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Making a character's death exciting, emotional, unique and believable

Alex

Troubadour
I want to see if anyone has any tips on making a character's death dramatic and exciting as well as unique and believable.

Moderators: I apologize if there is a thread for this already.
 

Devor

Fiery Keeper of the Hat
Moderator
To me, with action, bad things should happen in steps. Play with it.

First the character seems overwhelmed, but then he appears to turn it around, then he dies. Or the character sees the "killer" coming, but he has to deal heroically with a number of other situations while it gets closer, then he tries to escape but it's too late. Or things get bad, then worse, then the "murder death" is avoided, but then the tragic "flaw-driven" death happens suddenly.

Stuff like that.
 

Sinitar

Minstrel
That thoroughly depends on your plot and characters. I'm not sure what you mean by unique, but you can use the story's structure to your advantage. I'd like more details in order to help you though, as it's not the death itself that is exciting. That is just a tool. What matters the most is the explosion of the pent-up excitement that accompanies the end of a narrative thread, or character in your case. You can't surprise your readers if the events that lead to such tragic outcome are not equally strong and captivating.
 

Alex

Troubadour
By unique I mean something that isn't overly used like "You go, I'll keep 'em busy" kind of thing. However, I see your point. Correct me if I'm wrong but what you're saying is that it matters more who the character was, what led to his death, and the consequences of his death?
 

TGNewman

Scribe
Change up something in your writing style, whether that it be from a different POV, or from changing POVs throughout. I also find a dramatic change of pace, even for a moment in the scene, can really add potency to a death.

Another way is to not actually write about the death. leaving that crucial moment out can make it really powerful for a reader, as their own imagination goes to work, along with a desperate want to see if the character is really dead in the next chapter.

Just some general advice. I hope it helps.
 

Sinitar

Minstrel
Yes and no. We already know who the character is. Your job is to surprise us with a revelation that the plot suggested, yet the readers may or may not have deciphered the clues you left along the way. Let's use a thief as an example to shed some light into my arguments. You have this guy that does all sorts of mischief, but that's only because life had left him no alternative(that offers your readers a chance to sympathize with the character.). After a while, the thief is presented a choice, and he picks the wrong one(the readers may hate him at this point). However, this thief is also a self conscious fellow that understands his purpose, and decides to assassinate a nobleman that the readers also dislike. He gets close, but fails in the attempt. Here, we're left with mixed feelings. We don't like the thief, but we also dislike the nobleman. Luckily, the author does a good job at detailing the thief's motives, and since he can't be a villain in his PoV, he does what feels right to him. The audience will think the same thing, and may even get past the initial hate, because they now want to see that nobleman die.

But it's the thief that dies. It can be a ceremonial death, or simply a stab in the gut. Thing is, the readers will surely enjoy it.
 

Rullenzar

Troubadour
It all depends on how you write your characters. Your readers will have more attachment and emotion invested in a characters death if you make them that much more likable or despised. It may be overdone but the reason the 'you go ill hold em off' works is because its basically a suicide mission and if you've made this character badass your readers will grit their teeth hoping he doesn't die even though they know he probably will.

On the side of unique it all depends on your story, it should be something you come up with as your world is yours alone and someone looking in from a paragraph description wouldn't give you something proper.

In general though a unique death in my book is one that is completely unexpected. You didn't see it coming, you didn't know this was it, you thought he'd be saved in some way. Martins scene where he kills off daddy winter was completely unexpected and shocking as an example.
 

Alex

Troubadour
Thank you all so much for the answers, I think I've got some ideas now. I really appreciate the help.
 

Ralph Fg

Dreamer
Just sharing some thoughts...

As mentioned, for a character's death to have some impact on the reader, the very first condition is that he/she should get at least some character development so that the reader gets attached to him/her. (You would feel disturbed by seeing a stranger die, but more so if it is a signifcant other or friend who die.), but how the character development could be administered depends on your plot...

Anyway, one common way is to give them some character development through a major character, say the one who die is your main character's close friend, and he has something to do with the main character's development.

You may also try to use victimhood. Specifically, you may try to tell the reader that he is some kind of victim in the first place. For example, if an assassin failed a mission and is about to get killed, you could first establish him/her as a victim by exploring how he/she is somehow forced (by someone, or by society) to become an assassin. People generally feel particularly disturbed when they see someone they feel sympathy for die.

One strange method I have seen is the way of dying. Say, being stabbed to death has some emotional impact, while being tortured, flayed, then beheaded will have stronger impact. But I would say that this method is probably only suitable for minor characters.
 

Alex97

Troubadour
First post by the way!

Probably stating the obvious here, but some suggestions anyway. There's a variety of different feeling that need to be covered both emotionally and physically and this will depend on the character and the circumstances of his/her death.

For physical feelings you can focus on pain sickness or even fading away if that makes any sense. You can also focus on sight, smell sound... Again pretty obvious stuff that goes for any bit of writing not just deaths.

Then there is the emotional side which if done well will be a bit more complicated. If your character has a slow death and doesn’t die instantly consider the fact that he/she may begin to loose consciousness. For example if the character is being stabbed death the pain may begin to die down and their thoughts may drift off into a dreamlike state.

Just some ideas :)
 
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