Say what?
I bet that title caught your attention **chuckles*
So about two weeks ago, I decided to finally sit down and watch Game Of Thrones. Right after watching the first season, I mentally kicked myself for waiting that long to watch it. This series is EPIC!
You're probably wondering what that has to do with murdering your darlings. These kind of darlings are the characters. Before I proceed I just want to warn you there might be spoilers. I'll try and post as few as possible.
“In writing, you must kill your darlings.” --William Faulkner
((Should probably have added something like "the plot thickens when you do. At least in some cases."))
Right. So when I started watching the first GOT DVD, I was like "OMG, so many characters and different storylines??!! How am I supposed to keep up? By the end of the second episode, I was sitting on the edge of the sofa, making sure I didn't miss a word. Everyone seemed to have an agenda. I love a story with secrets and hidden agendas.
I grew to love a few characters, mostly Drogo and Jon. Yeah, I went there. Jon was amazingly loyal and didn't let the king sway him so easily. Drogo was intense, and very romantic in a "You, mine. No one touches you or hurts you. I'll flatten the population until I find the culprit who hurt you" kind of way. It took a while for me to warm up to him and when I finally did, well, they did what Faulkner said. Murder your darlings. There were a few other characters that I'd given my heart to in the series. At one point, this is how I felt/wanted to do:
At the same time, I was curious to see how everything would go. And then came the ending which was unexpected, and a wonderful surprise. I knew Daenerys was special. What I didn't know was the extent of her kickassery awesomeness. It was so good to see her grow from the girl the brother bullied, to this woman, Khaleesi of the Dothkari, strong enough to command her own army or lead a tribe. A woman fit enough to stand beside the Khal.
The second DVD came in from Amazon today, and I can't wait to watch it. If you haven't watched it, and you don't mind a bit of bloodshed--well, a lot, really--, I really encourage you to watch. The plot wickedly fantastic, and the characters deliciously well developed.
So I will leave you with this:
Just because I couldn't resist. ;) Best. Scene.EVER.
Have you watched GOT? What's your favourite scene or favourite characters? As a writer, how difficult is it killing your character/s?
