An authors reflection on a doomed character

Journal Entry 330

Have you ever wondered why certain things must happen in the course of a story line? Whether you are reading the story or are in the process of writing it; there are certain facts, certain scenarios that need to take place for the story to be completed. This is something that I have come to realize as fact during my creating of three manuscripts of poetry- the latest of date being Water Lily Pond. And as I continue on with the novel, it again becomes blatantly clear that again there is to be a sacrificial lamb. Though by the time it comes for him to be sacrificed- he’s walked willing down the path of no return. He kills the Antagonist (the crow) and thus becomes the Antagonist. Mercy is granted him by the taking of his life by one he trusted, by one who destroys himself in the process- perhaps to redeem his own wrong.

And yet I mourn for this character- for the role he was placed in was not one of his own choosing. He suffered the worst kind of torment that anyone had ever suffered- save for Hurin (from the book The Children of Hurin’ by J.R.R Tolkien) who’s torture it is was to watch the fate of his family from his prison on mount Thangorodrim. In fact this is where I got the idea for my doomed character. The difference being in that my character watches these torments for years as madness over takes him. When freed he seeks revenge on his tormentors and gets it; at the cost of his very soul.

This is why I mourn for him and wish there was some way that he would be redeemed – but that is not the way it was meant to be. Fate sealed him from the very beginning of the first world and for the story line to be pulled off- he must remain so. This is why he’s being granted the means of a more or less painless death.

Now dear readers, you’ll know why I left the fate of Daisy (main character from Water Lily Pond) in your hands. For to decide the fate of one’s characters is a hard and emotional decision to make. If you have not read Children of Hurin by J.R.R.Tolkien then I strongly recommend it. However if you just want a brief overview of the story and where I got my information for this blog. Then click on the link below. As always Water Lily Pond is available for sale on Amazon. The link is located on the website’s home page. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Sincerely,

Richard M Polk

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Children_of_H%C3%BArin