Midorea V3 Development Merch | Search | Memberlist | Vault | The Forge | Battle! | Temple
   
  
Goody Shop Reward

      Log-In   Not a member? Register Now! 
Midorea Forum Index / Writing Chat
Goto page 1, 2  Next
Post new topic   Reply to topic Character Deaths
Keylaleigh



Send private message


 PostPosted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 7:31 am Reply with quote        
They occur all the time, and I hear that writers get really upset when they happen.

Is it weird that I kind of enjoy killing off my characters? I love killing off a character, major or minor, because it helps develop my living characters, and forwards the plot in some situations.

So... how do you guys take killing off your characters?

_________________

Maeve
Moderator
Moderator


Send private message


 PostPosted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 9:00 am Reply with quote        
I don't know what to think, really.
Sure, seeing one of your characters die, especially if it's an important one, can be a bit difficult. After all, you've seen him grow, developed his personality, and most likely you've become attached to him. However, people die in real life all the time, as unpleasant as it is. Why should it be different in the written world?
Plus, as a writer, you basically choose what happen to your characters. So, if something happened that caused the death of your character and you didn't want it to happen, well, you planned your things wrong.

I agree that it can develop the living characters and give them more depth, although I think death is kinda over-used for that reason. I mean, how many "he lost his brother/sister/mother/father/whatever important person in his life" have you seen? Yup, lots.
For some reason, I think death is often use as an easy reason to introduce one aspect of a character (he's doing that because x person died and loved that, etc.), or to end a situation to which the writer can't find a good or original ending.

Now that I think about it, I think I've never killed one of my characters. Some people in their past, maybe, but they were not characters (they didn't play a part in the story), more like memories.
I'll need to try it XP

_________________
On semi-hiatus all the time during school year.
I'll reply to post whenever I can.
PM me if you need a quick answer.
Chu
Assistant Admin


Send private message


 PostPosted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 11:08 am Reply with quote        
Oh, god, this topic definitely brings out my sadistic side.

Death has always been fascinating to me - I enjoy hearing about different methods of murder, suicide, or simply natural deaths. More than anything, I love hearing about how different people cope with death, and their beliefs on "life after death" or whatever they consider to be true. I like seeing death test people's religious beliefs, and how it changes them in some cases. As it turns out, the human heart is much more fickle than most would think in the field of religion.

Needless to say, I LOVE killing off characters. I view all characters in a story as real people in one way or another, so I try to make things as realistic as possible. Nothing bothers me more than an apparently sensitive character hardly mourning her parent's death or something. >_> Addressing Maeve's issue with it: I agree. Most of the time when I kill off characters, it's in the middle of the story, after they're already developed. Why? The reasons vary, but most of the time it's either to detach the main character from something that they couldn't make up their mind about (divine punishment, in a way) or to get a bigger point across about co-dependence or something.


Anyway - and I know this may raise some eyebrows - saying that I view my characters as humans still doesn't rank them very high in my heart. Humans come and go; no one is more or less important than another, and their deaths are inevitable. I'm one of those "Dance, puppets! Dance!!" people - manipulation is fascinating and, for better or worse, I've found it to be a talent of mine in real life. To me, it's like playing with barbies. My writing doesn't change that.


Yep, Chu has a bitchy, unforgiving dark side. WHO'DATHUNKIT? Hai


_________________
Add me on Skype! I'm ewitsChu. Even if we've never talked, just tell me your username in the friend request and I'll accept.

Keylaleigh



Send private message


 PostPosted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 12:34 pm Reply with quote        
Glad to see I'm not the only one who enjoys it.

And when I say develop characters with death, it'll be mid-story, and I love showing how the living characters react to it. Like the normally tough guy bawling like a little baby, or the small child not knowing exactly how to react in such a situation, but knowing that they're sad.

_________________

Mad~Hatter



Send private message


 PostPosted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 1:37 pm Reply with quote        
To me a good story takes people on an emotional roller coaster and death is that one big drop. I'll admit that death can be a bit overused as the beginning of a story, mostly because it's used as a device to get the ride off to a fast start. The only problem with that being that if it's a bit too fast, then the rest of it may feel a bit slower or not as exciting.

Personally, I prefer my major deaths at the end of a tale, after readers have become attached. That sounds a little cruel but I like how it pulls people into the realm of the story because if the thing has been well written, then the people mourn with the living characters. The sense of loss and tears spilled seems that much more real.

When I write I usually pick one or two characters (maybe more depending on the tone of the piece) from the start that I know are going to be the center of a tragic event. Sometimes it's death and other times it's something close to it or resembling loss. Then there are times I don't know what it will be and just decide to put an omen over there head for some later events I haven't concocted yet. In any case, I do that because then I'm able to mentally detach myself from them a bit and it allows me to think logically about how the shall experience it. It doesn't always work on the emotional level but it's just something I try to practice so I don't try to deviate away from the plot...
Kimi_Delaetus



Send private message


 PostPosted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 10:43 pm Reply with quote        
I'm not fond of doing away with my little minions--I tend to get attached, unless they're villains. Them I kill any place, any time in a story and I do it with no remorse. There are exceptions to my little 'rules' but they are few and far between.

In general, though, there isn't character death in my stories. Deaths will be referenced, such as "so and so's father died, so they have daddy issues" or it might be mentioned that a character died, but it generally isn't an "on-screen" occurrence.

There are, however, two exceptions.

One being "so and so's friend died, which put this in motion, which revealed the missing piece that allowed the good guys to finally piece the mess together" is the type of situation that is normally the only reason I permit charrie death.

The other being...

Sometimes I will randomly take a disliking to a character for no apparent reason. That usually ends with them getting killed in a gruesome manner. Dunno why, but it just seems to happen.
Syd-Cymbaline



Send private message


 PostPosted: Wed Jul 28, 2010 8:38 pm Reply with quote        
Weeeeelll, one of my characters that was my favourite (and first) DOES die, so I guess I enjoy it to some extent.

Like Keyla said, it brings such people together and their memories of the character fly by their faces and that is when true grief is held. Through all of what they did, one thing, one tiny (or big) thing thrown into the mix and they end up dead.

It makes the story more true and more believable. Also, some times the reader does not like the character, so bringing some joy to their lives is good. However, I'm not saying to kill ALL of your characters, for there would be no story... XP

Of course, with most of my stories, they have a bitter sweet ending... XD which ends up with me coming up with a squeal..
Keylaleigh



Send private message


 PostPosted: Thu Jul 29, 2010 11:05 am Reply with quote        
One of my dad's favorite books ends with "and everybody died. THE END." He likes that because it actually ends.

_________________

Chu
Assistant Admin


Send private message


 PostPosted: Thu Jul 29, 2010 11:11 am Reply with quote        
That is an awesome ending. XD

_________________
Add me on Skype! I'm ewitsChu. Even if we've never talked, just tell me your username in the friend request and I'll accept.

#FFFFFF



Send private message


 PostPosted: Thu Aug 05, 2010 6:32 pm Reply with quote        

      Honestly?
      This is a topic here?
      Jesus Christ. >u> I love this place more and more everyday.
      -Cracks knuckles and types-

      Well... Seeing as I am a horror writer most of the times, I enjoy killing of characters to the highest extent... It's interesting to think about the many different ways an actual human can die so that you can type up/write up ways for your fictional characters to die as well, even if it's just some random man on the side of the street that takes a bullet to the head...

      Death is a sad subject, but... Not too much for me when it comes to my writing. Sure, I'm sad when people die... Maybe overly so since there's been quite a lot of death in my life but it happens all the time... Especially in my writing.

      Killing off a character that was loved is sometimes a good thing because it brings things out in the character that you didn't realize was there before... Maybe they're sad because the person died, or maybe it makes them realize that they didn't really like them anyway... Or maybe they are the cause of this person's death and they feel remorse... Or even joy.

      Death in stories/novels/movies/roleplays is always a window opener to allow all kinds of things to come in... Sure, it makes some people upset but if done the right way it can add the proper amount of shock value to spice up an otherwise boring novel.


_________________

DrunkenShark



Send private message


 PostPosted: Fri Aug 13, 2010 2:46 pm Reply with quote        
I'm not really into character deaths in most of the case even if for some plot I can't get enough of it...
When writing, I usually write main characters I like too much to kill definitively (yep, some cheat death haha), but many of my secondary ones get to die at some point, especially when "bad guys" are implied: I find it more realistic when "bad guys" truly are bad and don't hesitate to kill innocent unimportant or secondary characters. At the same time, I don't hesitate to kill them either.
I might have watched too many James Bond movies, you know: you get shitload of cool bad guys, but you know from the start they are going to die, yet you don't care... Laugh

When I was younger (like what, 7 or 9 y-o?) I used to make characters that had lost their parents since it gives you some kind of freedom: with no family around, the character is able to care about himself only. Imagine any action hero having to visit his parents on holidays, worry about them when bad guys or danger threaten them. I don't like characters that are just too attached to their family or friends in a "action scenario" (makes them weaker) and I don't usually like other genre than action (and sci-fi and thriller and horror XD sometime comedy, but rarely). But from the time I've spend roleplaying with various people, I realised the "orphan trick" is too cliché: for example, I was in a Supernatural RP years ago, well 25 characters out of 39 had lost either one or both of their parents, few more having lost siblings to monsters ans all...
Now I simply avoid to mention family, or I write them living far away from the main characters.

As for reading or watching or anything, when character I like gets killed I have trouble getting over it. I don't know why, I just can't accept endings, I hate endings. Even in TV show, the show finale I hate when they resolve everything, I like opened ending and such only to think of their adventure as "not over yet".
But I mostly dislike stories where loved ones get killed since, as it was mentioned, not only is it over used, but it often lead to long reflexions on life and death and purpose and spirituality. I am more fan of action and I am purely atheist (and I am very alergic to religion... Fan of mythology, but alergic to religion, if you can see the difference), so speeches this kind disgust me from the story, just that simply. I've start reading many fanfiction that started good, then some character got some terminal disease of mortal wound, (then every character starts to wimp or get angry and they talk about the life after death and blah). Then I could not keep on reading no matter what promise of good writing there will be since in my head, the simple words "allright, they're trying to sell me a bible" will just stick to my mind until I give up.

I must say, I am a fan of physical whumping; I often need only a whumping scene in a story or a TV show (I know, we're talking about writing <_< but still, fanfics are based on tv show very often...) to get hooked on the entire thing. Most of my favorite shows or books or stories became my favo only because I caught a glimpse of a whumping scene. When the whump is good, I even get physical reaction to it (faster pulse, flushed cheeks, wave of heat... you get it). I'm into hardcore (but not gory/amputating whumpin), such as squeletal injuries, muscle injuries, gun wounds, hemathorax and all the lung troubles, concussion, stabbing and more... So you can tell I am not a choir boy (not a boy either XD) anyway.
However, the moment the whumped character dies or is deadly injured or deadly sick, it just suddenly horrify me and I immediatly stop thinking the whumping as hot. It's not only depressing, it makes me feel uneased, and sometime the story becomes kind of taboo for me: everytime I think about it, the akwardness comes back and wins over the whumping.

The only exception is when it comes to a simple scenario: a woman losing her husband/boyfriend and going crazy about it, halucinating him, remembering the feel of his skin and arms around her, feeling broken everytime she remembers places and things she did with him and this sort of thing you can say about it. I've seen something like this before in a TV show and since them I just am obsessed by the simple scenario: my favo character portrayed by my favo actor ever died in this thing and the woman he loved like mad had to cope with the loss. (or at least the character had been cloned and one of them was killed, but even if I knew there was another one remaining so it was not a real death, it was stricking)

That was so intense, the woman's distress was so strong I always kept in mind that the loss of your lover is the number one drama scenario. It's like not having a boyfriend and wanting one, but in 100 times worst since you know you had one but you will never get one like him again no matter what.

When I write deaths that are not permanent, I like killing the male character I find attractive for the same reason. (But of course I find a way to bring him back, magically of by sci-fi ways, a little traumatised and all so my bout of "OMG mah man is deeead! TT__TT" don't last long enough to depress me)

Hope I made sense at least a little XD


_________________
-----------------

Gunnar, RP character from the Tavern:
http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/7963/dessingunnar.jpg

You think you can handle French ? Then come and take a look at my breathtaking action packed webseries at :
http://tricksters-webs.over-blog.com/
Martyr



Send private message


 PostPosted: Wed Aug 18, 2010 6:21 pm Reply with quote        
Well I've never wrote a story nor a fanfic, but I do like character deaths especially if they are tasteful / tactful, so I can completely understand killing a character for story progression. I have to admit, I do think I would have to try killing off my most favourite / attached character just to create a reaction within my self which could echo within the story, but saying that I have absolutely no idea how to execute such a plot twist nor if it is wise.

The only thing I despise about character deaths if it is the main character of the story that has been such an icon / part of the story (such as spanning over several books) and especially if they have struggled and overcome hardship after hardship, then that would annoy me to no end. I just don't see the point of such an iconic character, even the mascot perhaps, being disposed of like that, but then saying that I wouldn't like them to have a perfectly normal and uneventful life in the end. I guess I just feel like "Well, what was the point of all that then?"

Also the thing with ending a story. I guess I really like it when they tie up all the loose ends, knowing that life carries on, a real conclusion to the story. However open-ended stories are brilliant! I mean they are so thought-provoking that I can't help to wonder what's happening, which is also very detestable to me due to the fact that I would like a somewhat definitive answer to quell my imagination. I suppose what I'm really saying is that an open-ended story is the way to go but hint at how the current "adventure" / "plot" ends, or tie up most of the loose ends and leave some open to imply that there is a future and that it never really did end.

Well sorry for a few confusing paragraphs, I guess I'm to inexperienced to understand and unsure what I want out of a story. But man did I contradict myself!

Oh and I completely hate those endings where "The whole world blows up and everybody dies. The end." it's just so...unprofessional and distasteful. I've only ever seen that once in a children's book for 8 year olds so I do see it to be really immature and pointless.
stazzy



Send private message


 PostPosted: Mon Sep 16, 2013 6:37 pm Reply with quote        
I don't love killing a character, but I do love writing the other character's reactions. I find it intriguing if it's murder or suicide, because there are many methods of that. But when the death is accidental, I prefer the death to be simple and the grief to be complex.
In one story I wrote, there was a group of friends and they all had very intense problems except one. You can see where this is going, right? The one without problems turned out to have cancer. This made the others realise that if something so awful could happen to someone like that, someone so happy, then what were they doing?
I also love writing & researching torture... Sweat
Juneberry



Send private message


 PostPosted: Mon Sep 16, 2013 6:45 pm Reply with quote        
I'm a bit of a hypocrite when it comes to character deaths. I love my characters to the point where it really is quite hard to kill them off for me, but at the same time, I absolutely love torturing them emotionally and physically. I'm still trying to decide if one of my characters who I implied the death of is actually dead, and I'm currently in the midst of deciding it I will later on kill a current character or not.

I can't seem to kill characters I hate as easily as ones I like though. I can think of ways far more easily to kill my most precious characters. It's sorta funny that way.

_________________
PM me to RP. Always looking for partners~
Monthly Theme Writing Contest
Charity|Quest Thread|Item Shop|Art Shop
superbinka



Send private message


 PostPosted: Sun Sep 22, 2013 9:15 pm Reply with quote        
Generally, I don't kill off my characters. It's about the genre, I guess. If you're writing an action/thriller story, character deaths make sense, but for some teen fiction or fantasy stuff, keep them alive! It doesn't add to the plot, it takes away a character.

That said, I am working on a story surrounding a girl committing suicide. Not at all like my usual stuff, but the bits that I am really enjoying writing are the reactions from the other characters. The people who suddenly confess that they were her best friend, after teasing her all the way through, the best friend who is too stunned to speak to anyone for ages and retreats into her own world, the one guy who refuses to believe it and convinces himself that it's a school-wide prank. They're the gold in the story.
Post new topic   Reply to topic Goto page 1, 2  Next



Powered By phpBB Home | Rules | FAQ | Help | TOS | Privacy Policy | Contact us