“I put a pair of stainless steel steak knives from my thirteen-piece cutlery set through their fucking hearts.”

Sales Rush by Brandon Scott

“Something intimate. Something I had to dig for, rip into and pry from her. I wanted to see her soul. And I wondered how red that ebony skin was going to get before I found it.”

Waking Nightmares by Brandon Scott

“He stops. Cerebral fluid draining on the rich mahogany wood.”

Piano Player by Brandon Scott

***

I kill characters. I murder them. Butcher them. I delight in the well set-up destruction of a fictional person I created.

I admit it readily: I am a killer of characters. As serial as they come.

And I am not alone. Among the great destroyers of protagonists and fictional people are the likes of Josh Whedon, George R. R. Martin, William Shakespeare and even—if you think about it—J.K. Rowling.

Death is, and always was, a massive part of fiction. Because there is no more basic, primal fear than death. And damn is it good to create drama.

And while there might be plenty of lists online talking about why you should kill a character, and why you shouldn’t sometimes, I am going to talk about something different. I am going to tell you about how you kill a character. What you should at least consider when you decide that Joe Protagonist needs a spike through his head. Continue reading →