So I have always struggled to kill characters in my book series. I've killed off some with great purpose to propel the story forward with new struggles and challenges. I am on the fourth book in my series and have become quite attached to my characters but I know some of them have to die. I guess I am struggling with figuring out how to kill certain characters and make their deaths meaningful. Does anyone else struggle with killing off characters? Anyone really good at killing off characters? I'd love advice for the best ways to kill characters with meaning.
No. They're not real. Even in the abstract they're only tools that share more qualities with socket wrench bits than they do with real human beings.
I still remember the first time I killed off a character; I cried. But nowadays, it's just business. Sometimes unpleasant business, but it has to be done. Mind, I've not yet killed off a major character, so I may not be as jaded as I sound. I've gotten good comments off the deaths that I've written, but there's a world of difference between writing a death effective, and making a death meaningful. The first implies skill as a writer, the second a well-thought out purpose. If you do both, then you've done well. So I guess it boils down to what you want
Agree with this. Well, killing characters with meaning means that they have to accomplish something. Here's a few i can think of: 1. Characters should be killed off at the moment when the purpose of their demise will be most impactful. For example, kill a character when his/her character development stage has reached its end. At the beginning of my story, there is a guy who is very selfish, always thinking of himself and doesn't care about others. As the story progresses, he starts to care more for the other characters. Nearing the end of the story, even though he denies it, he cares a lot for his friends. And finally, he dies by sacrificing himself to save his friends. 2. Kill them to make a breakthrough situation in the plot. For example: the circumstances of Someone's death could give a vital info about the antagonists. 3. A character's death could change someone's way of life. For example, a girl who is always kind to others, dies. Her brother, who is completely different from her, lives by her example. He wants to honor her memory, and in the end, becomes a better person. When it comes to killing my characters, I'm not afraid to kill off the major ones, because i can't tug on the readers' heartstrings if i only killed minor characters. I like all of my characters equally, and therefore, i take a "death does not discriminate" approach. All my major characters have an equal 50-50 chance of dying. So it's decided by chance. If one is condemned to die, i never take the decision back. Then it's only a matter of how, and when. But since you're already in your 4th book, i imagine that your readers are also attached to your characters as well. That means don't get trigger happy and kill a bunch of them. Otherwise your readers will be angry and more likely not wanting to read your books anymore. Kill them sparingly, and do it based on your motivation. Make it so that your readers can accept and come to terms with the character's death, instead of hating you for what you've done (Except if you want to kill a character for the purpose of infuriating your readers of course).
I'm really good at killing off characters. I don't have any advice for you about how to make yourself do it other than it sounds like you've concluded that it's necessary, so get to business. Your job as an author is to serve your story; you can't let attachment get in the way. Be ruthless. Also, I'd advise caution when it comes to creating meaningful deaths. If a blaze-of-glory death fits the story, then sure, but as long as it's not totally random and nonsensical, a major characters' death can be that much more dramatic if it isn't a glorious end. I'm a fan of stray bullets, friendly fire, drunk drivers, and bad luck (well, in the literary world, that is). Bleak deaths pack a way harder punch than glorious deaths.
I'm writing about war so my characters tend to get killed quite often ... mostly they aren't that meaningful its just what happens in war .... if you read Fields of Fire by James Webb for example pretty much everyone dies or is wounded pointlessly, ditto for Sand in the Wind by Robert Roth.. ditto for pretty much every realistic war book everywhere. Of course if you are writing for example historical romance its less likely that every second chapter will be a bloodbath, but even there think Wives and Daughters, Osborne Hamley dies and his death itself is pretty meaningless, although it forms an inciting incident for the discovery of his wife and daughter and building Molly's relationship with the squire ... pivotal to her eventually marrying Roger Hamley.
Thank you all for the responses! It's been quite helpful. I have killed off main characters before (I've killed off two villain characters and they were important characters in the story but reached their end/purpose). In my story, there are wars going on, and thus there have been casualties. Currently, in the book I'm writing there is the possibility of a war starting, and if it isn't a full-blown war it's still discrimination and hatred killings in the society. I really like that approach! When I go back to edit I'll keep that mindset in mind. The first time I went back to edit the first book one character had a completely different death than was originally written. I like the idea of those kinds of deaths too. I think there's a time and place for glorious deaths, but ones that aren't as "big" do pack a harder punch.
In my fantasy and SF novels, there is a lot of conflict (military and otherwise) and a lot of characters die. I understand getting attached to characters, but in the end, maybe consider that each character is simply a tool, one of many, used to relay a great story to the reader. That may help you do what's necessary to make the story the best it can be.
I'm the same, I really struggle to actually go through with it once I've decided to kill someone off. I think you just have to keep in mind the effect it has had on you as a reader when a character gets killed off. For me you can feel so saddened and shocked, but it makes me even more invested and really brings home how much you care about the characters. It can really give a punch to the story, making it gritty. I'm not generally a crier but certain death scenes have got me! So you have to keep that in mind when you're writing - if you are sad to do it, the audience should be sad to read it.
I have no problem killing off characters I don't feel much of a connection with and/or just plain don't like. But when I do end up in a position where I have to kill off a character I have a lot of connection with or empathy for... yeah, ouch. I am capable of inflicting Game of Thrones level nasty on even my favourite characters (repeatedly, in my current WIP) if it's necessary to the plot or is the most story-appropriate ending for the character, but it's not fun.
I think one of the most important questions to ask when you're thinking about killing a character off is actually: do they need to die? Why? In a project of mine a while back, I was thinking about killing this character off in a climactic sort of battle scene, and I realized that I was only doing it because I didn't want to deal with him anymore. He didn't serve much of of purpose and this was just a convenient way for me to not have to write him anymore. So instead of killing him, and the death not mattering at all, I just wrote him out entirely. He was superfluous, but death, I think, isn't the answer to that. He didn't have to die - he just needed to get out of the way! If you're sure that character death is the way to go, though, I have some vague rules for myself on that front. I used to kill characters off a lot, because I love to hurt'em and nothing hurts worse than getting killed (well, no so much for the one that dies, but for the ones who'll grieve them). These days I have a slightly less itchy trigger finger. Moderation is key - too many deaths and you just stop registering them. I was a huge Harry Potter fan, and when Sirius died it floored me, when Fred died I was traumatized, but it kind of stopped mattering to me after that. It's part of why Game Of Thrones doesn't appeal to me - sure, realistically anyone can die, but when the writer's just going to snip anyone off at any time, it's hard to get invested in anyone staying alive. So, I try to make my character deaths mean something. Doesn't mean they have to die for a cause or go out in a blaze of glory, but it should mean something for the story or for the characters. In HP, Cedric's death marked the series taking a darker turn. Sirius's death marked a downturn for Harry himself. (Arguably Cedric's did too; they were somewhat similar beats, but Sirius's was much more personal.) You want the story or the characters to be different because of this character's death. As for how, I'm a big fan of tragic irony, myself, and I love some symbolism. I have a cocky ace pilot die because he's convinced he can keep flying (he can't). I have a character known for being eloquent get killed because someone misunderstood them. A character known for always being chipper and upbeat ultimately kills herself. If my character has a tragic flaw, I always want to exploit that - let them be their own downfall. Or, if they're mostly important to someone else's plot, figure out how their death can best effect that character - maybe because of the more main character's own tragic flaw, they're not able to save the doomed one. Maybe the main character is actively responsible for their death some way. There's also something to be said for the out-of-nowhere pointless death. I think that kind of thing is tricky to pull off and maybe they work best if there is some underlying narrative sense, but it's just not immediately apparent. I dunno. But I think that in such cases, that it's pointless needs to be the point.
I don't have any trouble killing off characters. I used to, but not so much anymore. I guess I'm more concerned with telling a compelling story than I am with becoming attached to characters.
Whenever I thought about new characters and stories I always imagined all the way to their deaths, no matter if they were murdered, died accidentally, died of old age, etc. I must admit, seeing some of my characters final moments can make me shed a few tears, but I'm mostly okay about doing it. I would say to treat Lady Reaper with respect in the stories. She's not someone you can use for any situation; it must be only used when it fits perfectly. And only the writer can tell when these moments appear.
I killed off a major character in something I wrote back in high school but have not yet had to do it since, fortunately. Not that I wouldn't. It just hasn't served a story's needs. When you're deciding who lives and who dies, think about who is impacted by that character's death, now and who might be decades down the line. Done well, a character's death can reverberate for years. One of the best-written character deaths I can recall in any form of media was, ironically, in the soap opera General Hospital. Yeah, I know, but look look up "Death of BJ General Hospital" and hear me out. The character who died was a 4-year old child who was in a school bus accident that left her brain dead. Her parents had to make the decision to take her off of life support. Some of the episodes surrounding the character's death were done exceptionally well. It got a lot of press at the time, and people went crazy with the "Did TV go to far by killing off a child" headlines. The character's death happened in 1994 and rocked the entire fictional town, "Port Charles." It's still affecting characters, and their arcs to this day. Just a few off the top of my head: The child's cousin needs a heart transplant and receives the child's heart, which causes survivor's guilt in the now-adult cousin to this day. The loss of loss of their child made her parents divorce (It had been one of the most "solid" relationships on the soap.) One of the parents ended up addicted to drugs and alcohol. The other parent has an affair with a killer. In 2000-something, the child's father dies during an epidemic and dies saying the child is standing next to him. In 2009, the now-adult character who received the heart as a child dreams about what would have happened had she died and the child who donated her heart lived instead. Obviously, it's a soap, so drama is expected to the extreme. But I think it's a good example of what a well-thought out character death can do. Done well, they don't just disappear into thin air. I should add that before her death, the child who was killed off was rarely seen on screen. http://general-hospital.wikia.com/wiki/B.J._Jones_(Brighton_Hertford)
In my current manuscript, I kill off four characters. One dies very early, one dies midway through the story and two die at the end. (whispers) They all deserved to die. I will admit that I enjoyed the creative process of writing their demise (wait, did I just say that out loud). I hope no one calls 9-1-1 on me.
Honestly, I have a hard time killing off characters, I think in all my writings only about a handful of characters have actually been killed off, but there was always meaning or purpose to the death. For instance, one MC sacrifices himself to protect his son, after having dreams where his son or himself are killed by the hands of an assassin. So he made the decision to sacrifice himself. Another Character, the main Duke-General in the MC's army, dies at the hands of an assassin disguised as an enemy messenger. Also as a sort of prequel or prologue (or backstory), the MC's grandfather, Uncle and Aunt (Who were both children) were both killed by a Dragon-daemon, and her father is paralyzed wasted down by the daemon later on. There is another where an assassin is stalking the MC and kills her husband and youngest daughter, and nearly kills her, as a part of a revenge plot for her invading their country. Also in the same book another character dies in child birth along with the child. Oh yeah, also in that same book the MC's father is brutally murdered and she herself is shot but survives. Another important character get's killed by his brother after wining a vital duel, and said brother pulls out a dagger and kills him, after the character spares his life. actually, now that I think of it, (and as I write this) I've killed off a lot of people in my books. . Ignoring the obvious death of the Antagonists, and War deaths of unimportant support characters. There are a few executions, but again, antagonists dying. A few of my MCs get shot, or have attempts on their lives but survive, another secondary Character's father dies in battle. By the way, no Animals die in my books. LOL. except old age or those that are hunted. Though one character does adopt a baby deer after his father kills the mother during a hunting expedition. I think that is about all I can recall without going through my catalog of works. I do have a Serial Killer MC, though at this point he is just in the concept phase and considered a person in history for the planet. He is pretty much my first anti-Hero.
