There are a few types of people out there in the writing world.
Type I - Those who bawl their eyes out when they kill a character, because they are emotionally attached to it...
Type IV - Those who don't care either way, because to them it's just writing...
Regardless of which group you belong in, you will probably end up killing a character in your writing career. So, here are somethings I have done when writing a death scene.
Make it believable -
If it's something like:
"Jimmy swam steadily through the channel, but just moments before his rescue a narwhale impaled him."
Okay, seriously, you are crazy enough to be attempting to write a book in 30 days, please have more imagination. Try something more realistic:
"Collin should never have been in the alley, but he was late to be home. His thoughts turned to the thrashing his father was sure to give him for his tardiness. The cold bit into his cheeks as he buttoned the top button of his coat, it was then that Tony appeared from the shadows. Tony made good on his promise, the next time the two met, one would die."
What is the difference?
Jimmy gets killed by a narwhale, and Collin gets killed by Tony. So what?
Well, the difference is, narwhales do not have a habit of killing people. (This may not be true if you are writing about whaling ships.) From the bit of information on Collin/Tony that I gave you, there are things you can infer. Collin is probably a young man, and he and Tony have a past. With that you have motive for murder, thus it is more believable.
Believable does not have to be detailed or graphic in nature. I killed a character once by having him fall to his death while climbing, but my reader heard about it from the police officer telling the deceased character's wife. So, obviously it was short of details, and only gave the point...he died.
Believable does mean following through. If a character dies, remember that he's dead, and don't make the mistake of having him walk through another scene as it can be hard to fix. (When you edit in December of course.) But also remember that if a beloved character is killed, your other characters would need to deal with that trauma. So don't forget them.
Now, the dirty work.... the death of "Someone".
How do you kill a character?!?
Now, this is where you get to let out a bit of your depravity and creatively murder a person (legally!!!!).
I've killed characters by car crash, bullets, abortion, and falling off a cliff. So, be creative and be sure to stay on that topic.
Such as:
If you shoot Someone, you need to know, the person would not (typically) die instantaneously, while a head shot would turn them off permanently.
If you beat Someone to death (with fists), it might take a while.
If you kill Someone by accidental death, it would be very traumatic for nearby witnesses.
If you kill Someone through a long battle with cancer, you may need to know some pharmaceuticals and physiology.
If you kill Someone by Roman Coliseum, then the character would probably be pumped full of adrenaline and terrified.
It is not hard to kill off a character, it's actually very simple. But just remember these things:
- Someone needs to be acknowledged as dead,
- Someone needs to stay dead,
- Someone needs to be mourned or celebrated,
- Someone's death scene can be edited and perfected in December.
Lastly...remember, "bad guys" die, but also "good guys" die too...maybe you could pull off a fantastical way of bringing back your main character's nemesis or your main character.
Lastly...remember, "bad guys" die, but also "good guys" die too...maybe you could pull off a fantastical way of bringing back your main character's nemesis or your main character.
John 11:1-3, 7, 11-17, 21-27, 39-44
""Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” After saying these things, he said to them,“Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly,“Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days.
Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”
Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”"
(For complete story, click here)
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