, end the series but let your readers believe the protagonist is living happily ever after somewhere.
LikeLike
Hi Kassandra and thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts.
I haven’t read the book my husband just finished, although I did start the series, so I’m not sure what happens, but he definitely dies. The main character. I wonder if CJ Box got any flack for that from other readers?
Do you write under this name or another? I’ll go look for some of your books. I like murder mysteries, especially ones with happy endings.
Patricia
LikeLike
I seem to recall that there was a brouhaha about that author killing off the MC.
Yes, I write under this name. My main work is the Kate Huntington mystery series. I don’t know about happy endings, but I’m told they are always satisfying. The mystery gets solved, and so far the MC’s are still alive. But then, I haven’t finished a series yet. 😉
LikeLike
Loved the post. Poor hubs. I can relate. I don’t like it when a character I like dies either. I haven’t killed one yet, but then, none have pissed me off enough yet.
LikeLike
Hi Suzanne:
What do you mean you haven’t killed off your characters? I’ve read your stuff and there’s a lot of characters who have died. I know, I know, they’re not fully developed characters, but I loved them all the same. Think of poor Virginia, you killed off her sweetheart (sort of). That was upsetting. And her poor baby? What about that poor baby?
And June? Wasn’t she dead? I’m probably stretching on that one, but, I’m trying to make a point here. You’re a killer, too.
Thanks for stopping by. Always good to see you.
Patricia
LikeLike
LOL, you’re right. I’m a baby killer! The worst sort! Oy.
LikeLike
Welcome to the club.
LikeLike
I just started reading C J Box. Hmmm. I could never kill off a main character. And sometimes my victims won’t even let me kill them off. But when you write mysteries someone has to go. I just offed a politician in my latest WIP. That made me happy.
LikeLike
Which series are you reading – the Cody one or the Joe Pickett one? I really like the Joe Pickett series.
Offing a politician is not a bad idea at all.
Thanks for visiting, Cindy. And keep those mysteries coming. I love them!
Patricia
LikeLike
Kill off favorite characters? Oh no! I’m definitely with your husband, Jansen. But even if I don’t like it, I understand why it’s done. I tend to kill off characters that never reach the page. This way the reader isn’t attached to them, lol!
LikeLike
Hi Sheila. I have a few dead characters in my books, too. I “killed” them before they materialized, but they are in the story none-the-less. I suppose, in a way, that’s still killing them. I’ve killed them in my mind then wrote about them in the books.
Thanks for stopping by and I’ll be sure to tell my husband he has another supporter.
Patricia
LikeLike
I hate it when a character I love gets killed off – but I live in that soap opera land too, where I hope they rise again – or return as a ghost! Here’s the conundrum I’ve been playing with, though – can you kill off a character who was a primary character in a previous book in a series? Example: One of the featured couple in a previous series book, as if, in writing book 9, I kill off the heroine from book 6 (due to tragic circumstances of course). Or, in writing romance, does this violate the contract with the reader? Thoughts?
LikeLike
I say go for it. If she’s no longer a “main” character in the current book. I suppose the problem arises if people read the books out of order. It wouldn’t bother me, especially if she dies tragically.
But, please, do not have her rise again if you do kill her. I’d lose all interest then. Unless perhaps if you bring her back as a friendly ghost or something, then I might reconsider.
I’ll tell my husband he has another one in his corner.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Patricia
LikeLike
I’ve never gotten over the death of Beth in Little Women and Gus in Lonesome Dove. Needless to say, I don’t kill off main characters.
Jansen, you’ve been under a lot of stress at work, and the title of your blog post worried me. I’m glad your killing is fictional. That said, there’s no reason a doomed-to-die character can’t remind you of a client.
LikeLike
LOL I love the way you think, Pat!
LikeLike
Ha! I wondered if anyone would make that mental connection. Rest assured I am only a killer in my mind. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to kill for real – except spiders – I kill them all the time.
I think those tragic stories of loss are the ones we remember the most. I remember when I was a youngster reading the Anne of Green Gables series and one of her adoptive parents died, I cried for weeks. And then, just to add insult to injury, I watched the movies when they came out and I cried then, too, even though i knew it was coming.
I haven’t killed off anyone who hasn’t deserved it and so far, the dead ones have not reminded me of clients. But, I’m compiling a list for future books.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Pat.
Patricia
LikeLike
There was this one book that I really enjoyed–until the very last chapter when the author killed off the mc’s husband. It was so strange, almost as if someone tacked on the chapter as an afterthought. Still don’t think it made sense. 🙂 Kind of felt a bit swindled, like the definition I found for cozenage.
Like Pat, I also wondered about your post’s title and what you previously wrote about work! Glad to find you and your hub reading (almost) peacefully. Hope you have a great week, Patricia!
LikeLike
Hi Coleen. Once again, nice way to work in a definition into your comment. I love that about you.
It seems like most folks are not liking the killing of main characters. I’ll let my husband know he’s in good company.
And you made the same mental transition that Pat did. It was an intentional move to use that title. I’m glad so many curious folks decided to find out who I’d killed.
I’m pretty sure our week will get noisier – our new satellite box was delivered yesterday. We’re back on track with tv watching.
You have a good week as well my friend. I hope spring is poking its head out in your neighborhood.
Patricia
LikeLike
Wow, bummer about lightning striking. Glad you’re okay! As a children’s writer, there isn’t as much killing, unless it’s a monster or villain, but while my coauthor and I brain stormed with a 5th grade class last year, one of the students suggested killing off Vlad, the talking pirate rat, who happens to be a favorite character for most readers. The rest of the class exploded with protests, and that student who made the suggestion cover his head and scoot down in his chair. The teacher had to tell the class to calm down!
Kathy Sant, my coauthor, was quick to comment on what a great idea that was, to have the reader think Vlad was killed but he really wasn’t, and so that idea made it into to next book. So, killing off main characters is a very touchy thing! Great post, Patricia.
LikeLike
See the whole idea about making readers THINK a character is dead is one thing, but actually killing them is another. Apparently, according to my husband, this character is gone, zilch, dead. I’ll have to read the book to see my take on it.
Killing Vlad the pirate rat sounds like a good idea to me. Makes room for another, bigger, better, more interesting pirate animal.
Thanks for stopping by with your thoughts, Lynn.
Patricia
LikeLike
I knew which book your hubby was upset about before you even said it was CJ Box. Because I was upset, too, when I read it! If I’ve bonded with a character and he/she is the reason I’m reading the series, and the author kills him (especially in a romance!!), then I’m not going to read the series anymore. So I say to writers, if you’ve gotta kill your main character, be pretty sure you have someone else in the wings to replace him. Karin Slaughter and her series featuring Will Trent and Sara Linton is a good example of that. She killed a main character but she also provided me with a new protagonist I could bond with. I’m all about bonding!
LikeLike
Oh no – you should have given a spoiler alert – I’ve got 2 Karen Slaughter books in my TBR pile. Maybe I will have forgotten this comment by then. But if not, at least I’ll have a new character to pull for.
Thanks for leaving your thoughts, Jasmine. My husband will be relieved to know that he is not alone in his misery. He’s still got the Joe Pickett series to cling to. Thank God!
Good to see you. I hope you’ll be a regular here at the Edge of Eternity.
Patricia
LikeLike
“If a character is screaming to be killed, well, as a good and proper author, we must make it happen. It’s our way of saving the world one story at a time.”
I love it! Well, I’d love to save the world, wouldn’t you? Yet, I can’t say that at this point I have killed anyone or that anyone has asked me to kill them Patricia. It just hasn’t happened. Yet. 🙂
But you never know. You know what I mean?
I do feel for your poor hubby. I hate it when someone dies at the end. I just finished a book like that. I could see it coming. And I kept saying, “No! No, don’t do it. Don’t let them die!” Dang it! I hate when that happens. Then I start to cry and I’m a mess afterwards. Geez it’s awful. Then I think, “How am I going to do that as an author.” I’m going to have to get tougher. I can see that right now. And then no one will be able to stand me. Y’all will hate me. There is no win/win solution to this problem. I should just quit now while I’m ahead. Lol!
Nah. Just kidding! Glad to hear you got some rain. But the lightning strike sucked. And then the death at the end. Now I’m depressed.
LikeLike
Hi Karen – please do not be depressed. There’s always a rainbow after the storm. We have our new satellite box and my hubby’s moved beyond the death of Cody. He’s already into a new book.
I know what you mean about crying at the end of a book though. I find myself crying a lot during some books I read. That’s the sign of a really good author (or perhaps raging menopause hormones on my part), but it sort of feels good to be part of the journey.
Thanks for stopping by Karen. I hope you’re well.
Patricia
LikeLike
Well, I’m not a book writer but I can see killing off a main character if it helps with the flowline of the story.and it makes sense to do so. If it’s just done for shock factor and doesn’t add to the story why even bother doing it?
LikeLike
Good point, Phil. The shock factor sometimes works if it’s not a main character and if it happens before the very end of a book. I’m pretty sure Mr. Box just wanted this series to end so he did what a good author would do – kill it. Probably ran out of story ideas for the next book.
Thanks for offering your thought. Always nice to hear many perspectives.
Patricia
LikeLike
It’s the same feeling as when a favorite character is killed off in a movie. As long as there is another hero to fill the void, it works, otherwise it has an unhappy ending “The End.”
LikeLike
My husband is in very good company since he was very upset at the end of that book. Seems like the popular consensus is that this was not a very good move.
He’ll get over it though. I’m sure he’ll find another character he’ll feel a kinship with.
It’s actually kind of funny that he had that reaction, because in general, he’s not a reader. Perhaps this is why. Hmmmm.
Thanks for visiting, Susie.
Patricia
LikeLike
[…] recently, my friend and author Jansen Schmidt posted a blog entitled, Sometimes You Just Have to Kill ‘Em. In the post, Jansen talks about how upset her husband was when one of his favorite characters in a […]
LikeLike
His objective is not to get rich, but to get this technooogy out to the
world when the technology is ready to go. PSN Code Generator cards
are extremely useful for gameers since they are easily accepted and used widely by
Plaay – Station gaming enthusiasts. A good 1-5% of these works but is ragher difficult tto find online.
LikeLike
[…] recently, my friend and author Jansen Schmidt posted a blog entitled,Sometimes You Just Have to Kill ‘Em. In the post, Jansen talks about how upset her husband was when one of his favorite characters in a […]
LikeLike