I never read tLotRs but my hubby read it to me when I was pregnant. He let me cry when Gandalf died, and all the time while I was finally coming to terms with the fact that he really is dead, like the rest of the fellowship. He let me start crying again, when he picked up the book the next day, but he stopped when Gandalf showed up again in white ;)
SO far, I haven't killed any major characters. I have let my MC kill someone who was after her, and she is still in shock about what she has done. Also, my first adult novel starts out with a just dead husband. Personally, I don't think death is what writer's don't deal with so well. I think it is mourning.
Yes, it is hard to kill off a beloved Character, but what I find odd is that in most stories (and I don't even think of the soap operas where guys are like five times widowed and still are dating very other chick on this season whilst allegedly being a lovely men) is that the mourning get's so little *air time*.
Mourning is probaly the single most horrible conflict within life EVERYBODY knows he/she will have. Loosing someone you love, whether in a sexual way or differently doesn't really matter, is earth shattering. I don't think that that changes if you live in a society where death is more *normal* than these days in the western world. People wouldn't grieve less, they would be more carefull with their hearts, methinx. Probably the grief would be poured into other things like rituals and honoring the deceased ect ect. but the agony of the not-dead is, what IMO is emotionally charged.
Of course there are also ways of making death itself agony. Any form of sacrifice will be emotionally compelling. I am not belittleling that. But while I find parts of the LotR lengthy, in this Tolkien did it right methinx. Having Gandalf be mourned, then making a point of the necessity to delay the proper dealings for every one and distract them form their grief after some initial dealings. Giving the reader the time to mourn.
Then again, maybe I am just a watering pot ;) Brooke
Gandalf
SO far, I haven't killed any major characters. I have let my MC kill someone who was after her, and she is still in shock about what she has done. Also, my first adult novel starts out with a just dead husband.
Personally, I don't think death is what writer's don't deal with so well. I think it is mourning.
Yes, it is hard to kill off a beloved Character, but what I find odd is that in most stories (and I don't even think of the soap operas where guys are like five times widowed and still are dating very other chick on this season whilst allegedly being a lovely men) is that the mourning get's so little *air time*.
Mourning is probaly the single most horrible conflict within life EVERYBODY knows he/she will have. Loosing someone you love, whether in a sexual way or differently doesn't really matter, is earth shattering. I don't think that that changes if you live in a society where death is more *normal* than these days in the western world. People wouldn't grieve less, they would be more carefull with their hearts, methinx. Probably the grief would be poured into other things like rituals and honoring the deceased ect ect. but the agony of the not-dead is, what IMO is emotionally charged.
Of course there are also ways of making death itself agony. Any form of sacrifice will be emotionally compelling. I am not belittleling that. But while I find parts of the LotR lengthy, in this Tolkien did it right methinx. Having Gandalf be mourned, then making a point of the necessity to delay the proper dealings for every one and distract them form their grief after some initial dealings. Giving the reader the time to mourn.
Then again, maybe I am just a watering pot ;)
Brooke