forum Character deaths?

Started July 17, 2018 by @WriteOutofTime

tune

I've watched videos, spent hours plotting and planning and foreshadowing…and I can't bring myself to fully commit. I'm just not sure whether or not to kill a semi-major character. Help?

I guess what you should do is decide why you want to kill the character and why you're holding yourself back. If you decide that the story could go on in the same way without the character dying, then you could just leave it as is. but it seems like you've already put a lot of thought and effort into this so maybe you could have people assume their death, but they then come back later with more information that will help the plot move along. Hope this helps! Happy writing!

Thank you! Unfortunately, with the death I have planned, there's no way he comes back. My only hesitation is the fact that his death is supposed to parallel my main character's husband's previous death. I'm thinking that might be laying it on too thick? My MC seems to have plenty motivation, and the death of her friend would motivate her more, but does she need more motivation? I'm just conflicted.

I recommend writing a version of the story with and without the death scene (not the entire story if it would take too long, but a summarized version) and see which you prefer/which flows better.

My only hesitation is the fact that his death is supposed to parallel my main character's husband's previous death. I'm thinking that might be laying it on too thick?

You can probably create parallels without the character dying. Maybe he ends up in a similar situation? Maybe he sustains a similar injury. He could almost die and be put out of action for a while, and if you want that extra motivation for your MC she can hear only part of the story and think for a horrible moment that he's died, only to find that he's just in the emergency ward. I think this Pinterest post has a few helpful thoughts as well for whether or not to kill off a character: How to Kill a Character.

Maybe…I'm not quite at the point where he dies yet, but I'm in the foreshadowing stage. Hopefully, the death comes across as a parallel and a necessary sacrifice for the plot instead of like a cheap way to elicit audience sympathy.

It's not Tyfer, is it? :( Gah, I'm pathetic, developing emotional attachments to characters after three pages of prose.

…heh, okay, you guessed it. Is the foreshadowing too obvious? Do you feel he deserves death? ;)

I only guessed him because you said it was a friend of Nyir's and would parallel Yuu'mi's death, and he clearly cares about her. Maybe it was just me interpreting his actions through a romantic lens . ^^; So no, I don't think the foreshadowing's obvious, not in the excerpt you posted to my thread. And no, of course he doesn't deserve death! At least… character-wise. Plotwise, it would probably be very effective. I don't know, I'm too invested now to give unbiased death advice.

That's actually the answer I was hoping for. As the creator of my characters, it breaks my heart to kill him, but as their cruel writer overlord, I say that if I'm sad about his death, everyone else will be. So, I was actually hoping you wouldn't want him dead, lol. I'm leaning towards letting him die off, but I'm still not 100% sure.

I nearly cried myself to sleep the night I wrote one of my late characters' deathbed scene, and then I dreamed that he was mad at me for letting his widow marry this other guy, so I fully understand your dilemma.

For context, roughly how many other character deaths do you have in-story? (not backstory)

His death would actually be the first "on-screen" death in the story. The entire story has implied deaths and kind of dark undertones, but his death would definitely be a major tonal shift. After that, I have at least a few more deaths or near deaths planned, along with a semi-slaughter of an entire segment of a part of their village.

Does the MC have a goal that is time-based? Maybe your characters death would speed the story along?

His death would most likely speed the plot along. I guess I should kill him.

Killing is always hard. Gah, that sounded murderous, but you know what I mean. It's always a hard decision and one that shouldn't be rushed. I recommend considering others' advice, but ultimately going with your gut.