Hey guys, it's Mephis.
I'm writing a book in the present day, and I read over it many times, and jutted down some notes. What was that note about? you might wonder; well, it was the character deaths in the novel. As in, minor or major, if a person dies or is referred to being dead (ex : "...Tom’s dead, Mason...", etc) or if a person is directly dying, described as dying (ex : "...At that instant, he snapped Amaia’s neck...")
The result was shocking.
Implied character deaths : 24
Direct character deaths : 17
Thankfully, none of them were 'major' characters, which are only four characters in my book.
I began to wonder after looking at my own book; are so many deaths appropriate for a book? Or is a main character dying in the first 200 pages appropriate for a book? Is most main characters except for one dying a good idea?
How much death is enough? Where does the reader draw the line? How can deaths of your characters affect the story and the mood?
Please, if you wish to, share your thoughts about this topic.
Thank you!
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