David sent one of his warriors to war, to a place where he knew he would die. God considered this to be murder, so I was thinking about how to work with this; David had the motive in his heart, he didn't actually do the action but he set something in place so that he knew the man would die. Murder doesn't just have to be commiting the action with your own hands, a person could be just as guilty for asking someone, or setting it about so that someone would die.

The other action of course, is murdering with your own hands, actually taking someones life yourself. There are many ways to die, but murder is the worst. Having someone take your life from you, sometimes the person might be at the beginning of their life, or in the middle of it. No matter what murder makes you angry, it is unjust. But more so if you love the person, if they're about to have a child or were about to be married. It can be hard to portray sometimes just how awful it is in writing. Would you want to be visual through your writing to show how awful it would be, would you show the act in all its violence. Or would you skim over it, not wanting to offend your readers eyes. I lean towards the former, but of course my writing is not for young adults. Whilst I wouldn't want to make the scene too gruesome I would not want to skim over it either, as that seems to lessen the action. How would you feel about reading something or even writing something like this? Would it make you uncomfortable? How far would you be willing to go in describing the action of murder? What do you think of the idea of having someone else commit a murder for them, that would mean both people were guilty of the crime, would you agree?

I'm sorry if this sounds a little jumbled.

*subscribes to topic*

I like your threads, Elanor!

*nods* Illustrated by what Jesus says in Matthew about heart-murder.

Brutality described doesn't really 'hit' me. I'll cringe and swallow, but that's it. In fact, some death passages that I've cried over have had very little gore... if any. What hits me is the terrible strength of the emotion. Sometimes little said can be like a flash of lightning, forceful and powerful... more so than the roll of thunder that follows. If you have the skill, sometimes less is more.

That said, to answer your questions...

Would you want to be visual through your writing to show how awful it would be, would you show the act in all its violence. Or would you skim over it, not wanting to offend your readers eyes?
My approach is 'emotion first'. So I'd be visual, but really concise. Like painting in bold, brief strokes. Lightning fashion.

How would you feel about reading something or even writing something gruesome? Would it make you uncomfortable?
No. I have a good imagination when it comes to physical pain and I'd seriously cringe, but it doesn't touch a 'nerve' with me in the same way a character's emotion and heart aptly described will.

How far would you be willing to go in describing the action of murder?
Only as much as needed for the effective telling of the story. I wouldn't rely on it for impact. Heart-action is ultimately far stronger than physical-action. That said, its still really important to have enough description of the actual murder, or you'll leave readers wondering and wanting more information.

What do you think of the idea of having someone else commit a murder for them, that would mean both people were guilty of the crime, would you agree?
*nods* Absolutely.

Thanks, Cassie!

That makes sense (and I like your metaphors ) Yes, I agree descriptions and how you describe it has a lot to do with how the reader will feel. Elanor likes this quote, Cassie.

Thanks for commenting!

Thank you!

Y'welcome.

I got caught on the part about being guilty even if you don't commit the actual action...

The title character of Lightning Ranger is an assassin. He commits murder so that the higher ups don't have to get their hands dirty. The ones who hire him like to think that they aren't actually guilty. They don't see it done, they don't have to suffer the guilt and shame of having shed blood. It's the convenience of an annoying person disappearing overnight, the arrangement of an unfortunate accident.



But it's not that simple. Of course they're guilty. More guilty, sometimes, then the one who they commission.

As for actually writing it... the previous book is still my best example. Most of the murders that take place actually occur onstage. Some are more violent then others, all of them are horrible. It's my darkest book; I've talked about that darkness on another thread in here somewhere. Even though I'm not afraid of mentioning blood though, the focus is on the horror of the act. The ghosts of the people he's killed haunt my MC throughout his life, from story to story. He goes from his first murder being an act of vengeance to killing out of self-preservation, to finally becoming a hired assassin.

Thank you for sharing that, Vanya!