Death

Death is a big deal. Not only does it impact the person dying, but also the people around. Why so philosophical all of a sudden, you ask? Because we authors have the power of life and death over our creations and sometimes we overuse it, especially the latter. What do I mean by that? Let me give you some examples. When I’d finished the draft of First, I sent it to a consulting editor and received a ton of helpful comments on the manuscript. I’m thinking now of one in particular relating to the epilogue of the book. It’s a scene where Lewis, the narrator, is older and receiving an award with his wife, Eve, and friend, Colt. Lewis mentions that his parents died several years ago and his brother took over the family property and also says Colt is alone since his own wife died recently. My editor asked, “Why so much death?” Great question. Why? I wanted a bittersweet scene, but filling it with dead people came across as too much. I changed it so that Colt’s wife had been injured in a fall off a horse and that everyone wished her well. Small change, less death. Another example is the editing I’m doing on the sequel, First Step. i wrote a few paragraphs yesterday to fill in the background on one of the bad guys in the story. Most of it was fine, but after I finished I thought there was too much death. I’d basically made the guy into an unsubstantiated murderer, which gives the character a lot more of an evil edge than I wanted. If he’s into slitting people’s throats and hiding the bodies, he’s a psychopath and a character trying to stay out of sight from the law. It doesn’t fit. Too much death. What am I going to do? Take out all the death and put some life back into the story.