It's typically good if it makes sense. Killing off a character just for shock value is icky. The Walking Dead has a reallll bad habit with it. Or had, idk, I stopped watching after they killed off a bunch of characters I liked
Okay, here's something important:
Someone is killed for a reason, often for good drama and to drive character interactions.
But sometimes the author doesn't want to kill off a character, so the death is a fake-out.
The main way to identify a fake-out is that the characters will stall in the grieving process and come out of it unchanged.
Fake or not, a death must have proper in-universe ramifications in order to be good.
If your characters stall in the grieving process and come out unchanged when it's revealed to be a fake-out, or if they are unaffected by the death, real or not, then it's not a good death.
I've planned and already killed a lot of my characters. sigh
In the sense of why I kill them, there's a few things I will consider. The 'why this character deserve to die, if the killing is necessary, and how it'll affect the characters of environments.
(it's pretty late, I can't really say much cause I'm tired). Is this even relevant to your question? -_-; ).
I think another reason for this mistake is because there are a lot of times in particulars genres that the writer didn't really kill the character? I mean, sometimes they just kill them and bring them back few chapters later revealing us the big twist that they actually survived.
I remember watching a show like this that revived 9 out of 10 characters, so by season 3 every time a character died it didn't even get me to blink
Yep, this is a brilliant video to watch about this topic, and they make a lot of great content anyways.
I had intended to post this myself once I was able to get the link, but it looks like you've beaten me to it!
The most important thing is logical buildup and emotional follow through. You also have to look into your reasons for writing or depicting the character's death. In my case, because my comics are nonfiction, and yes, a lot of people die, I try to tread carefully and treat their lives and deaths with proper respect, but also without glossing over them if I can avoid it.
The other characters have to be shown reacting appropriately, otherwise, it's just weird. Also, if the dead character comes from any culture or religion with specific funerary customs, it may be important to show those in a respectful manner, especially for the readers. Seeing that the characters they love are being respectfully mourned can help give them closure.
In fiction, I absolutely loathe shock value deaths, calculated to actually hurt the fans. The shock value death was invented by sadists, and I take no delight in being so cruel to readers.
I don't like convienence deaths. As in, such and such is an orphan because I didn't feel like writing parents or a back story. Stuff along that lines. You can have a batman scenario, but make it good. Make it thoughtful and relevant, shaping the character.
Generally, if the character death was part of moving the plot forward then it's fine. I think a lot of people get hung up on the character dying rather than what their death means. If a character is killed off in a novel I'm reading, I usually just think "okay, what's this going to do with the plot". Revenge plots are valid, as long as the character was central enough or important enough to warrent the motivations of the character. While yes, it has the potential to be done, sometimes incredibly, bad, I think there aren't that many rules you need to follow. Just make sure it works for the novel/comic you're writing, and make sure they don't die for something as stupid as shock value, because that's where most books fall apart.
If it makes sense to the story, do it.
People will have their opinions on if the love it or hate it, but a lot of readers respect a high stakes story. That being said, if you're gonna kill them, don't bring them back conventionally. It takes away the emotion and high stakes attached to the death.
Hey, just joined Tapas but I love this topic. Death can be a great motivator, but as you've all said, it needs to really show on the MCs or MCs closest relationships, otherwise what's the point? If characters just go, "Oh. They're dead," and then get back to business, with no real repercussions to be seen, heard, or felt, than why should the reader get interested in these characters, both the ones living and the ones now dead? We will all feel grief in our lives, and that should be a way to relate to characters.
Oh, and random deaths like those of GoT and TWD just become, "Oh. They're dead. Oh, well, back to work!" And unless there is a genuinely stated reason why, the dead should stay dead, and the story universe all the worse for it (as in physically, not literally... if that makes sense? As in characters WILL suffer because someone/some people died). So in stuff like Green Arrow everyone... stays... dead. I stopped watching quite early on when uninteresting characters kept getting resurrected.
Again, great topic!
Personally in my webcomic PestGenoCide, i just killed the characters once i didnt want them anymore. Rip the only female character lmao.
When the character death is impactful, and felt for chapters after the fact. One Piece did it surprisingly well for a few key characters. Another one would be The Legend of the Galactic Heroes. People don't just die and are forgotten an episode or chapter later. It hurts the characters and clearly has lasting effects.
17 days later
Make the effects of the death last until the end of the story. If it was a family member or somebody close make sure they grieve constantly instead of making them forget it after a little while.
The difference is in the promise of the story. If you're promising an adventure story then generally the deaths better have meaning. On the other hand if you're promising a dark or realistic story where anyone can die at any time then you really just need to make the reason believable and not contrived.
Bad character deaths or ones that either have no purpose, reason, or seem only there to force an emotional response.
Suggested Topics
| Topic | Category | Replies | Views | Activity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Art you’ve made of or inspired by other people’s characters? | Art | Comics | 13 | 347 | Sep '24 |
| I want to see your “complimentary color couples” | Art | Comics | 33 | 705 | Jan 19 |
| Halftones or not? (My art style) | Art | Comics | 6 | 355 | Apr '24 |
| Cropping Induced Blurriness | Art | Comics | 5 | 160 | Aug '24 |
| Make lewd/pin up (Reopen) | Art | Comics | 34 | 1.3k | Jan 16 |