Denise, it might be a good time to start! LOL!!

The death of a character, no matter which one, gives the author the ability to create great scenes -- scenes of remorse, grief, guilt, anger, denial -- using all the emotions that go along with them.

Try it! You might be surprised at what you write!

Thank you for your thoughtful comment, Alicia. You're right, when and where and how it affects the entire story, is what makes a death important. We all need to deeply care about a character's death or, probably, it wasn't needed to make the story work.

Interesting about adding a death to a Rom-Com. Is it still a Rom-Com afterwards? LOL! Of course, we see Rom-Coms that include the aftermath of a death, Sleepless in Seattle, for instance. Sam's entire character arc wraps around his wife's death but we get to see both the healing and the new love in the movie.

Hmmm. Makes me think.

Of the two in the first volume in the Pride's Children trilogy, the first one happens before the book starts - and is still affecting the main character several years later.

The other is something that happens to the main character peripherally, at an important part of the story, and leads the plot off on a detour that has significance then - and later - again, to the main character.

There are no deaths in the second volume, but we still face some of those reverberations, because deaths tend to show how characters deal with a whole bunch of things they normally don't have to face - it's sort of a little separate part of life, with its own rules, and mourners are allowed latitude in how they react for a possibly long time.

That's for mainstream fiction; mystery, thriller, and crime stories have their own levels of death and violence and significance.

Up until recently (this century, and maybe back into the previous one a few decades), there were many things that could take someone in 'the middle of life' - and it wasn't the shock it seems to be now, so you have to think hard whether it's the best way to achieve the plot goal.

The whole area must be handled with infinite care - there are great opportunities for writing, and places where you can fall flat on your writer's face.

Imagine, for example, Bridget Jones' Diary with an unexpected death in the middle showing up some of the self-centeredness and silliness of the chick lit tropes. And how different the effect would be depending on who died.

Heavy duty plotting - handle with care.

Leanne, I'll stop reading a book or watching a movie if a character I really like is killed. (Even an extremely popular series of books after a certain very bloody wedding!)

But if the killing is well motivated -- even having its own arc -- I believe most readers will understand and appreciate it.

But death without excellent motivation can really harm a story. That's why I think it's so important.

Thank you, Jan! I'm glad the blog helped.

And, it sounds like you have good reasons to "kill" that character -- which makes all the difference in the world.

Ha! Actually, I think readers not liking you killing a character is a great compliment. Shows you're doing a good job.

LOL!

Thanks, Ellen.

In my WIP, The Hobo Code, I kill off a character on page two. The critique group was not pleased. However, her death is a turning point for the rest of the family - moving the story forward like a speeding train.

I believe you need a strong reason for killing off characters.