(no subject)

[roselightfairy]

I need you to know that I am becoming the poster child for why you shouldn’t fridge characters. I fridged three elf women in my first story, one for manpain (I admit it; I’m sorry) and two for my sanity (I already had too many OCs; I couldn’t write these ones too but I needed a reason they weren’t there) and now I have to write the backstory and characterization for every one of them.

I deserve all this pain; it is both just and self-inflicted, but still—learn from my example and don’t fridge your characters. It won’t end well for you.

Comments

[laurajv]

i feel like this is why tolkien just sent all the lady elves except, like, 2, to valinor

“i don’t want to fridge them but i don’t want to WRITE them” quoth he

[roselightfairy]

My history with lady elves is: killed one, horribly maimed another, and sent two to Valinor. The killing and the maiming were for manpain (though I want to believe I’m let off the hook for the latter, as she becomes an actual character of her own); the other two were out of laziness.

Although—and I have no idea if this gives me leeway or not—I’m also realizing that the reason these things happened to women was because I made a lot more lady OCs. Legolas needs a sibling? Sister. Sibling needs a spouse? Wife. Don’t wanna write the sister-in-law? Oops, fridged a woman AND buried a gay. Is it better if I send her to Valinor rather than killing her? ...hope so. Etc., etc.

(I feel like I sound too flippant; I’m just sort of ruefully amused by how easy it is to fall into these tropes even when actively trying to avoid them.)