Killing off characters: the shoulds and shouldn’ts
1. Why you should
The death is a major plot point
It reveals some shocking plot twist
It supports your themes/what you’re trying to say with your book
Your novel explores the afterlife
You are George R.R Martin and the selling point of your work is that everybody dies
It suits the genre/mood of your novel
2. Why you shouldn’t
The character isn’t serving any purpose (this isn’t the Sims)
You want your readers to be shocked for the sake of being shocked
You want to be edgy
You think your MG story needs more gore
You want to romanticise grieving/loss
3. How you should
This really depends on your genre and target audience
If you’re writing something that isn’t intended to be graphic/traumatic, you can stick to the impact the death has on the other characters. If your novel explores illness, focus on that rather than on the disturbing death scene itself. Perhaps you’re writing a drama/tragic romance - you might want to ease up on the gore here. For these genres, I would suggest focusing on the emotional aspect of the death - the sobbing, the last words, the bright white lights (whatever floats your boat). Think of Mufasa in The Lion King - the actions are suspenseful, but we don’t see him being trampled with his guts spilling everywhere. But it’s still one of the most impactful deaths in fictional history.
If you’re writing in a more mature and gritty genre (like thriller, dark fantasy or crime), you can go all out. If there’s blood and guts, you readers probably want to see it in vivid detail to get their violence fix for the day.
Whichever genre your novel falls into, you should also go with what feels comfortable to you. Even if you’re writing adult dark fantasy, you don’t have to write graphic violence to make a character death impactful.
4. How you shouldn’t
Please don’t let your character have a three-pages-long monologue after they’ve been stabbed in the throat. It’s not realistic and it’s often very boring. Yes, a few well-written last words can have a great impact. Just make sure that your character would realistically be able to speak at that point and that it doesn’t become a cheese fest.
Unless you’re aiming for very dark/nihilistic humour, afford your characters some dignity in the way they kick the bucket. (e.g. don’t use the phrase “kick the bucket”). Having someone slip on a banana peel and then choke on a pretzel is a little ridiculous and will make the entire story seem silly. Once again, this really depends on what you’re going for. If your genre is serious and your character is important and beloved, try for emotion rather than whimsy.
Don’t let your characters die only to be resurrected again and again and again. Look, I love Supernatural (long may they reign), but even I have to admit that the Winchester brothers’ luck with death has become a bit ridiculous. Doing this takes away from the impact of the death - it removes the fear and suspense, and will leave your readers emotionally stunted.
5. Who you shouldn’t
Your only female character in a bid to make the male hero feel something and become a better person
Your only LGBTQIA+ character, who is just too pure to live in this terrible world
Your only character of colour, who dies to save the white hero
Your only disabled character, who can now finally find release from life with disability
The one character who has never experienced a sliver of joy and bears the brunt of the tragedy, right when happiness is finally within their reach
The main character in the middle of the story - unless you have a REALLY good plan for what happens next
Reblog if you found these tips useful. Comment with your own thoughts on killing off characters. Follow me for similar content.
Wooooooooah 2018 passed so quickly?? ngl when this year started, I just wanted it to be over. But this year I got back into writing around May and I’m so grateful that I did! So here’s a little summary of my writing year.
Stats:
List of Fics Posted:
The game begin ; NCT ; Jungwoo/Lucas.
Red as blood and green as seaweed ; Stray Kids ; Hyunjin/Seungmin
Glow ; Stray Kids ; Hyunjin-centric
Love is ; Stray Kids ; Hyunjin/Felix
Storm and stars ; Stray Kids ; Felix/Jisung, Chan/Minho, Changbin/Hyunjin & Jeongin/Seungmin
Of detention and makeout sessions ; Stray Kids ; Felix/Jisung
Of locker rooms kisses ; Stray Kids ; Chan/Woojin
Of studios and nose kisses ; Stray Kids ; Chan/Jisung
Of palm kisses and chipped nailpolish ; Stray Kids ; Felix/Woojin
Guess how much I love you ; Stray Kids ; Chan/Felix
Of warm beds and morning coffee ; Stray Kids ; Chan/Minho
Sharp fangs and blood stained hands ; Stray Kids ; Chan/Seungmin
Dishes, vaccuum cleaners and soft kisses ; Stray Kids ; Chan/Woojin
Twist and turn, moonchild ; Stray Kids ; Chan/Jeongin
For as long as I am breathing ; Stray Kids ; Chan/Felix
I’ll hold you as you bleed ; Stray Kids ; Chan/Hyunjin
Take my hand and never let go ; Stray Kids ; Chan/Felix/Woojin
Hocus pocus ; Stray Kids ; Chan/Felix
Fuzzy socks, ugly sweaters and sweet ‘I love you’s ; Stray Kids ; Chan/Felix/Woojin
31 days of kisses ; Stray Kids ; multiple ships
Twisted Souls ; Stray Kids ; Chan/Felix
[Unannounced skz exchange fic]* ; Stray Kids ; TBA
*WIll update with tag and name later when the fic is announced.
Total number: 22
Total word count: 228.442
Ship/character breakdown:
I always try to vary the ships I’m writing to give content to all ships, even the small ones. But over this year I’ve come to love Chanlix a lot, so the ship I’ve been writing the most is Chanlix, Jilix being a close second.
Characters that had the main focus:
My top 3 of 2018 is:
1. Chan, who’s the main in 13 fics
2. Felix, who’s the main in 9 fics
3. Hyunjin, who’s the main in 6 fics
I’m obviously aussie line biased. Also I’ve realized that I really enjoy writing Chan for some reason.
Specifics:
Best/worst title?
Best: For as long as I am breathing. I have no idea why I like it so much, maybe it’s because I like the au so much but it just makes me happy when I see the title.
Worst: Red as blood and green as seaweed because ?? what ?? but since it was just a short thing I’m not gonna bother it hdhd
Best/worst first line?
Best: The moon was bathing the lush, green forest in its sickly white light as it slowly rose on the dark sky. - From Twist and turn, moonchild. I just really liked this one for some reason. It sets the mood really nicely imo.
Worst: “You look nervous,” his father noted as their carriage was making its way towards the castle. - From For as Long as I am breathing. This is just... uGH like I don’t really hate it, it’s just that I wrote it just to get started with the whole fic and then I never went back to change it and it just feels kind of awkward.
Best/worst last line?
Best: The stories of the creature so twisted and the soul so kind. - From Twisted souls. I just really like this one, unclear why really. But I really enjoyed the last two paragraphs of this fic.
Worst: “Thank you for being my bodyguard.” - From Twist and turn, moonchild. Because... what? why and uGh no. I struggled with wrapping this fic up because I wanted to keep it short and I guess I just pulled smth out of my a ss to just end it.
Best/worst summary?
Best: This is the story about a creature so twisted by evil, who found their way home. - From Twisted souls. I really liked this one. Because it sort of gave some of the plot away, as a summary probably should do, but also kept to the more poetic vibe I went with for this fic.
I also really like: The sun rose, painting the sky a beautiful pink as it bathed the landscape in its warm light. In the comfort of his home, their home, Woojin awoke slowly, surrounded by nothing but love and warmth. - From Take my hand and never let go. Simply because this is one of few summaries that I actually wrote specifically to be summaries.
Worst: Vampire!Chan & Witch!Felix in a very domestic setting. - From Hocus pocus. I don’t really have a summary that I really dislike so I’ll just put this one here simply because it just stares the content and it’s pretty boring.
Favorite 5 lines from anywhere?
1. “You know what would be even better?” Felix asked and Chan hummed, lips still pressing against Felix’s skin and his hand came to rest on Felix’s thigh. “If you married me this winter.” - From For as long as I am breathing.
2. “I’ll chase the fear and the pain away, love,” he promised as Hyunjin let out a choked sob. - From I’ll hold you as you bleed.
3. “You’re no longer wilting away,” Felix’s whispered, stroking the back of his hand over Chan’s cheek. - From Twisted souls.
4. “And then they lived happily ever after,” he said, pressing his lips against Felix’s. - From Storm and stars.
5. But he was getting better. - From Glow.
General questions:
Looking back, did you write more fics than you thought you would this year, less than you thought, or about what you predicted?
Considering that I wrote 700 words last year, so for me to write over 200k... that was very unexpected.
What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted last year?
Stray kids because 1. I didn’t stan them last year and 2. I barely wrote anything last year.
What’s your favorite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest.
I don’t... I don’t really know. All my three longfics are special to me but I think For as long as I am breathing or Twisted Souls takes the prize as my favorite... I think I’m gonna have to say For as long as I am breathing.
Okay, NOW your most popular story.
The most popular must have been Storm and Stars, but its also the oldest of my multichaptered fics. 31 days of kisses and For as long as I am breathing are both closing in on Storm and stars when it comes to the amount of hits.
Story most underappreciated by the universe?
TWISTED SOULS. But also like, its just recently been completed (and I know some people dont read unfinished fics), its a pretty underrated ship (so I guess not a lot read fics about them) and the tags + the word count might be a bit intimidating.
Story that could have been better?
[Redacted] could definitely have been better. I didn’t manage to get a full grasp of how I wanted the plot until it was maybe a bit too late and it ended up super rushed.
Saddest story?
Twisted souls probably. It deals with some pretty heavy things and yeah, it’s the saddest thing I’ve written this year.
Most fun?
hM.... Most of my fics are pretty serious or just straight out fluff and not really funny in that way. But... maybe Hocus pocus ? Unsure but that’s the funniest of my fics lmao.
Story with single sweetest moment?
For as long as I am breathing has a bunch of insanely sweet moments and I just love that au.
Hardest story to write?
Twisted souls but that’s mainly because of the fight scenes. I’m pretty bad at action so that was a challenge.
Easiest/most fun story to write?
For as long as I am breathing... That was insane. The words just came to me like poOF and it was so easy to write for me... why is very very unclear.
Did any stories shift your perceptions of the characters?
I don’t... think it did no. Not what I can come to think of.
Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?
I tried writing action, but that’s more of a challenge than a risk I guess. I don’t think I took any risks per say but I challenged myself a little with action. I’ve also tried to work on my descriptions, both nature and clothing. Not a risk, but a challenge.
What are your fic writing goals for next year?
Wips I really want to finish:
- Sequel to For as long as I am breathing
- “Suffer suffer scream in pain” aka a gore piece I’m working on
- A new merboy fic
General goals
- Get better at descriptions
- Work on writing action scenes
- Be a bit better at editing
- Write around 300k
- Start working on my own original piece
That was everything... I think! 2018 has been an amazing year for me, writing wise, but I’m a bit sad I didn’t get back to it earlier. However, the response I’ve gotten this year has been amazing and I don’t have enough works to express my gratitude.
So I wanted to try Mucha’s style [we were studying art nouveau this week in history] and I wanted to do something “elegant” for this fic. I really liked it, so here it is!
Inspired in this beautiful fic: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16612916 Author’s twitter: https://twitter.com/pinkpunchmango
Check her fics, you won’t regret it! They are SUPER WELL WRITTEN AND BEAUTIFUL!!!
if you’re anything like me, working on a computer is a dangerous thing. i’ll get distracted by everything - that one email i should respond to, all the pictures of my dog, tumblr, and so on. I recently discovered an amazing resource to stop that.
it’s called writer’s block, and is free to download!
when you open it, it shows this screen, where you can choose either a time limit or word goal
then when you start, it opens a document that fills the entire screen like this
and you cannot quit the app or open anything else until your word/time quota is filled. i just wrote half of my english speech that i’ve been putting off all morning, and it took only 20 minutes!
so yup, it’s called writer’s block and is free for both mac and windows. enjoy!
Word count: 25k
Pairing: Chan/Felix, side!Changbin/Jisung
Summary:
I’m Chan,” he continued and Felix just nodded, his heart about to burst through his ribcage. Chan reached out a hand, palm open and Felix just looked at it. “May I?”
“Oh,” Felix said, his brain suddenly remembering everything he’d been taught on how to greet people and he placed his hand in Chan’s. Chan’s hand was so much larger than Felix’s but his grip was so careful as he brought it up to his lips, pressing a soft kiss on the back of Felix’s chubby hands.
“It’s nice to meet you, Prince Felix,” he said, grinning widely and Felix’s couldn’t hold back the smile stretching on his lips.
Author’s note: That one royal/swan prince(ss) au no one asked for. Check out this art by MakotoRitsu, it’s so TvT good hehe
LINK TO AO3
So I just came across your story Storm and Stars and let me just say that it's one of the best fics I've read in a long time. Your writing was incredibly consistent as I could find no plot holes whatsoever, and the way you explained anything that could be a potential plot hole didnt feel rushed. You did an amazing job of creating your world and actually presenting it throughout the story to the audience. Love it, I really felt like I was sucked into the story👍 you've gained a follower
oh thank you so so much! I’m glad you liked it TvT
It's authors like you that need to be praised for their work. Your story Storm And Stars truly exceeds regular Fanfiction. I enjoyed your story on various levels. Keep up the good work. From one author to another. 🧡
Hello, I just couldn't help myself but to ay this; Your story Storm And Stars was honestly so good. I found myself being pulled into the world you created, and I didn't want to leave. I genuinely love the way you expressed the emotions through words and found it refreshing. Everytime I was pulled away from the story I found my mind swirling with your story, I was and am truly captivated by Storm And Stars. Thank you for writing such a beautiful piece and sharing it with the world. ❤️
Send my muse a curse to transform them for a day (or however long the mun/sender decides). Feel free to combine curses to create a terrible, or beautiful, monster!
Third Eye: The muse has an eye placed anywhere on their body that is often visible (forehead, chest, hand…) and this eye has the ability to see glimpses of the future, another dimension, and/or supernatural entities.
Horns: The muse has horns sprouting from their head. The size and number of horns is completely up to the sender!
Slither: The muse now has a long, serpentine tail and has lost the ability to walk on their legs.
Cloven hooves: The muse has to walk with a pair of hooves instead of feet. Add furry legs for a classic ‘satyr’ look if the sender wishes.
Lovely locks: Instead of hair, the muse now has … something else up there. Snakes, tentacles, spines, dripping slime - the sender can use their imagination!
Gaping Maw: If you have two mouths, can you eat twice as many tacos? Let’s hope. The muse has a second mouth placed anywhere on their body, either hidden or visible, and it’s full of razor sharp teeth.
Fangs: The muse’s ordinary mouth now sports sharp vampire-like fangs.
Jaws: Hell, since when is two sharp teeth enough? The muse now has an entire mouthful of razor fangs.
Scratch: Instead of fingernails, the muse now has long, pointed claws. Be careful with those things.
Thwump: Who doesn’t want a tail? Now the muse has their own tail. It can be cute and delicate or heavy and covered in spikes depending on the sender.
Hiss: The muse has a long, long tongue. Tapered or forked is up to you!
Porcupine: Porcupines are cute, but a little hazardous when annoyed. The muse now has sharp spines placed anywhere on their body (back, elbows, legs…).
Swamp beast: The muse can breathe easy under water with a new set of gills, and why not webbed fingers and toes to go with it?
Majestic birb: Now the muse has the power of flight with their own set of wings. Are they fluffy bird wings, leathery bat wings, or buzzing insect wings?
Piercing Gaze: Whatever the muse’s original eye color is, they now have something different and unusual. Pure black eyes, milky white eyes, bright red eyes - it’s up to the sender!
Snout: The muse has swapped noses with any type of creature. Give them a beak, a pig snout, a feline button nose, or even a canine muzzle.
Solid, Liquid, Gas: The muse’s entire body is made up of something other than flesh! Turn them into a gooey slime monster, a red-hot lava monster, a hard rock beast, or even a wisp of person-shaped fog.
Leathers and Feathers: The muse has more than just smooth skin now. Add some scales, feathers, fur, or an exoskeleton!
Size Difference: Grow or shrink the muse either a little bit or a whole lot.
Chameleon: Give the muse bright neon skin, wild colors of hair, or exotic stripes and patterns. Plaid? Go for it.
I made these as a way to compile all the geographical vocabulary that I thought was useful and interesting for writers. Some descriptors share categories, and some are simplified, but for the most part everything is in its proper place. Not all the words are as useable as others, and some might take tricky wording to pull off, but I hope these prove useful to all you writers out there!
