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Young Writers Society


Should there be a scar? Or the murder is enough?



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Mon Jan 10, 2011 11:48 am
Gheala says...



My protagonist had lost his mother two months ago. He loved her to an extent that made his life miserable after she died, that he fought and almost killed every person who talked in a bad manner about her.

Now, is it enough to have the murder, so he'd wish to avenge her and act like a maniac when she's mentioned or when degrading rumors are uttered about her death? Or would it be better if we had a scar along his stomach? He'll have that scar one day after she was killed, when he fought a person he suspected to be the murderer. The suspected person will eventually cut my protagonist's stomach with a blade.

That scar will always be with him and the matter how much he tries to forget his agony, his wish to avenge her increases when he looks down at that scar and remembers her.

So, my question is: Should there be a scar? Or the murder is enough? As a reader, what do you think?

In case you've been wondering, the dude with the blade isn't the murderer and was his mother's close friend in Egypt who only had a few arguments with her, so it won't result in major twists later in the novel.

When I think about it, I say that the scar would definitely add a good edge to the story and somehow completes the storyline, but it's another thing when I try to write it. When I write about the scar, it comes out well, but I don't feel right about it, even though it sounds like a good idea. I feel as if it shouldn't be there.
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Mon Jan 10, 2011 2:37 pm
Rosendorn says...



I'd say both. :P Ramp up the character torture.

However, upon reading that you think it should not be there, I'd listen to the story. If it's not wanting the scar to be put in place, then it probably doesn't belong there in the first place.
A writer is a world trapped in a person— Victor Hugo

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Mon Jan 10, 2011 11:04 pm
Kale says...



I'm wondering how the scar translates from "scar gained from fighting a suspected murderer who was not the murderer" to "renewal of revenge". Especially since the friend has no twists associated with him?

Personally, I think the angst tied to the scar is pushing melodramatic. It depends on how you handle describing this emotional attachment to the scar, of course, but if you're spending significant chunks of writing on the scar, I'd say it's a bit much. You can have the scar, but I think it would work better as a more subtle indicator of his vengeful frame of mind, such as it aching when he is reminded of his mother, or he rubs it unconsciously while planning a murder of his own. Little things like that rather than straight-out associating angst to it.

But, as Rosey already said, go with what feels right for the story.
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By swallowing evil words unsaid, no one has ever harmed his stomach.
— Winston Churchill