The Unforgiven
What’s a failed character or arc you had? Just cleared some old sub accounts that never went away and had only a few threads on them. Curious to see if anyone else had a similar experience and what they were.
Where to even start….I start off strong sometimes with an idea, take on too many threads, realize I’ve lost my concept and lose my muse, and sometimes I just find that I don’t like what I’m writing anymore and just feel a bit disgruntled with it all.
As many of you will know, most of my characters are part of the Heavenshield clan, which I co-wrote withCoci Heavenshield 's writer. She wrote one half, I wrote the other. When she up and disappeared back in 2020, it pretty much ruined every storyline we had going at the time. It wasn't just Thurion's wife that suddenly were left in limbo; it was also his eldest son and heir apparent, Théodred, who'd played a huge role in the story thus far, and several others characters.
It messed with my head for a long time. To have every plan for your characters pull away from under you, as I was told it wasn't allowed to NPC their chars since the writer technically hadn't left the site. It definitely messed with my muse; I thought the entire character of Thurion, around whom I'd built my entire cast since (not to mentioned devoted my sparetime to since 2013(!!!)), had been ruined beyond repair. His relationship with his wife and family as a whole was so essential to his character that I didn't think I had it in me to carry on, and my activity plummeted for some time because of it.
I waited several IRL years before eventually deciding to move on without them. I had a vast cast of characters I enjoyed writing that now needed a new reason to go on. So I used the emotional turmoil and confusion the loss of Coci's writer had caused me and made it my characters'. Here's Thurion, crushed under the responsibility of the crown and the conflict of him being raised a Jedi and sovereign, now having to face it all alone; effectively having to deal with the sudden disappearance of his beloved wife while also keeping his head high for his entire family, now bereft of a mother and grandmother. He's just as lost now as I was back then, and yet he finds a way to keep moving forward and adapt. In that, he and I are the same.
I'd always envisioned him and his wife meeting death together, be it in battle or from old age. "There was no Thurion without his Coci", so I figured, with his story essentially having peaked, I'd either retire or kill him off within a couple IRL years. In a strange way, Coci's disappearance and presumed death injected some much needed personal turmoil and a whole new layer to his character, which has restored my love of writing him immensely. He's this broken man now, incapable of ever feeling truly whole again, ever grieving for his wife's departure whilst still having to push forward and be strong for his people and his clan. He'll always be the same huggable teddybear, just with more baggage.
I also want to give massive thanks to writers likeCaltin Vanagor ,
Valery Noble ,
Kahlil Noble ,
Nida Heavenshield ,
Arden Durane ,
Darth Carnifex and many others for sticking with me and giving Thurion a new lease of life through continued interaction. I was ready to throw in the towel on so many occasions in the interim of my writing partner poofing to when I decided to make it part of the story, but you guys kept the flame lit through my darkest days as a writer. It's safe to say that, without you, I'd most likely no longer be an active member of this site. Just like Valery or Caltin continuously interacting with Thurion to keep his head in the game, you did the same for me IRL back then. So, a heartfelt thank you to all of you. <3
Just like I can no longer look to my writing partner of 7 years (2014-2020) for advice or laughs, neither can Thurion turn to his wife of five decades. But he'll always have his kids and grandkids, and he'll always be their loving dad and doting granddad. As I grow older and mature (surrounded by little children whom I adore everyday by virtue of being a kindergarten teacher), my appreciation for having Thurion interact with children and young people in general only increases, and I like to think it comes across in my writing. All whilst sprinkling in that juicy grief for added effect — chef's kiss!
I don't believe in failed characters or failed arcs. They're pivot points for the character or a point where you've learned something doesn't fully work and you're just back at the drawing board to take what you've learned and make better.
I've had a lot of pivots with Allyson in particular, I've had to adjust her timeline a bit with the boards story timelines. I've had to deal with fallouts OOC and people just not wanting to write with me because they have a preconception of the character I'm writing. Already Allyson is the type of character that is greeted with mistrust because she is a spy. Those kinds of characters no matter how much you want to believe the person you're writing with is unbiased there's going to be a little bit there. Take it in stride and just write. If it doesn't work out, then pivot and change.
Just like in real life, character's lives are ever changing and flowing. You might meet someone in a public thread that all of a sudden becomes the reason your character falls to the dark side or even finds redemption.
So I think in a more positive mindset we can look at these perceived failures and storylines that have abruptly stopped as points where our character have to make a choice. Just like we do in real life when something doesn't fully pan out.
Makes things more fun in the long run.
My failed arcs tend to be either a Padawan deleting their character from under my Master, or my Master flaking/ignoring my Padawan. That, and I've had three romance arcs end because the writer lost muse or left. Also, pod/starfighter races are notorious, but those aren't exactly arcs per se.