So I'm having some difficulty with my murder mystery. I'm trying to figure out how to fix a certain plot hole. Basically I need to know what reason my character would have for being unable to scream as he was being killed. My initial thought was maybe he was being choked by his assailant during the actual murder. But I'm not sure if that makes sense? It probably seems like a minor issue but it is pretty important to the plot.
How is the dude killed? A gunshot or sudden blow to the head would drop him before he knew what was happening. I think I heard somewhere that a punctured lung (as with a knife) prevents the air intake necessary to scream, but I'm not sure about that.
I suppose a Silence spell is out of the question? In all seriousness, surprise alone could do the trick. It can often take a person a matter of seconds to realize that severe injury has been suffered, and in that time period more damage can be done. But I will ask why it is important for the gut wound first? I'm assuming so that the vic can flee. If not, maybe start with a slash to the throat. Being choked works, too. Alternately, have the assailant open with a blow to the solar plexus - tough to scream if you've had the wind knocked out of you, and anyone that has been walloped in the right place can attest that it takes time to get air back into your lungs. And then you can have the victim do horrific things like try to scream, but only a desperate croak comes out because they have no breath.
Some people aren't screamers. Take me for instance. I've been in some hairy situations and haven't shrilled yet. If your character isn't a screamer, you owe no explanation to the reader. Let the poor bastard die without a whimper.
That's exactly it. He tries to get away after the first stab but his killer over powers him before he can.
Okay, so I would have the attack open with the aforementioned gut punch, then the stab. Vic starts to flee, can't catch his breath. Stumbles about, and by the time he manages to draw in a lungful of air he feels a hand clamp over his mouth, muffling his screams.
I believe Martin Cruz Smith in "Gorky Park" had a character decline screaming because they were ready and accepting of death. Great, great book btw.
Okay Commander, two ways: 1. The shock of being attacked causes the victim to have a panic/asthma attack; hence, with his lungs constricted he is unable to scream. 2. The first stabbing blow is to the lungs or throat area; while it doesn't kill him the victim, he/she is still unable to scream due to the injury.
There is also this. Especially depending on your POV, it could be easy to articulate this. You could dance from killer to victim or use a third-person perspective to articulate how the victim believed they were screaming for help, but only a reedy whine escaped his lips.
I did consider the idea of him being stabbed/slashed in the neck at first but I wasn't sure if I could swing that if I wanted his injury to be non fatal.
Commander, I am going to offer up some real-life knowledge I have that I was saving for my own works, but I'll give you the idea. A friend of mine is a boxer, well in a fight -which I was attending- he got punched in the chest, which cuased one (you have two) of his lungs to collaspe. IT didn't kill him, (As he was able to still walk and somewhat breathe) but he couldn't really talk (his voice sounded like muffled whisper). You could have the first attack by the killer, a punch (or use the butt of the knife) to the chest; which in turns cuases one of the lungs to collaspe.
It can be nonfatal, at least not immediately fatal, but that all depends on the size of the wound and whether it's just a puncture or and full slice, as well as other things. If you don't cut a major artery, then it's not necessarily fatal, but could still remove the ability to scream. Of course, I'm sure a doctor could actually answer this question a lot better, but I believe this is a reasonable solution. Gut punch doesn't remove all of the breath from someone necessarily, and it depends on the person and whether they had any reaction time. Gut check the wrong person, and the attack can go from a murder attempt to a self-defense case. I think a lot of this depends on the person being attacked, and somewhat on the attacker. Just my .02 is all.
If getting punched in the solar plexus renders you temporarily unable to breath, getting stabbed there should be fairly permanent, no?
Getting punched really hard in the solar plexus sounds like it could work. I imagine getting hit in the throat could also work?
Maybe? I don't have any real experience in that area, but I think that to cause any kind of durational breathing difficulty with a throat shot you'd actually have to partially collapse the trachea, which might lead to a lot of sitting there dumbly clawing at your throat. Like I said, no experience here, just surmising. I can tell you that the reason its hard to breathe after a solar plexus shot is that it short-circuits the nerved connecting your diaphragm to your autonomic nervous system, and temporarily paralyzes your diaphragm. This can last up to two minutes, with breathing difficulty continuing afterwards. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Getting_the_wind_knocked_out_of_you
Can the killer stuff something in his mouth? Was the guy kidnapped at first, maybe the killer sewed his lips together? Maybe the killer wrapped a bag around his head?
