This is a substack (I know--hate me!) I wrote about the problems of sacrificing characters and what can happen when you first let them live.
And now I'm wondering... How do YOU draw the outlines of loss? How do you give shape to the hole that is left, making a real ghost and not just a vague nothing?
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https://imprompt2.substack.com/p/the-last-of-us-and-characters-who
@allisonwyss ooh I know I'm doing a terrible job of this in my book. Sebastian's big loss is a loss of home, but I didn't feel like writing (aka couldn't find an engaging way to write about) what home means specifically to him. Hopefully it comes off as "too painful to talk about" instead of "vague and boring".
As for hows, I have him excitedly start to mention some specifics, then cut off. Also I added a phone call home in the latest revision which hopefully hits like a truck.
I like how starting to say something then cutting creates a sort of mental trajectory for the reader to follow to that ghost of the thing that is missing. I think it works best if those specifics are truly specific and vivid--enough to spark something alive.
I can't know, obviously. But a sore thumb is certainly vivid!
Allison Wyss
nebulos