I'm Sick

First of all I would like to apologize for not posting last week. I didn't remember until I was already supposed to write up this week's post. As for this week, I have been sick as a dog since Friday. I barely got out of bed Saturday and Sunday. The title of this post is kind of a joke. I am a very annoying sick person, but my fiance and I kind of joke about it. I use "I'm sick" for any excuse I need. I want to watch Doctor Who because I'm sick. I want to eat sushi because I'm sick. I want to go to London because I'm sick. Even when I am not sick I use this excuse. It has become a great little joke between us and our friends. So that is my excuse for this week's late posting :) I'm feeling better but I still have a cough like a ninja that randomly sneaks up and tries to murder me. I know you care and all...

Anyway here is my post. Yesterday was my first real productive day since I got sick and I had to go to an 8am microbiology lecture and lab. During lecture I let my mind wander to my story. I don't know if it was the class or that I wasn't feeling great or both but I ended up killing about 10 people in my story. It was not anyone major, simply some people in a background story of some of my characters, but they were still real fictional lives I snuffed out. I like where the story went, but here is my warning: beware of feelings. They can get to the best of us. Even JKR had this happen when she almost killed off Ron (thank Merlin she didn't!) because she was in a foul mood. Don't be the stoic and ignore them, because they are part of who you are. Therefore, let them leech into your story. But here lies the rub. Don't throw anything away. You may kill someone one day, let them live the next, then get to the final draft of the story and realize that you do need them dead. Worst case scenario is you don't use that draft at all, but it will give you a better picture of who your characters are and why they act the way they do. JRK is applicable here too. She has an entire background story on so many characters that she truly got to know them and was able to determine how they acted because of their past. Hardly any of them made the final cut, but this made them more believable and real to the readers. So let your emotions fill the pages. It's your story after all and should be a part of you. So let yourself be a part of it.