Don’t Let the Dragon Slay You
Posted By Vonna on September 28, 2009
The first time my husband, son (then age nine) and I sat down at the kitchen table to play a game of Dungeons and Dragons, it was a heartbreaking disaster. For my son, that is. You see, he created a character with all the passion and energy that nine-year-olds put into this sort of thing. This character went on to perform brave, ambitious deeds that earned him fabulous weapons, armor, gold and other loot, including a potion that would protect him against dragon acid.
When we were finally in a battle against the acid-spitting dragon, my son (son’s character) refused to take the potion in spite of the Dungeon Master’s (his dad’s) repeated warnings and the pleas of his fellow adventurer (me). He declared he could defeat the dragon without it. Besides, he wanted to save the potion for the bigger dragon he was certain lurked around the corner in the next dungeon.
Bad news—the dragon won.
So—you are wondering where this is leading, are you not?—in the novel I am currently writing (and recently thought I had finished), I created a clearly drawn and multi-layered character. He had adventures and misadventures that garnered acclaim and sympathy.
But then he crossed that invisible line, the Point of No Return, and took the wrong path. My critique partners said no, no! It doesn’t have to be this dire. They said, throw him a life line; give him a sporting chance. But I declared he had to fight his battle to the bitter end, and what a bitter end it was!
Bad news—I’m rewriting the end of the novel.
The good news is that I created a character that readers cared about enough to get mad at me for giving him such a dreadful fate. More good news is that I am not on a deadline to get the revision finished, though I have a goal: before my birthday, which is in November.
So the lesson learned here is this: those who are lucky enough to have mentors and good critique partners should consider their advice before plunging into dangerous plots. Though I may not yet know how to defeat the dragon, perhaps I’ve learned how to not let it defeat me.
Oh, I loved this. I think sometimes it’s tempting to heap challenges onto our characters without giving them a chance to work through them. Moral dilemmas are more interesting. I think it says a lot for your character that your readers were so attached to him they didn’t want to see to see him fail
For me, the first draft contains things that, even though they eventually get cut, they needed to be written. They are part of the process and help me know where I need to go.
Thanks for your comments, Natalie and Kathy. Natalie, I am sorry for the delay in posting; somehow your comment never showed up in my inbox. I’m glad to see you here.