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That debate at the Oak Street Library last month changed how I think about character deaths
Some guy argued that killing off a main character is always lazy writing, but he couldn't defend it when I asked about A Storm of Swords. Has anyone else seen a book club debate get derailed by someone refusing to admit their hot take is just wrong?
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hart.sage9d ago
Hold up, wait - Oak Street Library? The one on Thompson Ave with the weird smell in the nonfiction section? I used to go to their sci-fi club before it folded (RIP, that was a good group). But man, a moderator just letting that guy double down without asking him to define "lazy" seems like a total failure of leadership. Like how do you let someone sit there and claim GRRM's Red Wedding was lazy when it's literally the gold standard for shocking but earned character deaths?
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young.kim9d ago
the_diana nailed it with asking people to define their terms. I ran a book club for a few years and we had a guy who kept calling every twist "gimmicky" until I finally made him explain what that meant to him. Turned out he just meant anything that surprised him, which is a totally different conversation than what everyone else was arguing about. For the Red Wedding thing, I'd straight up ask that guy if he's read the books or only watched the show, because the setup is way more layered in the text and that usually changes how people see the payoff.
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You need to have a clear rule going in that personal attacks on anyone's opinion aren't allowed, and stick to it when somebody gets stubborn. The moderator should have stepped in and asked him to explain his definition of lazy writing, since that's usually where the confusion starts. Next time, try asking the group to define their terms first before the arguing gets personal.
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