[stylist] do any other writers ever feel like this?

[Applebutter Hill]

Vejas,
I certainly feel bad about harming any of my characters. One of the blind
teenage girls in my novel gets badly hurt at the hands of some bullies in
her class. It was based on a real story and I used it to point out a problem
some blind people have had with resentment among their sighted peers when
they achieve something. Still, I felt horrible about doing it. I also think
in future books that, due to the nature of the adventure, some good people
may get killed, and I'm not happy about that either.

I think it's a normal thing. Yes, the characters are fictional, but it's
real live people that read our work and are attracted to and identify with
certain characters, so they feel the loss when a character is harmed. Life
and fiction rarely have only blue skies.

The ability to create a character and plot that has an emotional impact on
the reader is one of the most important things, IMO,  that makes a piece of
fiction great. Caring about the character is a sign that the author is truly
invested in the process. The fall-out of actually feeling bad when that
character is compromised in some way is part of the burden of the writer, so
you're definetly not alone.
Donna

-----Original Message-----
From: stylist [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Vejas
Vasiliauskas via stylist
Sent: Monday, April 27, 2015 7:18 PM
To: stylist at nfbnet.org
Subject: [stylist] do any other writers ever feel like this?

Hi All,
I was just curious about something.  Do you ever feel bad about a decision
that you make in your story because it doesn't benefit a certain character?
I know they're not real people, but in my head they are.
I feel like I just let a character of mine down, but in a way I also feel
like I had to make that decision.  I know it's silly, and I bet as a writer
it's totally normal...  but does anyone else ever feel this way?
Vejas

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