Would you ever be brave enough to kill off an important character?

[Kiweevil]

Can, have, will do again. I write a horror comic, main characters don't get special treatment just because they're mains. If they gotta die, they gotta die. No matter how cute, innocent, and fluffy they are.

[Freemints30]

I guess, like if I plan for them to die I wouldn't get too attached to them anyway cause I have already planned it so its pretty much me checking off a check point.

Really I'm a fan of the danganronpa series I'm used to enjoying things with characters I love dying.

[Rhonder]

Hmm the sort of light-hearted stories I typically like to write don't have me doing deaths much in general, important character or otherwise There was a story I wrote back in the day where one of the main characters was going to make a hero's sacrifice at the end the seal the deal with the big bad but I never got anywhere near that point in the actual story (was just brainstorming ahead as I often did) so who knows.

[blackanimelover]

For me, it's a definite yes. You can't really permanently kill of the MC because how can they be the MC if they're dead? But the other main characters are totally fair game for me. I believe if done properly, killing off a third or even second main character can really impact your readers. IF done properly of course.

[sjack494]

Yes. No one is too important if it moves the story to resolution.

[zed_parade]

already done.

My Zed is technically a zombie. he Killed himself to prove he was a comic character. Guess what?... He was right!

Bonny-Zed

[JeffBaker]

in the book I'm posting now (Olivia of Pandromir) I kill one of my main characters near the end of the book. I don't know that I'd call it brave, but I was kind of sad because she was fun to write, and had been an idea I was kicking around for like 10 years before I wrote the book.

[darkone4587]

Depending on the tone of the work in question, I'll kill off characters with reckless abandon just to make the various characters suffer.

[IsobelLynx]

The only main character I killed happens to be immortal, so he came right back...

It's not about being brave. It's about what the story needs.

I haven't written a story that needs the character to die just yet.

OH, WAIT. No! I have!

I just remembered. I killed the POV character in one short story.

But, to prove my earlier point, the death was the point of the story - my MC got to see why her grandson kept pointing at the corner of the room when there was nothing there.

[Zhengo]

If their death serves an important part of the story, I'll probably kill them off. Problem is sometimes I get kinda attached to some characters which makes me not willing to kill them off

[amortelito]

Please not Lucy or Nolan. 🤞🤞🤞🤞

[MikeTyrant]

I believe in killing character no matter how much I like them, its good for development for the cast of characters that were close with that character. Makes the world they live in feel that much more dangerous and that they would want to take more caution into their actions in the future. I think a story with no main characters deaths seem to safe and you end up not worrying anymore because you'll see A LOT of plot armor in stories, doesn't make them bad of course. It just loses that sense of danger when a character is in a tough spot and you don't know if they'll lose an arm, their legs, or their death.

[SilverLugia456]

To be honest I haven't thought about it before, I mean if it serves as an important moment for other characters or some sort of development I will take it into consideration. However if I can't incorporate it as good as I think it could be then I would probably think of an alternative. For me it really comes to the story itself and the purpose I have for the characters

[themerrytroll]

Well, if dying is his importance in the story, then why not?

[SaraNGardiner]

I always struggle with this, tbh. I mean, I don't think it's necessary to have character die just for the sake of having characters die, you know? Like there are other ways to develop a person or end a relationship or create sympathy, etc. If it doesn't serve the story somehow and make sense, I don't think it needs to be forced. Also.........I write a lot of immortal types, gods and such, and death is less of a concern for them anyway. The only major character death(s) in my main series are like, half-deaths. One of them is a character "dying" but basically living on as a sentient undead creature. The other involves a character dying completely...and then her girlfriend storming the gates of Hell to bring her back. So I guess the answer is, "yes, with conditions."

[Mallory]

I agree with whoever said there's nothing "brave" about it. It's really just about what kind of story you're telling, and there isn't a story that requires more bravery than another (at least as far as character survival rate is concerned).

I've killed off a few characters in the narratives that called for it. Even in the one I'm working on now, not everyone survives in the end. But that doesn't make me any "braver" than the people who want to tell more happy stories.

[AmataLenna]

[Penni]

Yes!

I'm actually working on a story where this happens. I've been putting a lot of thought into who and why I want to kill these character(s) off. It's the first time I've decided to kill a character right from the get go so it's new territory for me.

As long as the reasoning for the character's death is valid. I'm good.

[Maps]

I began writing my story with the intent to create a character than everyone would come to love and get attached to and then I was going to kill them off as kind of a shock ending of the first book. But, once I got more into writing his character and his relationships with others, I backed far away from the idea. So I suppose I'm not brave enough. Yet...

[demthorshie]

I have killed off important characters in the past, but I certainly wouldn't do it on a whim. If the character was written to die/be killed within the story, then it's just inevitable. I typically don't kill off characters unless it's completely necessary and would never kill one for shock value.