This is an exercise I'm doing while planning a book I plan to write one day. I tend to get too attached to my characters and have trouble killing them off when necessary, and I'm trying to break myself of that. The idea is that you start with the first event of the story, ask yourself how things can go wrong, write that, and continue on, making an unfortunate chain of incidents. Try to write a story using this method. Go wild, make your characters suffer.

$!@% Suffering

Author's Note: In case it is not obvious the tone of this piece should be read as 'sarcastic' and apologies to the Challenge creator as I blantantly ignored the written instructions.

No offense to your process - I merely had a sudden burst of fan frustration.

Kill all your darlings

Don't leave them alive

Slice off their heads

Plunge in the knives

Drive them to madness

Drown them in sin

Maim, stone, torture

Let the suffering begin

And if they're a woman?

Of course there'll be rape

Hunt each lovely down

Don't let any escape

Because pain equals growth!

That must be the way

Thoughtful, quiet living

Never once saved the day

'Tis far better to end them

Let their one shot be it

They're a means to an end

However you see fit

Gods forbid they live on

No one loves an old sap

So kill all your darlings

And don't ever look back