: In the story Worm, there's a major catastrophic event. The author decided that 1/3 of characters had to die and rolled dice for each. The main protagonist was not exempted. Some of the

In the story Worm, there's a major catastrophic event. The author decided that 1/3 of characters had to die and rolled dice for each.

The main protagonist was not exempted. Some of the deaths were surprising and required introduction of new characters to take their place. There was even a plan to replace the main protagonist if she died.

I don't remember his reasoning, but here's what I got out of it:

Nobody has plot armor. This makes for much more thrilling writing and prevents deus ex machina.
The story can't be planned ahead too far. If you've read Worm, a lot of it fits together extremely well for a 1.6M word story. But this was not out of planning ala Tolkien but out of very in depth characters.
It's a way out of writer's block and keeps things fresh if you're tired of writing.

Note that you don't have to actually kill the protagonist. You just have to have a very real risk of it.

Load Full (0)

: Avoiding info-dumps when writing about amnesiacs In the story I'm writing one character suffers from amnesia as a result of an accident. I want another character, with whom they were in love,

@Ogunnowo420

Load Full 3 Comments

: Why is the construct "'hello' says Pete" most common? I am asking this from the point of a reader not a writer and just wondering why, so sorry if this is a bad place. I read loads of

@Ogunnowo420

Load Full 2 Comments

: If the scene allows for it you should portray feelings other characters or creatures might have when entering a scene. A bar man that is obviously not concerned in the least bit by a brewing

@Ogunnowo420

Load Full 0 Comments

: How can I portray a resentful character without making them overtly angry? I am writing a fiction story about a elite unit, SFD (Strike Force Delta), during the Third World War. The war is

: In the story Worm, there's a major catastrophic event. The author decided that 1/3 of characters had to die and rolled dice for each. The main protagonist was not exempted. Some of the

More posts by @Ogunnowo420

: Avoiding info-dumps when writing about amnesiacs In the story I'm writing one character suffers from amnesia as a result of an accident. I want another character, with whom they were in love,

: Why is the construct "'hello' says Pete" most common? I am asking this from the point of a reader not a writer and just wondering why, so sorry if this is a bad place. I read loads of

: If the scene allows for it you should portray feelings other characters or creatures might have when entering a scene. A bar man that is obviously not concerned in the least bit by a brewing

: How can I portray a resentful character without making them overtly angry? I am writing a fiction story about a elite unit, SFD (Strike Force Delta), during the Third World War. The war is

Login to post a comment!

0 Comments

Back to top