Doing the right thing in real life is sometimes hard, but sometimes when you’re writing it can be even harder.
Now what do I mean?
Let’s take Jimmy again, (Because why not,) and imagine that he’s in the middle of writing his mystery novel and disappearing penguins and his main character is a little, runt-of-the-litter husky puppy, who loves nothing more than to play with his best friend…a baby polar bear.
Now a few months ago, when Jimmy had been planning the story out, he had intended to kill off the puppy’s polar bear buddy (Ice), because then, the puppy (Snowball) would have a bigger motivation to hunt down the killer and take care of him.
But even though Jimmy is standing at the moment in the story where the murder should take place, he doesn’t want to do it anymore. Why? Well, Jimmy’s became attached to the characters in the story and now he doesn’t want to break furry little Snowball’s heart.
IT’S NOT AN OPTION THOUGH!
HE MUST KILL THE BABY POLAR BEAR AND NEVER LOOK BACK!
Right?
Well, it depends. Will the readers like it? Do they want that? Can they learn the lesson of the story some other way then by losing their furry little friend they’ve come to love just as much as Snowball did? Or maybe the question to ask is will the story be as impactful IF Ice DOESN’T die?
The answer to all these questions should be able to help you decide whether or not the decision you’re making for your book is the right one. Even still, making a major choice concerning your novels is sometimes really difficult, because there is no obvious right versus wrong move to make.
For instance, maybe if in the book Ice does die, it can remind the readers to appreciate the time they have with their friends and not waste it, but if he doesn’t die then the readers will get a heartwarming ending that proves that friendship is the key to solving a problem.
So, maybe the situation is a win-win for the author, and in that case, they mind as well just choose the option that they like the best and not worry about the outcome. This is again one of those scenarios where the correct solution will vary depending on the case or the particular writing of an individual. (Yep, guess what, sometimes the most common solution is also the most accurate one.)
OH and always keep your reader’s opinions and thoughts in your mind, BUT just because they want something to go one way or a certain two characters to fall in love, that doesn’t mean you have to give them what they want. It’s still your story, and if you want it to end in a specific way, then it’s your decision.
That doesn’t mean just ignore what your readers say though. Perhaps they have insight on your book that you can’t see. For instance, maybe one of the characters in your book are really annoying, and you can’t tell that, but your readers can.
Perhaps they could even tell when the chemistry between two characters is better.
So, yeah, while you don’t have to read every long paragraph of a reply that pops up on your book but reading a few of them to get the general idea of the acceptance of your novel is definitely a good idea. Make sure you sort through the comments though, and whatever the case, don’t let others’ words discourage you!
Okay I keep saying that over and over again, I really need to write that post about negative feedback, because it’s EVERYWHERE. And if you’re not careful, it might hinder your writing, which will harm you in more ways then one.
SO, until then!
-D.P.
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