The point of no return

Hey!

Killing a character - it's a difficult one to do right. Of course, you have to first make the reader like the character or at least have some connection with them. But when is the right time to actually kill them off? Or do you just keep them alive forever, leading to comments about "plot armour?"

I used to make YouTube videos and this was one of the topics I talked about. Killing off a character is a maniacal way to make a novel great. It can even lead to having your audience cry over someone you have created from your mind. Who doesn't love that kind of emotional link? What better way to prove how good you are as a writer?

🗡️When to kill a character?

Now, it isn't best to kill a character "when you feel like it." You want the death to mean something - even if it isn't some grand sacrifice. There are many reasons for killing of a character:

• Fear/Power - by having the enemy or antagonist kill off a character that is close to the protagonist, it states how powerful they are as well as getting the reader emotionally invested in the main character getting revenge in some way.
• Mentorship - one of the most common. This is a result of having the protagonist have to step into their own, and usually, this is done by killing off the mentor so that they have to do it all themselves.

😡How to make the reader angry (in a good way)

A particular method of killing a character that truly rips apart a reader is based around character arcs. Having a character have an arc is great, but killing them off can also make it even worse.

An example of this is having a selfish character grow to be kind and selfless, only to then die to the antagonist whilst finally having changed for the good. I hate to write this as I know how much it hurts as a reader, but getting an emotional reaction is the aim of the game here.

🏴󠁢󠁳󠁢󠁰󠁿The point of no return

An issue that you have to be careful of is something I like to call "the point of no return." This is where you have a character, such as the protagonist, and you put them through much emotional damage that you as the reader almost become numb to it.

At first, you feel sorry for them. But after a while, it becomes difficult to keep getting upset for the character. So this is why you have to be careful of having characters die and use it when it best fits the plot or has the emotional weight that you want it to have.

When it comes to character death, it can work well to bring your novel to the next level. Just make sure to use it sparingly and focus on doing it well. Writing is great and especially when you can create such an emotional reaction from a reader. Just make sure not to hurt your reader toooo much.

That's all from me today,
Fin :)