The death of a character…. #writing #amwriting #writerproblems #author #writerslife

I did it. I killed off a character today.

The poor guy was not one of my main characters. He was just one that popped up out of nowhere while drafting a chapter – not planned on or in my outline. And, while he was a quirky soul that probably could have been more involved in the story, he just needed to go. Will his death be mourned by the readers? I doubt it. Does that matter to me? No, not really.

He wasn’t special to me, and to be honest, to die was his sole purpose in the novel. Poor thing.

The shrug of my shoulders and lack of concern, though, got me thinking about a few characters in other books and movies who died that I will never get over. No matter how much time goes by, every time I open that book or see that movie the sting happens all over again. And, yes, a couple of them are animals! I can’t help it, I’m an animal person.

Eddard “Ned” Stark, Game of Thrones.

I don’t think I will ever get over the death of Lord Eddard ‘Ned’ Stark. Ever. Ever, ever, ever. Ever. If I didn’t love the show Game of Thrones so much, I probably would have stopped watching it and canceled my HBO subscription after the episode he was killed. I still might if they kill off John Snow!!

I have started reading the books, but I haven’t gotten far into them due to a lack of time (of course, ‘time’ would be involved). I enjoyed the few pages I’ve read, though, and can’t wait to finish them . . . at least until I get to the part where Ned is beheaded. I might have to take a moment, throw the book across the room and dry my tears.

Sirius Black, Harry Potter

Ok, I admit it. I watched pretty much all of the Harry Potter movies before I read the books. I was a late bloomer in the world of Harry Potter and actually, had it not been for a nasty cold one day when nothing was on TV except for the second movie, I don’t know if I would have seen them at all. When the first one came out, I just didn’t have any interest in seeing it or reading the book. Fast forward a couple of completely addicted to anything Harry Potter years, to the theater release of The Order of the Phoenix.

Having not read the book, I didn’t know that Sirius Black would be killed and when it happened I almost screamed out loud in the theater. Watching the movie is still hard, especially, with the budding relationship between Sirius and Harry throughout the whole movie only for them to be ripped apart in the end. I have to admit, though, a good part of the reason for my attachment is more because of Gary Oldman than the actual character J.K. Rowling created. Gary is probably my favorite actor of all time. He can play any role given to him and play the role amazingly strong.

Denny (the horse), The Man from Snowy River, Return to Snowy River

Ok, so this isn’t a person, but as a horse lover growing up watching horse movies, Denny was the perfect horse in my eyes. I wanted him or at least a horse just like him. Why I still to this day don’t have a Buckskin Mountain horse is beyond me. Anyways, I can still remember, at the young age of 10, when Return to Snowy River, the second movie of The Man from the Snowy River series hit the screen. I was so excited to see that little horse again, and of course, see, in Snowy River fashion Denny (Or Den as Jim called him) jumping off a cliff and running down a mountainside.

And then it happened…about halfway down the mountain, the evil Allistar Patton pulls out a rifle and shoots the horse, sending him tumbling down the hill to his death. The horror!!! I think I actually did scream with that one, and it took me a long time before I could watch that movie again.

Marley (the dog), Marley and Me

When the movie first came out, I did not know the ending would be what the ending was. Talk about one of the saddest endings in the history of movie endings!

Yes, I know his death is apart of the story, but after watching it once, I can safely say I won’t watch it again. I cried for hours and then days later every time I looked at my dog.

William Wallace, Braveheart

Another movie with the worst ending ever! Even if he was reunited with his wife, I hated seeing him die in the end of that movie.

And, I’m sorry, but even if Mel Gibson has gone off his rockers, the man is still good looking and he can act! I still love this movie, and while watching the end credits think  “Damn, if I could only write a story that epic.” But, with that said, the ending still sends me grabbing for a tissue.