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Dead Main Characters



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Tue May 09, 2006 12:24 am
Prosithion says...



I have a tendancy on my stories to kill off the main characters. This is a great way to end a story, but I have fallen into that rut. Is there any way to stop killing off my main characters and end the story another way. :smt017
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Tue May 09, 2006 12:27 am
Poor Imp says...



Perhaps you could shift your lethal endings to a lesser character?

But then, why did you start killing MCs off in the first?
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Tue May 09, 2006 12:48 am
Dream Deep says...



(He started killing MCs because he could think of no better way to end the story... Never become part of Reas E'lil's stories.)

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Tue May 09, 2006 4:31 am
Snoink says...



Before you kill off ANY character, ask yourself why you're doing it. Why? Because stories that end up killing off their characters, especially main ones, tend to have very strong problems in the foundation of their story.

If you're doing it to achieve a dramatic effect, stop. That is a use of false enthusiasm. By killing off your main character, you end up trying to create a sympathetic feeling towards the main character... a feeling that probably wasn't there in the first place.

If you're doing it because otherwise your whole story wouldn't make sense, then you can continue. Still, you have to exhaust every other possible choice before doing it.

Gratutious killing-offs, especially the main characters, are so over-rated...

With that said, expand your plot a little bit more. Instead of looking to kill your character, how can your character get out of the problem? This can be useful, especially if you want to create more conflict. Your character gets out of one conflict... only to find himself into something three times as bad! By continuing the conflicts, you can create a sympathetic reaction to the reader without forcing.

To end it? All the conflicts you unraveled... try to solve them. Writing a story, finally, is like piecing together a puzzle.

Good luck!
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Tue May 09, 2006 1:36 pm
Sureal says...



Kill off the main character... and then carry on the story in the afterlife ;).
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Tue May 09, 2006 5:29 pm
Dream Deep says...



Ah. That's exactly what I did in The Tower of Souls. My MC died in Chapter One. :shock:
  





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Sat Jul 29, 2006 3:46 am
Teeeeo. says...



I have a strange idea for that...

Instead of actually KILLING the character, make it SEEM like they died. But not actually...

That's confusing, allow me to explain... Something like:

"Travis!" Torri yelled, being held back by police. She was obviously distressed by something. "NOO!!!" She shouted, as the impending chuck of cement fell. Right where Travis had stood seconds before.

She sank to the ground, sobbing. This time, the police who restrained her held her up. "I couldn't save him..."

"Save who?"

Torri suddenly looked up. "Travis!" She yelled, diving into the teen's arms. "I thought you died!"

"From what?"

"That huge ass boulder!"

"Nah, I was a good 3 metres from the brunt of the thing. But..." He let go of Torri. "I didn't escape all." He dusted a mass amount of debris off of his vest..."


Something like that.


(Sorry, poor writing skills :P)

So do you understand what I'm getting at?
  





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Sat Jul 29, 2006 11:24 am
Swires says...



What you are suggesting Teeeo is a little cliched.

Probably the best thing to do would be not to kill the MC, you are the writer and only you can control what you do. As snoink said you need to think about what its adding to the story.
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Sun Jul 30, 2006 9:39 pm
Misty says...



I usually kill of a subsidiary character in the story to achieve a certain amount of character development in my MC. To change them, or something like that. But yeah...killing off ALL your main characters...bad idea.

Of course I'm really not one to talk, as I killed off BOTH of mine in The Room. On a whim. :P
  





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Thu Aug 10, 2006 10:43 am
Afyr says...



In one of my stories I'm killing four of five main characters. But they have to die! One of them wants to die anyway, but they all sacrifice themselves to save the rest of the world. Clichéd, I know.

You could end the story in another cliché, by making them all live happily ever after. Or you could do a cliffhanger. I like cliffhangers, but I haven't actually really ended a story in one yet.
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Thu Aug 10, 2006 11:22 am
Firestarter says...



Snoink answered it best.

Don't kill off a character unless it adds something to the plot, or furthers a conflict. Killing off your main character is a big no-no, really. The story is usually about them. You can create conflict by killing someone around them perhaps -- but you asked how to stop killing your main character -- just don't. Outline a better ending. Why not have a happy ending for once?
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Wed Aug 16, 2006 8:27 pm
Prosithion says...



Well, if I don't kill off characters, the story juast drags,a nd becomes very boring. In this one story, my MC has to go into the afterlife to get his dead wife back. I must be very morbid
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