# When your characters die . . .



## LeonardDHilleyII (May 23, 2011)

Ever have to kill off a good or bad character that you've liked/loved in your book(s)? I am currently dealing with this situation in the fourth book of my series and whether or not that's a good thing, I'm not certain yet.  There is a sense of remorse, and even though this is a fictional character, it's still a loss to me.

Anyone else cross this dismal threshold?


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## 54706 (Dec 19, 2011)

Yes!  It's makes me sad enough that I find ways to bring them back sometimes, lol.


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## LeonardDHilleyII (May 23, 2011)

ellecasey said:


> Yes! It's makes me sad enough that I find ways to bring them back sometimes, lol.


It is one of the hardest things to do . . . letting go. Creating characters is deeply personal, as we authors know their depths, and the thought of losing them does hurt.


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## Colin Taber (Apr 4, 2011)

Yep, I've got one who needs to go down at the end of my trilogy according to the my outlined story arc. He's a personal favourite and also one my readers are quite fond of. 

I'm already looking for other options.

For now I'll just write it up and then review alternatives, writing up the best of those. Perhaps at that point I'll be able to make a judgement about what works best.

If the story needs it he'll have to buy it, but otherwise he may very well end up getting spared.


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## David Adams (Jan 2, 2012)

Well, sometimes your fans bring them back to life too...


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## Kali.Amanda (Apr 30, 2011)

I killed three characters in one of my novels. One I knew would die from the beginning, it actually set the story in motion. The second character was a spur of the moment decision, or actually I found out as I was typing. I had grown sympathetic of the character but I understood why he had to die. I had no exit strategy and once I eked out the ending it occurred to me that there must be one more death. I knew it was the right thing for the story but I delayed in writing it because I didn't want to let him go. I based the character on someone I loved and lost many years ago and it felt great to hear his voice and laughter in my head for a little while. The character was more than the original and I quite liked him. But his story ended as it should have. As long as it is truthful to the story, kill the character, and it you need to mourn them, do so. It means you wrote a great character with great potential. (Hey, you can always write the character's back stories!)


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## Guest (Apr 21, 2012)

Everyone is the hero of that story, and that story comes to a close when they die.  For the characters I love the best, it doesn't seem fair to cheat them out of a poignant, emotional end.

That doesn't make it any easier, though.


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## David Adams (Jan 2, 2012)

In my latest novel (coming soon I swear), there's a likable character who dies. The funny thing is, everyone I've shown it too only says he becomes likeable during his final stand... so, basically, we get a jerk character, who becomes likable at the last minute, then dies.

I guess that makes me a jerk too.


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## jimbronyaur (Feb 9, 2011)

Hey, if it hurts to kill the character, then that's the kind of emotion that will pass to the reader.




-jb


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## TWErvin2 (Aug 7, 2010)

If it has an impact on the writer, an important character the author feels a connection with, then the reader will likely feel the loss too.

Death of characters can impact the course of a novel, affecting not only the plotline, but the surviving characters as well.


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## LeonardDHilleyII (May 23, 2011)

TWErvin2 said:


> Death of characters can impact the course of a novel, affecting not only the plotline, but the surviving characters as well.


This is so true, and it's the same way in real life as well. We are influenced by those around us, and how we carry on once friends and loved ones die.


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## bluetiger1941 (Mar 20, 2011)

I fell in love with one of the characters in _The Treasure of Money Hill_ my soon to be released prequel to _In Search of the Yellow Dog_. I had to kill her off since she was not in _Yellow Dog_, but I grieved over her for days.


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## MegSilver (Feb 26, 2012)

There exists a law in this universe, that whichever series I'm reading, the character I like best will die.

I'm _this_ close to taking it personally.


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## Louis Shalako (Apr 13, 2011)

I'm usually pretty sympathetic to the characters, but sometimes they do have to die. How we kill them, and how we write that scene is interesting. In one case, a character I didn't like much had a magnicifent death scene where he sacrificed himself for others, and sort of redeemed himself. This event threw an entirely different light on the other character's attitudes towards that character. I think it revealed that their point of view wasn't the only one, and that point of view didn't take into account a whole lot of facts. It was all based on misunderstanding.


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## AshMP (Dec 30, 2009)

Well, the first half of my book is all about killing off my character.  She's dying, that's kind of the premise of the book.  It had to happen ... and then figuring it out how to have it happen without was, at first, hard.  I don't know how others do it in their particular genre, but with mine, knowing my audience, I went into it hoping to find grace in death.  

It's funny ... when I was querying, after a full read an agent said she enjoyed the book but felt I'd gone after it ALL wrong.  That the whole story should been what I condensed into book 2.  But, I think the reason my readers are enjoying the book is because I didn't.  I gave them someone to care about, letting people understand who she was ... then, when she died, the death wasn't "worthless" ... it resonated with them, it moved them because they cared for Jenna.


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## Guest (Apr 21, 2012)

As someone already said, if you feel the loss, the reader will feel it too. Personally I've made a variable from the constant "death" part as when my main character dies, the real story of _Crystal Shade_ and hers just begins.. as the main character dies shortly after the beginning of the story, right where the readers already connected to her and love her so much. It's a sad part however and that moment used to make the readers really sad. But as one part says; _For her the end is just the beginning._ Her true story and adventure starts right after her death. The winged lady is my favorite, most beloved character and I'm really glad that the readers love her so much.


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## Carradee (Aug 21, 2010)

Yeah, I kill characters. Actually, I have one planned book where the narrator will die at the end. (Something that will be obvious from the start, particularly because the books before it will take place after that particular woman is dead.)

However, the book before it, I'll have to kill at least one character (who is pitiable anyway). But for character A to die, I might have to kill off character B who I really _don't_ want to kill. But I can't see character A being unprotected enough to be assassinated unless s/he's with character B, who I can't see surviving an assassination that kills character A, because whoever wants to assassinate character A would want the character B dead even more.

Er, yeah. We'll see how that goes.


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## scottmarlowe (Apr 22, 2010)

Yes, I had to take this step in one of my novels. In essence, the character "made" me do it: he/she had simply gone too far and there wasn't any coming back.

At the time, I wrote the ending out with the character living at first, but it just didn't feel as if it had the right sort of impact. I rewrote, killed off the character, and while it wasn't necessarily satisfying, it had to be done and I think it made the story as a whole better.


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## JRTomlin (Jan 18, 2011)

LeonardDHilleyII said:


> Ever have to kill off a good or bad character that you've liked/loved in your book(s)? I


Yes. One of my main characters dies and many secondary characters. I didn't like it, but I write about war.


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## ShaunaG (Jun 16, 2011)

Yes, I totally did and I blogged about it.

http://shaunasspot.blogspot.com/2011/11/finally-finished-fourth-book.html

I knew it was the right thing to do for the story so if you're having issues with that, make sure you're going in the right direction.

Also, I totally balled my eyes out.


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## MadCityWriter (Dec 8, 2011)

_Quote from Colin Tabor: "If the story needs it he'll have to buy it, but otherwise he may very well end up getting spared."_

Pragmatic, but true.

_Quote from Joe Vasicek: "For the characters I love the best, it doesn't seem fair to cheat them out of a poignant, emotional end." 
_
Point well made!

_Quote from David Adams: "everyone I've shown it too only says he becomes likeable during his final stand... so, basically, we get a jerk character, who becomes likable at the last minute, then dies.
I guess that makes me a jerk too."_

Not a jerk...just a good writer. This is a great thread. As a mystery writer, I am expected to kill off characters, and I seldom have the dilemma of killing off someone I really like.

As a reader, I remember how awed I was when Jodi Picoult killed off a main character in one of her novels, allowing him to make the ultimate sacrifice -- heart wrenching but delicious. Then she brought him back to life as a sort of miracle act and spoiled the entire story for me.


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## J.R.Mooneyham (Mar 14, 2011)

I long ago made the choice to make MYSELF the main character in many of my stories. This was originally done with early drafts of my sci fi books, because I wanted the central character's point of view to be an easy task for me, since the rest of the story was so gosh darn hard (it required tons of research, since I wanted it to be the most plausible future scenario possible; plus, that was my very first attempt to write a book). Much later, I ended up writing my strongly autobiographical automotive action-adventure series too, and there was no avoiding making myself the central character there. So I ended up just letting the sci fi be the later adventures of the character in the action/adventure books.

Some years back, after dealing with tons of hospital stays on the parts of my elderly parents, and even going blind myself(!), undergoing surgeries, and then a complication-prone recovery, I felt worn down by it all, and decided to write about the death of my character, and him discovering to his dismay that there actually was an afterlife, and so his work was still not done (OUCH!). This angle gave me not only a whole new and intriguing scenario to work with, but the opportunity to play with the whole afterlife notion itself, of which almost everyone has their own personal hopes and expectations. Plus, few of us can resist seeing someone else's idea of what it might be like. And I was maybe better prepared than most to do such a thing too, as in my youth I'd delved deeply into a wide array of religious thought, as well as the myths and legends which preceded them in civilization. In addition to all that, I'd had a keen interest in the paranormal and metaphysical for a few years too, and so was very familiar with the topics of ghosts and hauntings, ESP, etc. So this was my chance to pull all that together into one work. So I killed myself off, and had my alter ego wake up in the afterlife.

I've only got the story of his first day there written so far, but have plans to expand upon that when I get the time. It's probably a couple years from being published on Amazon, though.

As I still have many stories left to tell about my character's life BEFORE his death (maybe a whole third and fourth series (seriously: I have them well outlined)), I'm not bothered by the existence of the afterlife tale. Heck: I enjoyed it! For it seems somewhat mischievous to me, among other things.

Above, I assumed you were only asking about us voluntarily killing off a fictional character in our stories (my alter ego is certainly fictional in that I can kill him without harming myself). For it's a different matter entirely when you're writing about someone you actually knew and cared about (in autobiographical material, for instance), and you must deliver the hard fact of their death, in order to be true to the facts. In that case, it can be just as heart wrenching to re-read the passages later, as it was to create them. I have one chapter in one of my books I find it difficult to bear reading anew.


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## Luckymoose (Jan 23, 2012)

I live to hurt the reader.


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## Guest (Apr 21, 2012)

Evidently, I'm reptilian in nature. Have no problems killing off characters in books. 

The only time I care is when they're experiencing horrendous circumstances, but not when I off them. 

And I do love my characters and most happy when they overcome difficulties ... but sometimes they don't.


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## William Woodall (Jun 8, 2009)

I haven't yet had to do this, at least not quite.  I'm sure the day will come when I'll have to kill off somebody that I genuinely like, but I don't look forward to it.  After you've spent years getting to know a character, they start to seem like real people.

One of my main characters found himself turned to dust and bottled up in a spice jar for a few weeks until his cousin found a way to rescue him (yeah, I write fantasy, can you tell? lol), and then there was another time when he got shot with a rifle and almost bled to death, so he's had a few very close calls.  But he's never actually kicked the bucket yet.


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## Kathleen Valentine (Dec 10, 2009)

One of my most beloved characters had to die in an early book and it just broke my heart. There was no way to avoid it because, if he did not die, his continued existence would have been very sad. So it was a choice to let him die nobly or live pitifully. Hard choice but one that had to be made.


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## LeonardDHilleyII (May 23, 2011)

Very insightful posts.  I love reading how each of you dealt with your situations.

I have one beloved character in my series that came very close to death.  Each time I revised that part of the novel, I had a hard time.  So many emotions rush through me.


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## MeiLinMiranda (Feb 17, 2011)

I've killed a number of characters, most of whom I didn't mind killing. In the second History book I had to kill off a character who is very close to my heart. I cried writing it, I cried editing it, and I still cry every time I read it. I loved her.  Long term plans for that series include killing off one of the most popular characters, and when it happens I'm going to get kilt ded.


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## JohnsonJoshuaK (Nov 2, 2011)

Nearing the end of Book 1 of 6 I've killed off a secondary character that I kind of liked, but it was necessary to start one of my POV character's descent into madness.

Looking back as I get closer to the end of the book, I didn't give much reason to invest in this character so I'm going to go back through and make him more important.

I plan on killing off two of my major characters later.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2


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## Louis Shalako (Apr 13, 2011)

In my mystery novel 'Redemption: an Inspector Gilles Maintenon mystery,' Gilles falls in love with a woman named Esther. I created the love interest for the sole purpose of creating a shocking murder victim. That's not to say I didn't like her, far from it. She was a very nice lady, but it is only fiction after all. Did the reader want to see Inspector Maintenon catch the killer? I'd say so, yes.


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## Rin (Apr 25, 2011)

Stef just won't stay dead, she always manages to die in a way where there's a way to come back (though the psychological damage is massive -_-). 

I killed a character in my fourth book (secondary character), and there were some strong reactions, though the the majority were "why didn't he suffer more?!".


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## 41413 (Apr 4, 2011)

In my next release, six named characters die on screen. Six.

Mwahahahaha.


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## SaraJoEaston (Dec 10, 2011)

If you count flashbacks, there's a death in every one of my books. It's not like I sought out the deaths; all of them were absolutely necessary for the story to work. I must admit that it was heartbreaking writing those scenes, especially for the good characters. One in particular still makes me cry, though I won't say which one.


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## Rex Jameson (Mar 8, 2011)

There is always the possibility of prequels or books that explore a blind spot in the series (like if that character left the view of the book for days or weeks).

In my main series, creatures are destroying whole solar systems. I kill off or incapacitate lots of main characters.


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## LeonardDHilleyII (May 23, 2011)

smreine said:


> In my next release, six named characters die on screen. Six.
> 
> Mwahahahaha.


Wow.


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## SarahBarnard (Jul 28, 2010)

Kali.Amanda said:


> Hey, you can always write the character's back stories!


That's exactly what I did! Let one of my main characters die at the end of the series, another died part way through. But, then I went back to her earlier years and wrote that instead.


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## Jean E (Aug 29, 2011)

My partner was my first reader, I would print off some pages and show them to her as the story progressed.  Once we were going out for the evening and as she sat polishing her shoes I sat beside her and began to read the next installment included in which was the death of a well loved granny.  I had one of my main characters, a thirteen year old girl, rush to the aftermath of a fire to search out her grandmother and her brother.  The brother is blackened, but fine, slowly it dawns on her that she cannot see her granny anywhere.  

I was so pleased.  The action of polishing began to slow as my partner's concern for the character grew.  The brush came to rest on the leather as she listened intently.  I knew I had her and I was delighted.  Then the reveal that one of the bodies under the blankets is Tweloda Feathergrain and bam!  The emotional impact was charged.  She kept accusing me of murder as we drove to our friends' place.  That was my first big clue that someone else really cared about the characters I created.

Even though my story is set in a village with lots of happy, helpful folk, I decided early on that some people had to die.  Loss is a big part of life after all and I wanted some of my characters to experience the change it brings because I knew it would resonate with many, many readers.


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## LeonardDHilleyII (May 23, 2011)

Jean E said:


> Even though my story is set in a village with lots of happy, helpful folk, I decided early on that some people had to die. Loss is a big part of life after all and I wanted some of my characters to experience the change it brings because I knew it would resonate with many, many readers.


I agree. It is a very big part of life and each person deals with loss differently. That's one of the reason I do write.


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## bluetiger1941 (Mar 20, 2011)

I was in love with one of my characters in _The Treasure of Money Hill_, but since this book is a prequel to _In Search of the Yellow Dog_ and she was not in _Yellow Dog_ I had to kill her off. I grieved for days after her demise.


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## KMatthew (Mar 21, 2012)

I have never written anything where at least one character doesn't die. I actually rather enjoy killing them off, even when I like them.   I hope that doesn't make me a psycho.


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## Ty Johnston (Jun 19, 2009)

WPotocki said:


> Evidently, I'm reptilian in nature. Have no problems killing off characters in books.


I'm right there with you. As I write quite a bit of epic fantasy, I have long story arcs and plots that span across books and years, so I pretty much know the whens and the hows for the deaths of my characters, not all of which will make it into my tales.

When I write horror, it's practically a given some major character(s) will die, usually in the most gruesome manners I can conjure up.

When I write literary material, again, I usually know beforehand if and when a character shall perish. For me, deaths in literary fiction are different from those of genre fiction. Not necessarily better or worse, just different, though sometimes not as emotional. Generally when a character dies in my literary fiction, there is a point I as the author am trying to convey, which might or might not be tied directly into the notions of death and dying.


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## Kevis Hendrickson (Feb 28, 2009)

MarlaB said:


> I have never written anything where at least one character doesn't die. I actually rather enjoy killing them off, even when I like them.  I hope that doesn't make me a psycho.


There's a special place in hell for authors who kill their characters as if death is going out of fashion. It's right next to the room where they keep that guy with the funny mustache.


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## TJVitt (Feb 24, 2012)

I like killing off characters, usually suddenly and horrifically. From the sounds of things, that's not uncommon amongst writers. 

Usually I go for the "rebirth" kind of death where a character DOES die... but comes back in some way, shape, or form. Never the same. Never _exactly_ the same. I write science fiction, fantasy, and horror, so it's entirely doable in a lot of my stories. But sometimes I just feel that a character needs to die, whether because the plot calls for it or because I simply feel there needs to be a change. Sometimes just because I have a flair for including horror and gore into my work and I feel like a story is maybe lacking...

'Reptilian' is a good way to describe it. I prefer robotic.


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## parKb5 (Jan 4, 2011)

I've only killed one character and it was in my new book, the Abnorms. It was kind of funny, I laughed when it happened. But it was meant to be funny in an ironic sort of way.


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## Jan Strnad (May 27, 2010)

I seem to kill a lot of characters in my comic book work. I've _wanted_ to kill some of the cartoon characters I wrote, but they wouldn't let me.

Ironically, in my current comics series, _Ragemoor_, I had it worked out so that all of the main characters survived, but my artist collaborator hated one of them so much that he wanted to bash him with a rock, and I said OK. Another one experienced a fate worse than death and he felt sorry for them, so I let him shoot that character in the head.

_Risen_ is full of dead people. I really felt badly about some of the killings, but...it's that sort of book.

The WIP deals much more with the sorrow of losing a loved one and how that loss can change the trajectory of many lives. Frankly, as I lose more family and friends in real life, I'm much less cavalier about my fictitious killings. The decade since I wrote _Risen_ has been kind of brutal in that regard, so I'm a lot more hesitant to kill a character.


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## Jan Strnad (May 27, 2010)

David Adams said:


> In my latest novel (coming soon I swear), there's a likable character who dies. The funny thing is, everyone I've shown it too only says he becomes likeable during his final stand... so, basically, we get a jerk character, who becomes likable at the last minute, then dies.
> 
> I guess that makes me a jerk too.


Sounds like you'd enjoy _Reuben, Reuben_, either the book by Peter DeVries (a master of dark comedy) or the movie starring the incomparable Tom Conti. Loosely based on the life of Dylan Thomas. Very loosely. Very, very loosely.


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## GWakeling (Mar 23, 2012)

My on and off sci-fi series that I'm writing has a character that was always set to die. Initially, I thought I'd reach the milestone in the first book, but it seems that she's prevailed and managed to weasel her way into book two. Sad thing is, she's really fleshed out her character and I've grown to love her. I'm dreading having to kill her!

Still, it's needed for the main protagonist's path... and that is something no writer can compromise.


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## 56139 (Jan 21, 2012)

ellecasey said:


> Yes! It's makes me sad enough that I find ways to bring them back sometimes, lol.


I'm getting ready to kill one off - but I'm already plotting a way to bring him back!


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## JohnsonJoshuaK (Nov 2, 2011)

GWakeling said:


> My on and off sci-fi series that I'm writing has a character that was always set to die. Initially, I thought I'd reach the milestone in the first book, but it seems that she's prevailed and managed to weasel her way into book two. Sad thing is, she's really fleshed out her character and I've grown to love her. I'm dreading having to kill her!
> 
> Still, it's needed for the main protagonist's path... and that is something no writer can compromise.


That's a good sign! If you love them, your readers will and that is a good thing.

By the end of my series, I plan to kill off several major characters. Not because I like it, but because the story I have laid out demands it.

A mobile post from: Joshua K Johnson
@authorjkjohnson
gunpowderfantasy.com


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## Vickie Britton (Apr 11, 2012)

Because my sister and I write mysteries, we have to kill character off regularly, but sometimes we feel bad about it.  Once, we got so fond of a character, we granted mercy and killed someone else instead.  But that's not normally how it happens.  We killed one character named Earle and I still feel bad about it....


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## Brenda Carroll (May 21, 2009)

Colin Taber said:


> I'm already looking for other options.
> 
> If the story needs it he'll have to buy it, but otherwise he may very well end up getting spared.


This is an interesting topic and one that has caused me much grief  mentally as well as openly (from fans! ). I usually kill off the bad guys as required by the story (hint: Assassin Chronicles ). But then there is the inevitable death of beloved characters as the series progresses. As Colin says above, as writers, we always have the option to do other things with them. If we write in the fantasy or sci fi genres, we can always freeze them or send them into alternate realities and bring them back later or heal them with magic or miracles of the future . In the horror genre, we can bring them back as vampires or zombies or some other horrible creature.  
One thing about my series, if you read epic fantasy series, you can bet that you can never truly kiss off any character for certain.


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## 31842 (Jan 11, 2011)




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## Kent Kelly (Feb 12, 2011)

This may be morbid, but I often consider a character's death scene (even if it's several books out) and then work backwards.


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## dmoonfire (May 7, 2012)

http://d.moonfire.us/blog/2012/05/13/killing-off-characters/

I wrote a blog post about it only a few days ago.  Killing off characters is an interesting thing. The hard part is making it meaningful. Ideally giving the readers enough chance to really get involved with the character before killing them off. I've only really done it once, but it was something I had planned for 20 chapters.


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## Hilary Thomson (Nov 20, 2011)

I was planning to kill off one particular character, but when I began to write her, she turned out to be quite likeable.  All I could think was, oh no, the readers are going to hate me for this.  There was no way to pick apart the plot and rewrite, so I gave her a big sendoff as an apology.  Oddly enough, no one's complained so far.  It appears I may be the only one who likes her.


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## Ty Johnston (Jun 19, 2009)

Kent Kelly said:


> This may be morbid, but I often consider a character's death scene (even if it's several books out) and then work backwards.


Ha! I think every novel I've ever written began that way.


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## LeonardDHilleyII (May 23, 2011)

Ty Johnston said:


> Ha! I think every novel I've ever written began that way.


Interesting. For me, the hardest time to accept it is when it happens unexpectedly.


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## GWakeling (Mar 23, 2012)

Kent Kelly said:


> This may be morbid, but I often consider a character's death scene (even if it's several books out) and then work backwards.


THIS made me laugh.  I do spend an uncharacteristic amount of time putting together various scenes of death or destruction for my novels.


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## Carradee (Aug 21, 2010)

Kent Kelly said:


> This may be morbid, but I often consider a character's death scene (even if it's several books out) and then work backwards.


I actually like the sound of that tactic. I know in one series I'm writing, I have planned some events (and deaths&#8230 out for a few centuries.


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## penrefe (Nov 30, 2011)

KateDanley said:


>


Brilliant.

I have killed many characters. It's usually sad. There is only one I regret; I am considering doing a retcon on it later books, but it depends on whether it will be believable enough. No turning up in the shower over here!


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## LeonardDHilleyII (May 23, 2011)

penrefe said:


> Brilliant.
> 
> I have killed many characters. It's usually sad. There is only one I regret; I am considering doing a retcon on it later books, but it depends on whether it will be believable enough. No turning up in the shower over here!


"No turning up in the shower over here!"

LOL


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## LeonardDHilleyII (May 23, 2011)

Sometimes . . . they come back.  

Seems to be a common thought on this.


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## LeonardDHilleyII (May 23, 2011)

tkkenyon said:


> The first character that I killed, in my first novel, was a jerk and I didn't mourn him.
> 
> The second character that bit it, in my second novel, was much more sad. I wish I hadn't killed her. I'd like to write more about her. I still might create a parallel-universe and resurrect her.
> 
> TK Kenyon


Recently I had someone want me to bring back an EVIL character. Odd?


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## nikkarina (Jan 15, 2013)

LeonardDHilleyII said:


> Ever have to kill off a good or bad character that you've liked/loved in your book(s)? I am currently dealing with this situation in the fourth book of my series and whether or not that's a good thing, I'm not certain yet. There is a sense of remorse, and even though this is a fictional character, it's still a loss to me.
> 
> Anyone else cross this dismal threshold?
> 
> (God, I hope no one goes Annie Wilks on me )


 I have had to kill off many characters in my trilogy. However, I have never tried a way to save them from their final end... I believe that it is just the way things must be. The story must go on with or without that character. I still feel sad after I've killed the off though... Aha.


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## scottmarlowe (Apr 22, 2010)

...someone goes and leaves a 1 star review because they thought the character should have lived. Which unto itself represents a major spoiler which they're giving away to other potential readers, so it's a double-whammy.

Now that I'm writing the next book in the series I put a comment on their review asking if they wanted to decide whether or not this character should come back. Hey, it's fantasy--anything can happen. The offer is sincere. I can go either way with it. I doubt I'll ever hear from the person. They're not exactly what you'd called a prolific reviewer.


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## JRTomlin (Jan 18, 2011)

LeonardDHilleyII said:


> Ever have to kill off a good or bad character that you've liked/loved in your book(s)? I am currently dealing with this situation in the fourth book of my series and whether or not that's a good thing, I'm not certain yet. There is a sense of remorse, and even though this is a fictional character, it's still a loss to me.
> 
> Anyone else cross this dismal threshold?
> 
> (God, I hope no one goes Annie Wilks on me )


I think many of us go through that. I just "killed" a main character from my trilogy and really went through a grieving process.


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## scottmarlowe (Apr 22, 2010)

Now that I think about it I had another reviewer who applauded me for "not taking the easy road". That was kind of nice.


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## S.A. Mulraney (May 20, 2011)

I created a character whose main purpose was to die, which seems a bit morose, but there you have it. It was the way he would die that solidified him in my mind. I kept seeing it over and over and knew that this character's death would play an integral role in the final act of the main character in the series. 

Death has a major impact on people and, sometimes, you have to kill someone off in order to elicit that most basic and powerful emotion.


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## LeonardDHilleyII (May 23, 2011)

S.A. Mulraney said:


> I created a character whose main purpose was to die, which seems a bit morose, but there you have it. It was the way he would die that solidified him in my mind. I kept seeing it over and over and knew that this character's death would play an integral role in the final act of the main character in the series.
> 
> Death has a major impact on people and, sometimes, you have to kill someone off in order to elicit that most basic and powerful emotion.


Wow . . .


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## MorganKegan (Jan 10, 2013)

Kent Kelly said:


> This may be morbid, but I often consider a character's death scene (even if it's several books out) and then work backwards.


Not morbid at all. One of my favorite recommendations to writers is from Hugh Howey: write the ending first. For the series I'm writing, I looked ahead to how the series as a whole would end, and realized that the final chapter of the final book would jump many years into the future, to a celebration the death of the series' POV character, a happy gathering of her children and their decedents, and all the people who's lives she'd touched... and then jump further ahead to her rebirth as the child of her soul mate.


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## Paul K (Jan 11, 2014)

I managed to kill my main antagonist in book 1 of a series. It was not the plan at all, but when I got to the scene, I saw absolutely no reason that my MC would let him live. So, he killed him, and killed him well. My story has changed a tad as a result


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## Vaalingrade (Feb 19, 2013)

I don't have a lot of regard for protagonist/supporting cast deaths after having it ruin so, so, SO many books for me n the past. I try and get me thirst for destruction (Authors are inherently a force o entropy, seeing as we thrive on conflict and disorder in order to drive the story) out in other ways and try and get drama in other ways I find more satisfying.

I kill antagonists, extras, etc, but there are so many better ways of raising stakes or taking a character off the board than death--especially with a series.

I have however taken a character off the board in such a way that I knew I was going to get an earful. And I've got a character who was conceived to die because 'prequel'. I feel bad about losing the character, but I seriously doubt it's going to be a shocking swerve to anyone.


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## LeonardDHilleyII (May 23, 2011)

Paul K said:


> I managed to kill my main antagonist in book 1 of a series. It was not the plan at all, but when I got to the scene, I saw absolutely no reason that my MC would let him live. So, he killed him, and killed him well. My story has changed a tad as a result


I have some characters that readers love to hate and hate to love. The current novel I'm working on has a strong anti-hero in it. At this point, I'm not certain what his end result will be or if he survives. I'll see what the muse decides when the time comes.


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## Debbie Bennett (Mar 25, 2011)

I'm writing from the POV of my bad-boy right now. He's got to kill somebody, sometime in order to maintain the role - I can't have him being too nice. But I rather like him (actually I think I'm in love with him) and I don't want him to do bad things anymore...


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## LeonardDHilleyII (May 23, 2011)

I have anti-heroes that I like, too.  Sometimes there's a fine line, but something about the character keeps you interested.


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## Nic (Nov 17, 2013)

jimbronyaur said:


> Hey, if it hurts to kill the character, then that's the kind of emotion that will pass to the reader.


Writing erotica and erotic romance, I try not to do that. It usually isn't well-received if you kill one of the two or more lovers/partners. Antagonists however may be killed off. I don't resent them going though.

On the whole I agree with Valingraade here: it's usually in my genres a cheapskate trick to create 'teh feelz' and has its own tropes when it comes to side characters, as well as when it comes to main characters. I prefer giving readers an upbeat ending. At times this can mean that I leave the narrative at a point where characters are in danger, but still alive. That allows the readers to choose what they prefer.


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## Ancient Lawyer (Jul 1, 2013)

I suppose George RR Martin has set the bar rather high for killing off likeable (and other) characters unexpectedly.

In one of my books, the death of two significant characters is part of the plot, and the story continues as they travel through the underworld/afterlife. I do feel slightly guilty about this, as it is rather like benefiting from the 'feels' to quote Vaalingrade. But then fiction is the only place where you can bring people back to life. 

But there was nothing for it. They had to die. (cackles maniacally).


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## MyraScott (Jul 18, 2014)

I have a character who dies in chapter one.  He has to, because he's a ghost for the rest of the book.

A critiquer told me they were beating their keyboard in frustration when they realized he had died and said "No, no, NO!" out loud when the car crashed... I got a kick out of that.  It's the first time one of my characters has prompted such an emotional outburst from a reader! (*Nothing published yet.)


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## D-C (Jan 13, 2014)

I killed of one of my fav characters in the second book in the veil series. I really didn't want to do it, but the story demanded it in order for one of the MC's to grow/change. I worried over it, cried while writing it, tried to think of a way of not doing it, but in the end, she had to go. I think, we know, in our guts, what we have to do...
I'm writing a first draft at the moment and kill off a major character. This terrifies me. Again, the character has to go in order for the MC to develop. But man, if my characters didn't hate me already, they do now. The jury's still out on what the readers think, and will be until next year.
I find it tough when something monumental happens. My husband has no clue why I'd be distraught over the death of a fictional character (although he gets it a bit more since watching season one of GOT  ) As writers we go through the wringer and we can't really tell anyone about it. Even when it's published, we have to remain detached to a degree (I do, as I don't want to come off as taking sides or having favorites). 
We should definitely have a fictional character death support group!


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## Kirkee (Apr 2, 2014)

LeonardD: Yes. There is remorse. My characters are real to me. Yes, I gave them life, and wile playing God can be fun to a certain extent, snuffing that life can take its toll.

I once went through that on location years ago for a horror film I wrote & directed. Although the lead female was supposed to get bumped off at the end...I just could not do it. She'd been through so much by then in the story that I felt it was unfair/unjust & spared her life. She got to live. Psychologically impaired certainly, but she lived. 

Now, you can't do that every time, either. Can't spare a character just because you have gotten attached. If a character (good or bad) needs to be wasted for the sake of the story...well, you gotta waste 'em. 
It may take some doing to develop this kind of courage...but eventually you got no choice. Zap 'em, and move your audience to tears... You got your emotional impact. Right?


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## LeonardDHilleyII (May 23, 2011)

JessieCar said:


> I suppose George RR Martin has set the bar rather high for killing off likeable (and other) characters unexpectedly.


Sadly, yes. I've learned NOT to get attached to any of his characters.


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## mrforbes (Feb 16, 2013)

I kill off characters all the time. Some I've been attached to, and I've experienced the emotion of their loss when re-reading/editing the scene. I usually take it as a good sign that at least a few readers might react the same way. 

In any case, I try to write with some level of realism. Characters going through one deadly scenario or another and all coming out unscathed = boring and not believable.


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## LeonardDHilleyII (May 23, 2011)

mrforbes said:


> I kill off characters all the time. Some I've been attached to, and I've experienced the emotion of their loss when re-reading/editing the scene. I usually take it as a good sign that at least a few readers might react the same way.
> 
> In any case, I try to write with some level of realism. Characters going through one deadly scenario or another and all coming out unscathed = boring and not believable.


This is true. Sometimes they die . . . but I agree that realism needs to be there.


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## Vaalingrade (Feb 19, 2013)

There are levels of 'scathed' between 'completely unharmed' and 'corpse pile'.


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## Kirkee (Apr 2, 2014)

Deb, is it possible the reason you've gotten attached is because you've done a good job (as a writer) in creating a 3D character? It happens. They become "real" to us. Human. As opposed to cardboard.

Another possibility is to have your character do a complete 180. It would take some doing, though. Not certain your story is headed that way or that you would want it to. Your call. As usual. 
This is where preview audiences come in (for films, anyway). They decide. Either hurt the film's lasting appeal, or send it to the forgettable bin. Tough one.


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## Stephanie Marks (Feb 16, 2015)

Do I plan it? No, sometimes they just end up dead. My beta readers have been so upset by one of the deaths that one of them actually CRIED. I consider that a job well done. I figure if people start getting mad at me for offing my characters I'm on my way to joining Wheadon, Moffat and Martin, MOAHAHHA! Make room boys, there's a new queen of fandom heartbreak in town.


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## Weibart (Oct 27, 2014)

As one example, I do have a supporting character that dies in my second graphic novel in a series. As I've been plotting the series out, I try not to kill a character until I find their purpose in the story. Killing a character off, for my purposes, has to serve the story by having a desired effect on the characters or on the reader. In my case, the character who dies, I not only have to write, but I also have to give the character's design the same level of attention as the main characters. The "pencil mileage" that goes into designing a character makes killing off a character that much more difficult, but if it has to happen to serve the story, then it's gotta happen!


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## LeonardDHilleyII (May 23, 2011)

Kirkee said:


> LeonardD: Yes. There is remorse. My characters are real to me. Yes, I gave them life, and wile playing God can be fun to a certain extent, snuffing that life can take its toll.
> 
> I once went through that on location years ago for a horror film I wrote & directed. Although the lead female was supposed to get bumped off at the end...I just could not do it. She'd been through so much by then in the story that I felt it was unfair/unjust & spared her life. She got to live. Psychologically impaired certainly, but she lived.
> 
> ...


 Sadly, yes. I remember Stephen King caught a lot of criticism in Cujo because the kid gets killed by the dog. He said in an interview that the kid dying actually saved him from a far worse fate since the dog had rabies.

There are so many levels of beauty in writing. Visual 3D characters are a huge part of that. If the death of a character brings tears to the eyes of the readers as well as the author, that shows a remarkable job in writing. The emotional connections need to be realistic. But as in real life, people we love die. Characters sometimes do, too, and occasionally unexpectedly by the author(s).


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## LeonardDHilleyII (May 23, 2011)

Weibart said:


> As one example, I do have a supporting character that dies in my second graphic novel in a series. As I've been plotting the series out, I try not to kill a character until I find their purpose in the story. Killing a character off, for my purposes, has to serve the story by having a desired effect on the characters or on the reader. In my case, the character who dies, I not only have to write, but I also have to give the character's design the same level of attention as the main characters. The "pencil mileage" that goes into designing a character makes killing off a character that much more difficult, but if it has to happen to serve the story, then it's gotta happen!


I find myself attached to certain characters. Gene Roddenberry kept the central characters of Star Trek untouched by death while he was alive. My guess was that he was attached to them but the audience was as well. It becomes difficult when we invest a lot of time into understanding who our characters are, and then, we find ourselves faced with the inevitable--they, too, face death.


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## Debbie Bennett (Mar 25, 2011)

Kirkee said:


> Deb, is it possible the reason you've gotten attached is because you've done a good job (as a writer) in creating a 3D character? It happens. They become "real" to us. Human. As opposed to cardboard.
> 
> Another possibility is to have your character do a complete 180. It would take some doing, though. Not certain your story is headed that way or that you would want it to. Your call. As usual.
> This is where preview audiences come in (for films, anyway). They decide. Either hurt the film's lasting appeal, or send it to the forgettable bin. Tough one.


I certainly hope he's 3D enough by now.... and yes, he's sort-of turning his life around. In his own unique not-giving-a-f*** style!


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## LeonardDHilleyII (May 23, 2011)

"Only the good die young." The current novel that I'm working on, I thought one of my bad guys would bite the bullet, but it's hard to pull the trigger.


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## C T Sinclair (Mar 1, 2016)

yup, I actually have quiet a few characters schedueled for death in my books.

I dont want to write it, and sometimes it kind of feels like "why?!" but to me, these stories are real and I cant change what is happening despite how much I want to.

I think the most powerful death I have is this 1 character in my lost in europe series, he's not a main character but a secondary one that sort of grows quickly. But in book 3 of that series, he gets killed in a drive by. The ramifications of this death are felt in all of the characters, heck the main one turns to drugs and anger for a good portion of the book which sets a very dark tone.  When I was fleshing out the time-line, his death HURT!

In another series that I am writing, in the final few chapters of the trilogy, the main character Moonglow kills her mother and father (mother by accident, father not so much) because of the events that lead up to that finale. I wrote that in the timeline and I actually was like "whoa...." I mean i knew something had to happen to them, but damn! Took me by surprise!


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## Small Town Writer (Jun 11, 2014)

Yeah, it definitely made me sad at the thought of it, but also excited about the turn the story took after it happened. Hopefully it was a cliffhanger too!


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## A. S. Warwick (Jan 14, 2011)

One of the stories I've written has pretty much everyone die except for perhaps the least likable of the lot who is responsible for all the other deaths through sheer arrogance and glory seeking.


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## Katie Salidas (Mar 21, 2010)

Some characters have to die. Some characters we plan on killing end up getting a pardon. Life and death have to fit into whatever the story needs. 

In my first series, book 3 right in the beginning I kill off a major character. Her death was sad, but it was a pivotal moment for one of my secondary characters to step up to the plate. His reaction to her death was necessary for the plot. He needed to be unhinged to the point of suicidal for the rest of the story, and that served to create the major plot twist at the end of the book. I was sad to kill off that character in the beginning but without her death the story would not have worked. 

In my second series I created a character with the soul purpose of dying at the right moment. And when that moment came, she had become too important of a character to kill off, so she was pardoned and ended up being a major player through the rest of the series. 

I joke about killing off characters all the time, but when I actually do it, it is a calculated and well-timed demise. Unless it is a bad guy. I love to kill off the bad guys.


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## George Saoulidis (Feb 2, 2016)

Obligatory pic:


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## LeonardDHilleyII (May 23, 2011)

George Saoulidis said:


> Obligatory pic:


Picture is worth ten thousand words! Cannot get attached to any of the characters in The Game of Thrones series.


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## TommyHill (Dec 21, 2015)

I knew the character I killed off in book 2 was going to bite it. I knew how I was going to have it happen, and there was going to be no way to stop it. After writing about him, discovering his personality, what makes him tic, etc. I almost didn't want to do it. I was genuinely sad when I wrote his death, but I knew there was no place for him in the third installment...

that and I knew he didn't suffer helps...


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## PJ_Cherubino (Oct 23, 2015)

Yes. It had to be done for character growth. I killed off my MC's best friend at the end of my zombie novel. No danger of spoilers because nobody is reading it anyway ... lol.

Freddy's death was necessary to galvanize  Sam into a true leader of the Zombie Resistance. Freddy sacrifices himsef to save his best friend and Sam has to euthanize him before he turns.

It sucked. I really liked the character. In a way, I sacrificed Freddy for the story. He was the MC's Ally. I would not have been satisfied with the story had I not done this.

I added a wild rogue character to the group at the end as an indicator of the heroe's changed world. The book was fun to write.


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