Alex Shrugged asked Lois McMaster Bujold:

I am told that a good writer must be willing to put characters he/she loves in danger and even let them die for the sake of the story. You have killed off a number of likeable characters in the Vorkosigan series. How hard was that for you? I am being vague to avoid any spoilers, but in general, was it hard?

Lois McMaster Bujold Heh. That's one of those many pernicious "writing rules" that aren't. Pat Wrede in her excellent writing blog has a number of tart things to say about dictums of that ilk. https://pcwrede.com/blog/ "In danger" is more of a moving target. The character needs a problem that strongly matters, but it need not be life-threatening to do so. (See "Knot of Shadows" ferex.)

That said, when such a death was integral the story, it was the story, and I don't argue with the story... well, I don't win, anyway. Two disparate examples (spoilers follow):

My generation of what became The Warrior's Apprentice actually began with a vision of the death of Bothari, under rather different circumstances than what finally evolved, but that was inherent from the get-go. I'm not sure to what extent he qualifies as "likeable", to be sure. The death of Teidez in The Curse of Chalion was likewise baked into the plot from the beginning.

The death of Aral was something I'd edged up to, and avoided, for years, and it finally took an entire book to get its thematic and emotional work done, both for me and for Miles. That one was likely the hardest.

I recall one review, years ago, where the reviewer complained that he "wasn't going to take my work seriously" unless I killed off Ivan. I decided that was his problem, not mine. Violence is not the only kind of action, and mortal stakes are not the only ones that matter. As always, in writing as in life "It Depends."

Ta, L.

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