How do you kill your darlings?

[Legendofgenii]

You could give them little cameos in the background occasionally

[aqua03]

Yeah, that makes sense. I've been trying to tell myself something similar regarding my characters as well when it comes to writing. That They're not real, and they're separate fictional entities from me. To quote a writing friend of mine a while back, "Those characters don't make you who you are. You make them who they are, And if they (Your characters) disappoint, you replace them. No matter what those characters are to you, You will make more, And one day you will have to move on from them. So just do your best, or don't do it at all."

@Legendofgenii

Yeah, that's what I was thinking as well. Or making them historical characters in universe like what my aforementioned writing friend did with characters from previous versions of his stories that weren't clicking with him that much.

[nathanKmcwilliams]

Unless you're writing a story with no planned end. In which case you're stuck with them forever. (Like me! Dragon Sparking is set up to keep going on....as long as I live.)

[aqua03]

Excellent point on that end of things. That's something I'm still going back and forth on in that regard to my series having a definitive ending or not.

[Legendofgenii]

I like that. I kinda think it’s good to have some backup characters incase they are suddenly needed.

Do you come up with the characters first, then the story? Or the other way around?

[aqua03]

Not quite sure. I think I came up with the Dragoons before I came up with their world and storyline back in 2011 and they definitely came in before the main story of the current iteration of them and their world for Drachenseele. (The new comic I'm off and on working on right now.)