Lynn wrote:
If women are killed off more than men, perhaps it is because they are seen as being of MORE worth.
I suspect you meant that tongue-in-cheek but thought I'd comment anyway.
You'd have to look at the motivation for the crimes - usually the women are killed because they got in the way of a criminal or because they were victcms of domestic violence or random victims of serial killers, not becuase they were worth something.
In the case of death by natural causes, you have to asses the motivation of the author by looking at how the story itself is told - whether it focuses on the surffering of the survivor or on the suffering of the person who is dying. If it focuses mostly on the suffering of the survivor that's significant.
btw it was Pam, earlier in the thread, and not Yvonne who made the observation Lynn mentionned. (although Yvonne may very well agree with what Pam said of course
)
The comment about a real life analogy being inappropriate for a fictional character is interesting. I'm less certain because one of the things we strive for as writers is to reflect the emotions of real life, even when we're writing fantasies. (unless we're writing comedies in which case there are no rules
) Why else do stories have the power to move us? They do so because they strike a chord with us, something we recognise as true, something that is how it is with real people.
I'll use the story Pam mentioned - Wendy's 'For the Greater Good'. That moment of recognition for me was when Lois lies to her daughter who was afraid her daddy was going to die. Lois told her he wasn't going to die, but believing in her heart that there was no hope. It's the reality of that scene that makes it so powerful. I've lied to a child in a situation like that - I suspect I'm not the only one who has.
c.
