[TYPEWRITER KEYS CLACKING]
Hi everybody! I'm Joey Paul and I'm an indie author. And today
we're gonna talk about killing characters. This is something I've wanted to talk about
for a while. I'm a crime writer, I do this well, so here are my five tips about killing
off characters. Number one. Make it count. By this I mean you shouldn't be killing someone
just because. There should always be a reason for it. And that reason shouldn't be just
because you want to make your readers cry. If you're doing this you're gonna find that
the deaths have little impact on your readers. Because there's no reasoning for it. And it's
best to avoid that. Think about it, if you're invested in a story and people just randomly
die for no reason, it feels like overkill and stops you from being able to connect with
those characters. On the other side of that, number two. Don't be afraid to have hurts
hurt. Don't not kill characters because you feel like it would hurt too much. You need
to consider what kind of story you're telling. If there is a massive battle, you're going
to expect to lose some people. Same with crime novels and dystopian, it's supposed to be
a case that not everybody makes it. But you don't have to always go with death, you can
go with characters who are disabled, or injured and in that case don't be afraid to have it
stay that way long term. I've talked about this in my writing disabled characters video,
which I'll link up in the cards, but don't just cure everybody and call it okay. It's
okay to have hurts that have consequences and last. That's part of it. Which brings me to, number three.
Consequences are real. Following on from that last point if you're able to undo everything
to it, then why do it? If you're looking for that shock factor, you're going to end up
annoying your readers, and again looking at the story you're telling can be a good judge
to whether or not the deaths are needed. If they are, don't be afraid to make them a permanent
thing. Not everyone will survive and that's okay. If every death has a meaning, then you're
not doing something wrong. But some deaths will have a greater meaning than others and
again that's okay. So with that said, number four. Don't just kill side characters. I know
that sometimes it's easier to let a side, every side character not make it, and have
the original cast still standing at the end of the book, but this isn't realistic. I know
some books aren't telling stories of this world, but you still have to have some balance
of realism. Don't be afraid to hurt, maim or kill a main character. It's not easy sometimes,
but it is necessary. Now I don't say this thinking that every time you kill someone,
you then kill off a main character. I mean it's something you need to judge for yourself.
Yes there are some characters in my books that I plan to kill, but sometimes other things
happen and I end up with a dead main and suddenly it all seems too much, but if it's working
then don't shy away from it. And finally, number five. You don't have to show, but you
can. Depending on the point of view, whether it's 1st or 3rd, you don't have to show every
death as they happen. Sometimes it can be just as impactful to have a character die
off page. It can be impactful to just tell their death. On the same side, it can be something
that you show. Don't feel like you can't hide a death because otherwise it'll lose meaning.
I've read some amazing books where the most crushing deaths are ones we didn't see, and
were just told about. You have to trust yourself, your outline and your story. You know this
best so you're the best judge of what will work. So there you have it, my five tips for
killing off characters in your story. I have been killing characters for a very long time
and it's something I find that gets easier as to judge whether or not this death will
be impactful or not. I know that you grow attached to characters. I know that you grow
attached to the story that they're telling, and the story that they're weaving through
the words and you kinda wonder whether or not you can kill this character, and like
I said there have been some characters when, when I've created them, I've known that they're
gonna die and generally it always happens, but you can't just not kill characters. If
you're writing dystopian or sci-fi or fantasy or anything that involves battles and wars,
you can't just not kill main characters. Unfortunately some of them have to die, which ones is up
to you. So that's all I have time for today. If you wanna get in touch with me, you can
comment or subscribe. I post new videos on Thursdays. You can find me all over social
media and my books are available everywhere. All the links for which are listed below!
Thanks for watching and remember to keep writing! Bye!