Killing off Characters, The when, where and why

[*Hopeless~Romantic*]

I DONT like killing my main characters. You grow attatched to them, and sometimes I end up keeping them alive just for the sake of it. But if a character REALLY needs to be killed off, I'll do it. But I'll grumble and complain about it for a few hours first!

[Eternal_Darkness]

Hee, I said the same thing, though I will kill off Lana in my SMV fics at any chance I can get. I already have in a dream in one.

[*Hopeless~Romantic*]

Oh, so would I! Only thing is, im not too good at writing grief, so i avoid killing off popular characters. lol.

[MoonAndStars]

If I feel if it is cructial to the plot, I call their number. My biggest dilema is wheather to kill one of the main characters in my story.

[Lord Muttonchops]

I try not to grow attached to characters. My goal as a writer is to tell a story and sometimes impart a message. If that is served by killing off characters, than so be it. On the other hand, I don't kill of characters for the fun of it. Well, most of the time anyway . . .

[Eternal_Darkness]

Oh, most of the time.

In one of the stories I'm writing I'm going to be killing of a well-loved character. (Not saying what story, or if it's even posted here or not No giving away secrets from me!) I just feel like that's how the story should end, and no matter what readers say, this character will die in the end.

[kirby_moe]

Even though I think I voted 'if I really have to' ages ago, I've changed my mind. A main character is crucial to the plot! The only time you should ever kill off a main character is if you give your readers plenty of warning. Otherwise, they won't believe it.
Who's read the latest HP book? I seriously didn't believe Dumbledore was dead, even when I reached the end of the book. I still don't! And, he was one of the main characters....

[LostWithoutYou]

I never even consider killing my main character unless it has a very very good cause and it is at the very end. It just doesn't seem write. I like my main characters and I never want to let them go.

[kirby_moe]

In a story I'm writing at the moment, I'll be killing of one of the characters. But, he's not a main character, and his death is kind of central to the plot, and also character development.
I don't know if anyone else has noticed this, but don't you hate it in crime and thrillers how random people are killed off, a few paragraphs after they're introduced? Yet the main ones never are! And what about in fantasy, and historical war stories, how arrows are raining down on the good guys, killing off everyone around the main hero, but never hitting him? Aargh, this irritates me so much!! Lol

[LostWithoutYou]

I see your point - but I never really write stories where people get killed - i'm more of a romance girl

[Caroo]

Only when i really have to.
Like in To die For..
the story is about death.. so i kinda need to kill someone off

[BooneShannon4evr]

LOL I agree with you 100% Ros! Like, in my story Tainted Perfection, someone's gonna die, but it's central to the plot too. I mean, I hate having to do it, cuz the person's modeled after a friend of mine, actually alot of my character's are modeled after IRL(in real life) friends. Most of them are, at least, my main character's modeled after me, we're sorta alike, I like to think of her as me with red kryptonite.