Double Standards, this is Alexia calling...

I've been thinking a lot about tear jerkers. I'm not a fan of them. I don't like that they pull on your emotions. I'm not a puppet to have its strings pulled but sometimes, I will admit I don't mind it. The difference is very clear however usually. There's a line that for me you just don't cross.

Times when tear jerkers are okay:
- the birth of a baby when everything is all super charged with energy
- moments like in the Blindside when you just FEEL for the characters and want to cheer them on and see them succeed
- when a char fights so hard against something and then succeeds against all odds

When it isn't okay:
- the main char dies
- anything by Nicholas Sparks

Okay that's pretty much the line for me. I hate it when main chars die, whether it's in a movie or a book. I feel like it was wasted paper and I could have spent my time doing something else that would have been more gratifying.

However, and the reason I've thought about this lately, is because... I was doing my middle stance plotting (let's be honest, it isn't plotting but for me... it's something more than half-assing my writing), and well... I need to do something I vowed I wouldn't. I have to kill someone off. I hate it. Hate the thought of it. But... for it to be more realistic, I need to. This is a double standard I'm just going to have to write out.

I am... a hypocrite but, at the same time, it's all part of a writer's journey. Right? Maybe if I say that enough I'll actually believe it one day.