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Q&A How to detach yourself from a character you're going to kill?

You don't. To put it in more words: the audience has to get attached to make the death relevant. You want her death to be a wake-up call, a touch of realism and a reminder of what war is. Sure, ...

posted 5y ago by Liquid‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Answer
#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-13T11:56:52Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/45510
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T12:00:53Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/45510
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by (deleted user) · 2019-12-08T12:00:53Z (over 4 years ago)
# You don't.

To put it in more words: the audience has to get attached to make the death relevant. You want her death to be a wake-up call, a touch of realism and a reminder of what war is.

Sure, there is no guarantee that your audience will like the same characters that you like. But if you realize that you've grown fond of that female soldier, if you find her charming, chances are that her character **works well**.

**So, you don't need to detach**. A detachment strategy would make you think less of that character, show less of her, and focus less on her emotions or her dialogue.

Sure, it's somewhat sad that you have to give her the killing blow. But ultimately, characters live and die in the stories they're written in. The only _right_ thing you can do is portray her at best of your ability.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2019-05-28T16:03:17Z (almost 5 years ago)
Original score: 76