It might come as a surprise that this isn't really a topic that I wanted to cover. Why is that? Well, for starters, an article about killing fictional people seems a little strange. Like, what if a non-writer stumbles upon this? They're going to be seriously disturbed. So on that note, here's a disclaimer to everyone on the Internet: we're talking about fictionally killing off fictional characters in fictional stories. It's writing. It's all fake. It's tapping your fingers on a keyboard and making words appear. Violent words. I do not condone actual violence in real life in any way. But really, we're talking about every writer's secret obsession. Death scenes are very common in fiction because writers are freaking nuts. This is probably going to get weird. You've been warned.
by Jenna Moreci
The problem is death scenes can make or break a piece of fiction depending on how they're written, why they're written, and how they impact the overall story. You want your death scene to mean something to the audience. That doesn't mean it has to be sad or be some kind of spectacle, but even the smaller deaths have to pack some kind of punch.
1. What's the point? Not every death in your book has to be monumental, but it does have to serve some kind of purpose. Your job is to figure out the point of the death scene before you write it, and no, making the reader sad is not a reason. It has to serve some greater significance to the plot.
2. Shock doesn't count: It's awesome when a death is shocking, but shock value cannot be the sole reason behind it. Full stop. Shock value is cheap. The readers know what you're doing, and it lessens the quality of the reading experience. Shock loses its value when repeated because readers start to expect it.
3. Relationships: If you're going to kill off a character, you have to determine the relation to the MC in order to get an idea of how it will affect the reader. Know what this death means the MC, and it will significantly help with creating the right tone.
4. Pacing: Mirror the emotion with the pacing. If the death is swift and shocking, the pacing needs to be swift and abrupt. Don't drag out the death in long, rambly sentences; it'll make it feel like it's happening at a snail's pace which is the opposite of what you want. On the flip side, if the death is long and agonizing, then the pacing should be slower with much longer sentences.
5. More of this crap: Show, don't tell. Utilize your character's five senses. Describe how the sadness feels in their own body.
6. Melodrama sucks: Avoid melodrama. Before you write this, ask yourself, would this happen in real life. Would you do this? If the answer is no, you got yourself some melodrama.
7. Reaction: Remember the effect of the death on your character and the plot.
8. Don't do this: Foreshadowing is not your friend. Congratulations! You just eliminated the element of surprise and dampened the emotional experience! That was stupid!
9. Zombies: Resurrect at your own risk. Before you resurrect a character, be 100% certain that this is what the story needs. The more you lay on the emotion over the death and the longer you wait to resurrect them, the bigger the risk. You may be pissing your readers right off.
10. It's not that cool: Calm down. A lot of writers, especially newbie writers, feel like they gotta write a massacre in order to be edgy. "I'm not a regular writer. I'm a cool writer!" It's fine to kill off a lot of characters, heck I've done it myself, but as we've already mentioned, it needs to make sense for the story. You're not "cool" just because you spilled blood, and if there isn't a point to it it's going to seem fortuitous. And to everyone on the opposite side of the spectrum, don't feel like you have to kill off characters if it doesn't suit your story. You know your word better than everyone, and if it's not that kind of book, it's not that kind of book. Death scenes do not make you cooler than any other writer; it's just another plot point.
YOU ARE READING
writing 4 𝚠𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜: WRITING ADVICE TO MAKE YOU A BETTER WRITER
Non-FictionWriting is hard. Being a writer is even harder. But with "Writing 4 Writers," you CAN become a better writer. Every time I sit down to write, I reference this collection of writing advice from a variety of blogs, writers, and YouTubers: Jenna Moreci...
