Do your mourn your characters?

[tinkerdan]

I sometimes have to stop and cry even at just some of the struggle my characters go through. (Sometimes it's my writing that's making me cry but that's something else entirely.)

I've killed off a few favorite characters because it was one more challenge the main character needed. I've had beta readers panic when they thought I might kill off one of their favorite supporting characters. I sometimes have had to hold my ground when those two actually intersect.