Killing (and Resurrecting) Characters

You may love these characters you've created, but there might be times where one or two just have to die. Sure, your villain might meet his or her maker by the end, but sometimes a hero might have to die.

I'm not trying to make anyone cry here, you don't have to kill characters. If you're writing a light story, a story intended for young children, or if the events of a story or the genre just don't permit characters dying (for example, a high school romance story), then by all means, don't kill anyone.

But if you're writing serious fantasy, action/adventure, historical fiction, or science fiction, that's when a serious reader will expect some people not to make it out alive.

In my view, there are three main types of death, each with their own pros and cons.

The Sudden Death

Example: The army commander raises his sword to rally his troops, and is immediately shot dead with an arrow.

Pros: Great for shocking the reader and reminding them that you're serious with this, very believable if there is battle.

Cons: May turn off some readers, especially if they liked the character.

Hold Their Hand Death

Example: The hero meets with his contact from the drug ring in a dark alley, and when they finish, the insider walks away. Suddenly, a man with a pistol appears and shoots the insider. The hero shoots the newcomer, and rushes to the insider, who is lying on the ground, still barely alive. He calls 911 and tries to stop the bleeding. The insider manages to sputter out a few words, but dies before the paramedics arrive.

Pros: The most balanced of all the deaths, it isn't too jarring (as long as you hinted that someone was on to the insider) nor is it melodramatic (usually).

Cons: Can also be jarring.

Dramatic Speech Death

Example: The hero and his older cousin are traveling through the wilderness when the cousin falls and gouges his leg on a rock. They bandage the wound but it soon becomes infected. Three days later, the cousin can no longer go on. The hero lays him down by a tree, and the cousin tells him the secret of how his puzzlebox works and how to use the magic amulet inside.

Pros: If done right, can be the saddest kind of all.

Cons: Very easy to screw up and make too melodramatic or cheesy. Is considered very cliché.

If you must use the DSD, make sure that the wound is actually one that would allow the dying person to talk. A wound to the throat would not only kill them within minutes, but would also make talking very, very hard. And if you make the DSD-er a wise old mentor, I will get my dog to poop in front of your mailbox.

We've seen the kinds of deaths. But with them in mind, what is the best way to go about killing off characters? Once again, if your story is supposed to be light or for kids, you don't have to kill.

1. Keep a balance. If there are battles and such, don't have all the main characters get off scot-free without so much as a scratch. Still, unless your story is a horror story or intended to be very dark, don't kill everyone or just leave one or two alive.

2. Keep a balance in the types of deaths. Don't kill everyone who dies off suddenly and unexpectedly. Likewise, don't give everyone a dramatic death speech.

3. Don't cheat and say that characters die when the only ones who die are minor characters.

This is how you go about killing the characters, whether they get killed by the villain, disease, an accident, or just old age. 

What comes after death? You guessed it, resurrection. How does the writer handle resurrection?

Simple answer: It doesn’t. Resurrection is always an incredibly cheap and cliché move.

Long answer: Resurrection is almost always an incredibly cheap and cliché move. There are ways to make it more acceptable, but first, let’s look at exactly what’s wrong it in the first place.

Quick question: When reading a story, how does the very real possibility that a likable protagonist may die affect you? Most likely, it creates suspense and tension. Now if the protagonist dies and is brought back to life, that tension shatters into dust and is scattered to the winds. Why should I care if the hero dies if he can just be brought back to life by magic or divine intervention. It also tends to be a huge Deus ex Machina. Written yourself into a corner? Just have the hero die, the enemies leave, and then have the hero brought back to life! Isn’t that a great idea? No. It’s not.

Now, here are a few things that might make it less annoying to the readers. Even so, it’s best to avoid it. These tips are the equivalent of putting pillows on the front of a train speeding at you. It’s still going to hurt.

1. Hinting at the possibility of resurrection beforehand. It makes it less of a shock and a Deus ex Machina when it happens.
2. Having the process of resurrection be extremely difficult, either something that the dead person must do in the afterlife or before death, or something that the dead person’s friends must do after the fact. If the dead man’s lover has to travel to the Underworld and bring him out before the next full moon, that would sure put a cap on the number of people resurrected.
3. Giving resurrection some kind of disadvantage to the person being resurrected, or the person doing the resurrecting. Maybe the newly resurrected person loses his body and lives only as a spirit, unable to physically affect the world around him. Maybe he must place his soul in an object and keep it close, and if the object is destroyed, he dies for good.
4. If heroes can be resurrected, why not villains?