Killing characters. Some people treat is as a hobby. I find it as the hardest thing I have ever had to do in a first draft. I end up putting myself in torment for days trying to decide if they should die. When I have made the decision that they should die, I drag it out for days because I can't bring myself to officially ending their lives in the fictional world. My family goes crazy when I am in the process of killing one.Every morning they are like, "Did you do it yet?"
I just sit there with my head in my hands groaning, "No."
I finished my first draft for my sequel to the Realm of Graphice on Monday. <cheers> I was so happy to have finished it, but the joy and excitement of finishing was stifled by the death of a beloved character. Yes, I had to kill someone. This was no little death. I had to kill the main character. I tried everything so that I wouldn't have to. There was no getting around it, he had to die. The plot called for it. The theme called for it. The other characters called for it. So, since I went through such torture having to kill him, I thought I should write a post on killing your dear to heart characters.
Reasons to Kill a Character
Before we go into the actual process, you need to make sure you should even do it. The last thing you want to do is force it and the reader be angry. So, lets go over reasons why you should kill your beloved character.
-Advances plot.
-Motivates fellow characters.
-Shows theme.
Some reasons not to kill over:
-Making your reader sad or angry just because.
-Removing unneeded characters.
Alright, now that you have your reasons for your action, lets move into how you shall do the deed.
Killing that Character
-Foreshadow: If you don't add this in somewhere, the death may seem unnatural and take the reader out of the book for a moment. You never want the reader to be so surprised that it pulls them out of the fictional world of the novel.
-New character to take his/her place: You need someone to pick up where the character left off. If you have to kill the main character, don't leave your readers hanging with no main character to pick up the pieces of the story.
-Let them care: Make your reader really care for and love this character. Create some emotional attachment to them before they disappear. If your other characters are mourning, the reader should be as well.
-Make it worth it: Don't let them die in vain. Let there be a good powerful reason this character died. Sacrificing themselves for another, giving their life for their country, or dying for a cause.
Killing my character was no easy task. I was pretty hurt and upset over the fact. I wrote two books with him and it hurt to be done with him. I would really miss writing with him.
Are you planning the death of a character? If so, is it a main or side character? Have you killed a character in the past? Hope the post was helpful. Don't forget to join us on Friday for Fiction Friday!
-Melody
I'm writing my first novel, so I've never killed a character. (As of yet) I have wondered if I would be able to do it, and if it would be necessary. Actually "killing" killing one of my characters would be a hard thing to do. I don't know if it's really necessary for my story. Your tips are really helpful though, and because I will most likely have to in the future. I usually hate, HATE it when a favorite character dies in a book I am reading, but sometimes, it's good. Sometimes you love them more, and it just feels right. Like in "A Tale of Two Cities," the death of an unlikely hero and favorite crushes you, yet endears him to you at the same time.
ReplyDeleteKilling characters! Ugh! I've had to do this, and it's not easy! It hurts! I sobbed hard for 20 minutes, until I got in the shower and blasted music to get a grip. Totally not fun, but it does add a lot of needed depth to the story sometimes. I'm a fairly new writer- I'm working on my fourth first draft- but as far as killing characters, my recommendation is that if you can't find a way around it, just do it, and don't look back! I know it hurts, but you'll get over it eventually, I promise!
ReplyDeleteExcellent post Melody!:) I haven't had this experience of killing a fictional character, but I have had my heart ripped out and crushed on the pavement from the death of certain fictional characters. It's so painful!! It also demonstrates the skill of a writer when the writer executes *pun partially intended* it in a way so that you feel it was necessary, but it also does this, to quote a certain Disney movie *cough* Tangled *cough*:
ReplyDelete"Break her heart?"
"In half."
"Crush her soul?"
"Like a grape."
Muahaha anyway miss you and hope to see you soon! I look forward to reading more from you!!:)