Death is Not Always the Answer

Welcome back, writers!

Now, if you've been in the literary game for a while, you probably have an inkling of what this post is going to be about.

Yes.

Killing characters.

And not just any characters.

The main characters.

Chances are, you've read at least one book in your life where after hundereds of agonizing pages where you were waiting for the main character to finally get their happy ending, the author decided to rip your heart out and crush your soul by killing them off at the very end.

But why do writers do this? Why would they spend so much time creating this beautiful character with so many layers and then give 'em the axe?

Well, I find that many people believe this is an amazing ending and it's a sign of a good writer.

I disagree.

I think the death of a main character is overrated.

This is not to say I don't like some books where the main character dies, or think that, at times, it's a good storyline that can be beneficial to the plot. I think there are times when killing the main character is a good, climactic finish.

My problem is I've seen this used one too many times as a cheap ending that didn't benefit the plot and, overall, just depressed everyone (and made the readers want to rip their book to shreds).

I think that in the writing world, we need to stop using death as a cheap ending and start using it when it's actually good for the storyline and development of the book.

Happy endings are overrated?

You might hear this statement a lot in the writing community, but I disagree with it.

Happy endings are often the reason we read literature—because we want to escape the woes and reality of our world and travel to one that's better.

Why does it always sound like happy endings are easy or aren't good?

We want happy endings.

Personally, I don't want to read a book that I know is going to have a depressing ending, but it breaks me even more when the author just suddenly puts it out there and it's like, "Surprise! This book is now a tragedy!"

Happy endings aren't overrated, writers. There's a reason people like them so much.

Don't feel pressured into making your endings sad or killing off main characters just because other books have worked when this happens.

Simply killing off the main character is not a sign of a good writer.

Just because someone decided to end their book by killing a character doesn't mean they're a good writer.

A sign of a good writer is when the killing of the main character is done well.

That, to me, truly shows a writer's skill.

If killing off the main character is a last resort for a cheap ending, or it's not beneficial to the story in any way, it just feels like the writer took the easy way out.

You might be thinking, "Why would killing off a character be taking the easy way out? It's hard."

Yeah, it can be hard to kill off a character. But a lot of times, getting the book to a satisfying conclusion and a climactic one while keeping the main character alive is harder than simply killing them.

Killing a character well takes a lot of work. It takes skill.

And it's not always the right choice.

If you're debating over killing your main character because you want a somewhat sad ending, let me give you some other options so you can figure out if it's really how you want your book to end.

Put them through pain.

Emotional.

Physical.

Pain.

It can be worse than death.

You don't always have to kill your main character to make your ending a sad one. You could put them through pain. It could be physical pain; they could be injured badly and it could've paralyzed them or something. Or it could be emotional pain; someone they love could be dying or going through something hard.

Pain is also a hard thing to write well.

And when it's written well, it's is a sign of a good writer.

Kill a side character.

If you really want to play the Grim Reaper or you have one of "those manly urges and just gotta kill something" (I love you if you get this reference), kill a side character.

This isn't overrated or a cheaper ending than killing the main character.

At times, this could even break the readers heart more than if the main character were to die. So if you're really ruthless and want to smash out their hearts with a baseball bat, this could be the way to go.

Anyways......for those of you who are not total monsters and just want a bittersweet ending, killing a side character can be the way to do that.

But just like killing the main character, killing the side character needs to be done well.

Don't just do it for a cheap ending.

Don't make it a last resort.

Don't settle.

With any of your endings, whether the main character dies, the side character dies, or they all live happily ever after, don't settle for the easy way out.

Take your time, put in effort, and give your book the ending it deserves.

Death is truly not always the answer.

Happy endings aren't overrated.

I wish you all luck on your writing and character murdering endeavors. If you have any questions, message me in the contact box below.

Happy writing!

-Jocelyn