The Impact of Character Deaths

I have seen so many memes revolving around this topic, and a lot of them make the author out to be something of the bad guy.

But here’s the thing: Sometimes a character’s death is necessary for the plot. Yes, it hurts to read about it, but it also hurts to write about it too.

I’m writing this post because I recently ended another likeable character’s life, and I’m broken up about this one. More so than some of the others I’ve written, if I’m being truthful. Readers aren’t the only ones who cry when a character dies. I’ve done it on several occasions, even when I’ve had the plot point staring at me from the corkboard by my desk for weeks. Even when I know it’s coming and I know it’s necessary to move the story forward, it doesn’t make writing about it any easier.

(Unless the character is one of my infamous villains – and then, they usually get what’s coming to them, and it’s a bit overdue.)

In this case, it wasn’t a villain. It was a character I’d really come to like, and I think it’s the first major likeable character’s death in The Mage War Chronicles series. The first three books were building up to the onset of the war, but this fourth book begins with the first battle. Death is bound to happen, and it can’t only be the villains that die. It wouldn’t be very realistic if that were the case.

And so, one of the good guys had to go. But his death wasn’t without impact – the main character is going to feel it for years afterward, and his memory will be a rallying point for her faction.

But, damn, did this one hurt me.

Don’t believe all the memes you see out there. Authors are people too, and we do get attached to our characters… for better or for worse. And death is an inevitable part of the human existence, no matter how much we try to fight it.

I strive to add some realism to my fantasy works, and one of the best tools I have is emotional impact. Sometimes it comes in the form of mental struggles, sometimes its overcoming the odds, sometimes I’ll put a character in a desperate/horrific situation… And sometimes that impact comes in the form of a death.

But writing about topics like this has helped me cope in the past when dealing with real life situations. Even years later, the writing is a form of therapy. And it’s my belief it can help the reader too—perhaps not with coping, but at least with empathy. And empathy is something we all need in our lives.