Killing them softly . . .

I was reading an interview with Mary Higgins Clark over the weekend and was reminded of something I love to do. I love to kill off people I don't like. Or hurt them badly.

She said, "Don't hold a grudge! Instead, make the guy who was mean to you the victim in your next book." (Writer's Digest, Sept. 2010)

I do that. And I tell people to do that.

Of my victims, my favorite is a guy whom I don't truly dislike but who made my professional life difficult for a number of years. He was my boss' boss. He was unpredictable, often rude, inconsiderate, stubborn and controlling. (And a number of other bad things I won't get into.)

In my second novel, I had him bashed in the head with a heavy object and killed. It was so much fun and the best part was he wasn't killed for all the obvious reasons. He was killed because his assailant was a bigger bad-ass (and was crazier) than my victim was.

I started my current novel, AN UNTIDY AFFAIR, with a person I didn't like. I didn't have an idea for the book but I remembered this woman who was a real piece of work and I constructed a novel around that fact. She was a rude, pretentious, uppity (add the b-word). But I didn't kill her off. Actually, she wasn't worth the effort but I put her through Hell, which was also satisfying.

So my advice today is: Kill off that idiot you hate. Or at least hurt them badly. You will feel better for it and won't get sent to jail.

Thanks for reading. Now write something!