When I first started on my debut novel, I anticipated some bloodshed—hence it being a thriller—but I didn't anticipate killing off one of my main characters so early in the book.

Once I had done it, I stopped writing and thought to myself, "My God. What have I done?" But the fact of the matter is that it fit so well into the story. It expressed everything that I wanted to express, not only about that character, but about the story itself.

Sacrifice is a necessity in writing. If you aren't willing to sacrifice for the betterment of the story, then your story won't get better.

My debut novel is about a guy named Fight who struggles to get through the day-to-day, not because he has a tough job with a jerk boss breathing down his neck, or has a bad marriage, or anything normal like that. He's a criminal who makes his living off of small-time crimes, even murder, much to his own admission. He hates his life and everything around it. When he finds out his father has been murdered by the city's crime boss, he sets on a path of revenge with four friends. These four friends are much like Fight—without the heavy criminal past.

ACTION OVER WORDS

I tried to paint a very vivid picture of what life had been like living in their city. It is impossible to convey by descriptive words alone. You need to have the characters themselves convey this reality, whether by words or actions. Actions, we all know, speak much louder than words. So if given the chance to put a stamp on the impact of whatever you are trying to get across, go for action rather than words.

It is not just the fact a major character dies, but the way the character dies that really solidifies the surroundings of the city, the struggles, the hate. Of course, I didn't want the character to die because I had become somewhat attached, but I knew a big change needed to happen. Something huge. Something impactful. Something that would leave a mark on the reader till the very end.

This change also offered me the chance to make references to the incident in order to continue to drive the point home about the characters' feelings toward the city and their lives. Without that change, I don't think I would have been able to create the atmosphere I was aiming for.

Sacrifice is a necessity in writing. If you aren't willing to sacrifice for the betterment of the story, then your story won't get better.