[Commonmind]

I tend to write organically and find myself killing characters when the story dictates rather than when I do. I've tried it the other way 'round, but I found if I allowed myself to interrupt the natural progression the plot was taking, the end result was contrived and disjointed. As for killing characters simply to create drama or to be evocative -- and this may sound pretentious -- I feel that if the story and characters are strong enough you should never have to compromise either for cheap thrills or to keep your audience's attention.