WIP Wednesday - Honest writing

For WIP Wednesday, I wanted to talk about writing honestly, no matter how much it bothers you, as the author, to do so. 

In my WIP, the heroine's sister just confessed something she witnessed. I felt a tightening in my gut the whole time I wrote it, then heavily considered removing it for two days after. In the end, I left it in and I'm glad I did. The story would have been paler, and probably more confusing without it.

In The Devil Wears Plaid, by Teresa Medeiros, we learn some pretty terrible stuff about Jamie's past. I have to wonder how different the story would have been if Ms. Medeiros had been to afraid to include it. Jamie's entire past wouldn't exist, a large portion of the motivation for the story wouldn't exist, and the reader would find it far harder to become invested in the story.

Sometimes, as writers, we might want to remove or avoid something that's hard to write. We might tell ourselves that it's not appropriate for the story, or it's not the kind of feelings we want to inspire in our reader, but I suggest thinking on it a few days before hitting delete. 

You might be glad you did. 

Please, feel free to share your favorite book with an indispensable shocking moment.