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[julilly]

Let's talk about killing people!

Only on this forum would that be a totally normal topic of discussion lol

[RokofAges75]

Only on this forum would that be a totally normal topic of discussion lol

LOL So true.

[MaggieW]

Let's talk about killing people!  Characters, I mean.  I'm still upset about a certain character getting killed off a certain show the other day and trying to understand that decision from a writing standpoint, so let's talk about killing characters in fanfic.

Do you shy away from killing off characters, or are you cool with it?  If you're cool with killing, does that include killing Backstreet Boys (or the main characters in whatever fandom you're writing in)?

What factors in to your decision to let a character live or die?

Have you ever regretted killing (or not killing) a character?

What has been the hardest character death for you to write?

As a reader, what was most shocking or devastating death you've read in someone else's story?

I'm okay with it, depending. Look at my BSB "Blackmailed" and "Nothing Gold Can Stay". I had other stories, way back in my early fanfic days, that had one of the Boys dying (most likely Brian), but I refuse to do that again. Now, I'll come pretty close to them dying - again, look at Blackmailed and its sequel. And I'm considering killing a character I created for those stories, but I might not. I hate killing off favorites and darlings. I guess that's why I tend to stay away from reading stories here on AC that have death listed in them. Go figure...

And yet I'm going to have deaths in the last Blackmailed sequel I'm working on, and in the BSB werewolf hunter story I'm planning. How does that work? Maybe it's just because I struggle with creating really strong, fleshed out characters.

[RokofAges75]

I'm not afraid of killing characters, including the Boys.  I might even enjoy killing the Boys, judging by how every novel I've finished (by myself) in the last decade has ended.  Jeez... I have a problem. LOL

As far as the decision to let a character live or die goes, I just try to do what makes the most sense and feels right.  Sometimes characters deserve to have a happy endings, and sometimes stories just feel more like tragedies that need to end tragically.  

I've never regretted killing a character, but I have regretted the way I've done it.  Tracy mentioned Sick as My Secrets (thanks, Tracy), and that's actually the one I have regrets about.  I had a plan for how it was going to happen and then changed my mind a few days before I wrote it, and now I think I should have stuck to my original plan.  It was going to be a lot less dramatic originally, but that was the point.  I just can't resist the drama.

The hardest character death for me to write was probably in Curtain Call.  I had a work friend who was dying of cancer at the time, so it hit close to home, but I also think writing that story at that time also helped me deal with my emotions about what was happening to her.

The most devastating death I've read in someone else's story was probably in Swollen Issues III.  Even though it was the most believable ending and was probably inevitable, I wasn't necessarily expecting it when it happened, and it was so very sad.  The most shocking was probably in an old suspense story called Scared of Reality because one of the Boys was killed in the middle of the story, which doesn't usually happen.  But I think that's one of the things that made that story great, and it's one of the reasons I love The Walking Dead, too, even when they kill characters I love.  It's more exciting when you have the feeling that no one is safe.

[RokofAges75]

Is anyone else super indecisive when it comes to writing?  I'm usually not, but I just started a new story, and I have been having so much trouble making up my mind about basic things, like a title and events.  I feel like I have a solid premise and some good character development going for me (and I do have set names for the original ones, which is usually something I get hung up on), but everything else I keep changing my mind about.  I wrote two whole chapters of the story, then completely scrapped them and started the whole thing over, and I've made at least five different banners with different titles.  I haven't even attempted to write a summary yet, but I feel like that may be a challenge for me too.  Is this a bad sign that my story may be doomed from the start? LOL

What do you usually struggle with most in the early stages of planning/starting a new story?  What's the hardest decision you've had to make for a story?

[RokofAges75]

Seeing Rose make reference to the Melissa Schuman allegations in the new story she posted gave me the idea for this question.  Are there any real life events or topics that you consider off-limits or taboo to write about in your stories?

[mare]

Aww even though I don't have much to say regarding this topic anymore, I felt like I needed to say something so you weren't just talking to yourself lol

I would say, in general, no topic should really be avoided in any type of fiction as long as the writer can bring up the subject matter in a creative, original way. I say always go for it and if the reader finds it too difficult to read then they can skip it.

[mare]

Is anyone else super indecisive when it comes to writing?  I'm usually not, but I just started a new story, and I have been having so much trouble making up my mind about basic things, like a title and events.  I feel like I have a solid premise and some good character development going for me (and I do have set names for the original ones, which is usually something I get hung up on), but everything else I keep changing my mind about.  I wrote two whole chapters of the story, then completely scrapped them and started the whole thing over, and I've made at least five different banners with different titles.  I haven't even attempted to write a summary yet, but I feel like that may be a challenge for me too.  Is this a bad sign that my story may be doomed from the start? LOL

What do you usually struggle with most in the early stages of planning/starting a new story?  What's the hardest decision you've had to make for a story?

I have always struggled with the title and the summary and what voice I wanted to use.

[RokofAges75]

LOL Thanks for replying!  I was trying to get some kind of conversation going; I miss coming here and seeing all the red circles... or white speech bubbles now, I guess.

[RokofAges75]

I have always struggled with the title and the summary and what voice I wanted to use.

Title and summary for sure!!  The voice/POV isn't one I usually have a hard time deciding on, although I have started a story in one POV and then gone back and rewritten it in another before.

[RokofAges75]

I would say, in general, no topic should really be avoided in any type of fiction as long as the writer can bring up the subject matter in a creative, original way. I say always go for it and if the reader finds it too difficult to read then they can skip it.

Good point!

I don't think there's any topic that's totally off-limits to me.  Some things that I may have been uncomfortable writing about a few years ago, like Brian's vocal issues, wouldn't bother me now, and I can't think of anything that I would absolutely refuse to read about.  I like when writers take risks.

[Rose]

I've been fighting a nasty bug the last few days LOL.

Honestly I feel like no topic should be off limits if you feel you can write it in the right way. I remember taking on the idea of Brian's vocal issues before we knew what was causing them, I'd guessed (and guessed wrong) but I didn't steer away from it. And with Melissa, I'd been sitting on the idea for my new fic but I'd hadn't at the time had a solid way to put Nick into the place I needed him for the story/ The Melissa stuff was a way to do so.

Also I have the worst time with summaries. I used "Nowhere To Go" lyrics for my newest one since the title was inspired from a certain part of the song anyway.

[RokofAges75]

I think we all guessed wrong on that.  Who'd ever heard of muscle tension dysphonia or dystonia?  Not me LOL.  I actually had a whole suspense idea that hinged on Brian having vocal cord surgery before we knew what it was, but now that we do, it won't work because it's not treated with surgery.  Oh well.  It could have been so much worse than what it is.  Brian's voice has been sounding better and better every time I've heard him sing live lately, which makes it much easier to talk about these days.

I also got a story idea out of the Melissa situation, which I probably won't ever get around to writing, but it's nice to know I have no shame in drawing inspiration from horrible things happening to/involving the guys, LOL.  I think it worked perfectly for the premise of your story, though.

I hope you feel better soon!

[Rose]

LOL I hope you do write it!

[RokofAges75]

Maybe someday!  It has a solid outline, at least.  I've started two other stories in the meantime, though, so probably not anytime soon.