《How to Write Stories People Will Love》Question 94: Killing off a character
Advertisement
asks: I'm writing a book where I have 4 main characters. I was planning to make one die. The question is, is it okay to kill off a main character, or will the readers hate me too much?
Killing off main characters can be controversial, but if the reasoning behind it is sound, then there shouldn't be much hate involved. Readers may still dislike that it happened, but they would understand why it had to happen.
Your first task, then, is to nail down the purpose of this character's death. Why do they need to die for the story to work better? Is it simply for more drama? That is usually not enough of a reason, unless it's a soap opera. Long, unending story lines often need a character death to shake things up before it gets stale.
For most stories, though, this is usually not the case. Here are some examples of character deaths serving a purpose:
This is the essence of martyrdom. Leaders do a lot of good, but sometimes their death makes them rise into the role of a martyr, immortal in people's minds. "Don't let his death be in vain!" is something you hear a lot in movies involving a revolution or other mass movement.
A death of someone important could be the push that someone needs to get off the fence and do what they were meant to do. People often take the others in their lives for granted. They don't realize the important role they play until one of them dies, then they spend the rest of the story trying to make up for it.
Sometimes the actions of a few aren't enough. Sometimes It takes a public death to get the media to notice and publish articles and news reports about it. New laws are often enacted after someone dies and it gets plastered all over the news.
What are some other motivations you writers have come up with for character deaths?
Advertisement
--Blacksmith's Ire, Book 1 of the Vengeance of the Wind Trilogy--
Animus sees himself as just another child growing up in a small village located between two mountain peaks. Those around him, however, know differently. His legendary parents, a power-driven older sister, a hermit wizard that serves an ancient, long-forgotten power, and a mysterious beautiful woman all know of his significance. Each seeks to manipulate him, to coerce him toward paths of their choosing. But when a powerful foe disrupts their plans, Animus begins to realize who he is—and what he can become.
8 146Maker Of Power
Reality turns Legend. Legend turns Myth. And Myth vanishes over time. But not these Myths. Not this Legends. Not this Reality. No. These are stories that everyone knows. Stories sang time and time again. Tales of magic powerful enough to rival whole kingdoms. And the people that wield that magic. Everyone knows them. The tale of Velacinir, the Great. The song of Alek, the Skilful. The Legend of Waner, the Lost Smith. The Myth of Kaveli, the Unifier. All people know these things. These Storys, Legends, Myths, Tales, Songs. And mostly everyone thinks they never happened. But they did. And I was part of them. All of them. I was there. I might not have been the one to kill the dragon. The one that found the skill of resurrection. The one that fought whole armies for their family. I might have not been those people but I was there. Because although I may have not done those things, the people that did it weren't created from night to day. They did not just appear. They were taught like everyone else. They were just better at the things that people taught them. That I taught them. Yes. I am not the one that songs are being written about. I may not be the one whose legends perdures even until today. But one thing I am. I am their teacher, their instructor. I am the one that made them what they became. I am... Who am I? I had many names through the ages, but there was one that stuck to me the most. I am the Maker of Power. But like the ones that I thought. I was also a normal person before everything that happened. And this is how it all happened. This is MY Story. MY Legend. MY Myth. MY Song and MY Tale. This is MY beginning. And YOU SHALL LEARN IT. ------------------- Release schedule: Nonexistent.
8 182Ambitions of an Immortal
Countless years ago the first cultivators appeared in the Enlightened Realm. They were powerful beings who could perform incredible feats. They had great power and controlled the very forces of the universe. They did this by understanding and mastering the Heavenly Laws. Then a change occured. The Heavenly Laws left to a higher realm leaving behind only echoes of themselves. Without the original Heavenly Laws in place cultivation has become easier in some ways and harder in others. Only the Chosen may cultivate. It is in this realm that we follow the tale of a sickly young man filled with emptiness. Driven only by a deep ambition, chasing a dream of eternity.
8 142The Doctor, His Dealer, & Dohrnii Island
Leonhard Matthias Frost is a high-strung and lonely young man. In the pages of his journal, Leo has been documenting the twists and turns of his life for over a decade when he befriends a strange group of young students. Hopelessly enamoured with a young lady in this queer group of individuals, the beautifully intelligent Elvira Floyd Ellis, Leo jumps head-first into the antics of this eccentric band of misfits. Such a bizarre and kinky group they are, Leo’s new friends pull him into a world of peculiarity and madness. A world where reality soon slips from Leo’s spiralling grasp.
8 190Lục cung phượng hoa (ngocquynh520 convert)
Lục cung phượng hoaTác giả: Tầm Hoa Thất Lạc Đích Ái TìnhGiới thiệu:Tạ quý phi, chịu đựng chết tất cả kẻ thù, ở tám mươi tuổi lúc sống thọ và chết tại nhà mỉm cười cửu tuyền.Không ngờ vừa mở mắt, lại trở lại hồn nhiên thiện lương thời kỳ.----------
8 193Prisoner 138 {The 100} [1]
Ariella Coyn was born in space, and shes lived there her whole life. She's been a prisoner on the Ark since she was 11 for a crime she didn't commit. Now a year later all 100 juvenile criminals are being sent to the ground and she's the youngest among them. She's shy, quiet and keeps to herself at first as she doesn't know anyone, but once she gets to talking to Bellamy Blake, the stowaway who committed a heinous crime to protect his sister and Jasper Jordan the geek with the goggles she starts to come out of her shell a little more. The 100 are forced to build a camp from the ground up with no help from any adults. Tensions build as drama break out among the teens over who is in charge but that's the least of their worries as they soon realize they're not alone on the radiation-soaked planet known as Earth.{Ranked #1 in the100cwRanked #1 in theCWRanked #1 in Bellamy}{Completed in 2016}
8 102