Killing characters

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ALynnPowers
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Re: Killing characters

Post by ALynnPowers »

I have never killed off a character. They just die. It's how the story happened. I didn't actively kill them :)
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Post by wordscrafter »

Fred Weasley and Dobby - Wost character deaths!!
And Hedwig and Snape!
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Post by Miri Faye »

There must have been some book character I would have loved to see killed off, but I can't remember right now. I have killed the main character in my short stories, though. it makes it interesting. But, I have it when I love a character, and they are about to die, or die (Like Thomas in the Scorch Trials).
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Post by moderntimes »

Which of these characters who died were those from adult fiction vs from YA fiction? Just wondering, as sometimes the character death in juvenile fiction is tossed off without sufficient preparation or justification. Sometimes the characters are also "lost" in these mammoth wargame actions that are so prevalent in fantasy. If the story or fiction is from a realistic venue (like a mystery or legal fiction) then there's normally more justification.
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Post by dcarey »

I have to say that The Great Gatsby is one of my all time favorite books. The story conveys such an underlying sadness and truth about how love and lust can affect people. I also agree with you, if Daisy could have been the one to die in the end of the book it would have been great. I hated everything about her character. She's greedy and vindictive and scornful but while her character made me want to strangle her at times it just brought a little more realism to the book. The main character doesn't always get the girl and the girl doesn't always deserve to get away with every little thing and move on with life, but it does happen. You can't control everything where emotions are concerned and this book was the perfect example of that.
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Post by moderntimes »

Never thought about killing off Daisy -- ha!

I've killed off various characters in my books (and plenty in my horror short stories!) but most have deserved it or at least led themselves into the raw end by being incautious. But in my newest novel, I killed off a principal character who definitely didn't deserve it and that is the central turning point of my whole novel. So I hope I made the character's death worthwhile.
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Post by Liz_Loves_To_Read »

I have to say I admire a writer who can kill off characters as needed in books. The courage and grit needed to write the death of a character you have literally breathed life into has to be gut wrenching.

I find as a reader that I become attached to certain characters and truly grieve when they must meet their demise. I find this especially true in the romance genre when reading a series. A reader can have followed this character from birth to death, with all matter of adventures in between.

I am reminded especially of The Sky O'Malley series by Bertrice Small. Somewhere around the seventh or eighth book it was time for Sky's passing, the scene was beautifully written. I cried.
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Post by moderntimes »

Regarding the killing off of the primary character in a series, which in effect ends the series, there are two that I remember as were supposed to happen but didn't. One was the Travis McGee character and the other was the Spenser private eye. In both series, literary rumors were that the authors had written a final novel in which the principal character gets killed off or dies. In both cases this turned out to be incorrect. Spenser author Robert Parker, for instance, died of a heart attack while sitting at his desk, writing. A pretty good way to go, if you ask me, but no, he had no final story in which Spenser dies
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Post by shackettb »

George R. R. Martin does a phenomenal job of killing the best characters in his opus "Game of Thrones."
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Post by Gustavsson »

While I like when authors have the bravery to kill off important characters-it can be important to the plot-I don't like when authors kill off too many characters. Sometimes it gets to the point where seven of your favorite characters have died in one book and you become too numb about it all to even care anymore. That was Mockingjay for me, and the Deathly Hallows came close. I prefer when only a few characters die so that you have the emotional capacity to mourn them all fully.
As for myself, I did once kill off a main character in my writing. But it was more because I felt the story needed the death to give a sense of resolution than because I wanted to show I was serious or improve tension or anything like that. And it was in a short story. I'm not strong enough to kill off my darlings in a novel yet.
As for Daisy, if I could have traded her death for Gatsby's I would have done it in a minute. Honestly.
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Post by LivreAmour217 »

wordscrafter wrote:
Fred Weasley and Dobby - Wost character deaths!!
And Hedwig and Snape!
I totally agree about Weasley, Dobby, and Hedwig. WHY?!?! Their deaths were sooo unnecessary!!! But although I cried like a baby when Snape died, I understand why J.K. Rowling did it. I think he was doomed to a life of unhappiness because of his love for Lily, and death was probably an escape from this endless misery.
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Post by THWilliams82 »

hello all, Newbie here (making my first post). This topic caught my eye. I personally seem to prefer novels with happy endings. I read books in order to escape to another world and find I become so emotionally vested in the characters that I much prefer them to live happily. Having said that, although I haven't read the books, watching the Game of Thrones tv show is such a nail biting experience wondering who will die! So I guess it's exciting.

Characters you were waiting to be killed- Professor Umbridge in Harry Potter!
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Post by debbiebee »

It probably doesn't reflect well on me, but each time I re-read Jane Eyre, which is often as I love it, and encounter the saintly Helen Burns, my gut reaction is, oh, just get on with it!!!
It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see.
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