When writing a novel, the decision to kill off a character is a significant one. It’s an emotional and narrative choice that should be motivated by story and character development rather than arbitrary reasoning.
A character's death can have profound consequences on the plot, other characters, and the reader’s experience. However, there are some reasons for killing off a character that don’t serve the narrative or deepen the story.
To shock the reader
One of the most common—and often criticized—reasons for killing off a character is to simply shock the reader. While a well-timed and meaningful death can be a powerful plot device, using a character’s death just for shock value is often seen as manipulative and hollow.
Killing a character merely for surprise undermines the emotional weight of the death. A shock death doesn't give the audience a chance to connect with the character, grieve, or understand the significance of their passing. It risks turning what should be a meaningful moment into a cheap plot twist that doesn’t resonate with the larger themes of the novel.
While surprise moments can be effective in a story, they should always be built into the narrative and not just thrown in to catch the reader off guard. Death should be meaningful, not just a tool for jarring the audience.
To write yourself out of a corner
Sometimes, authors kill characters because they’ve written themselves into a plot hole or have written themselves into a situation where they don’t know how to proceed. It might seem like the simplest solution to eliminate a character rather than finding a more creative way to resolve the conflict. However, using a character’s death as an easy out is a lazy storytelling tactic.
Characters should die because it fits naturally within the story, not because the writer has run out of ideas or needs to make things easier. If a character’s death is motivated by the author’s inability to move the plot forward, it risks feeling contrived.
Instead of killing a character to get out of a sticky situation, consider other creative options. For example, a character might change or grow in ways that resolve the conflict, or the challenge could be overcome through teamwork or strategic thinking.
To make the Hero seem more heroic
It’s a common trope to kill off a sidekick or a supporting character in order to make the protagonist seem more heroic or to show the gravity of the stakes. While this can be effective in certain contexts, it can also be a cheap and manipulative way to develop a character, especially if the supporting character has little depth or significance.
The hero should be developed through their actions, growth, and struggles—not by the deaths of those around them. When a character dies simply to enhance the hero’s heroism, it can diminish the emotional impact of their death and make the entire plot feel formulaic.
For drama's sake
Killing off characters just for the sake of adding drama can easily turn into a gimmick. While drama is an essential part of storytelling, it should come from characters' motivations, relationships, and challenges, not from artificially inflating the stakes by frequently killing off characters.
While drama should be an integral part of the story, it should emerge from the stakes that have been built up throughout the narrative. Characters’ deaths should be consequences of their actions or the plot, not the result of a writer’s desire to artificially heighten the tension.
To avoid facing the consequences of a character’s actions
When a character has made significant mistakes or caused harm to others, it might be tempting to kill them off rather than deal with the fallout of their behavior.
This is an avoidance strategy that weakens the narrative. A character’s wrongdoings and the consequences they face for those actions should be addressed in the story, not swept under the rug with a quick death.
A character’s redemption, or the impact of their misdeeds on other characters, can offer far more emotional resonance than simply removing them from the story.
Instead of killing a character to avoid dealing with their actions, explore the repercussions of their choices. How do other characters react? Can they learn, grow, or seek redemption?
The character has unfinished business
Unresolved storylines or emotional arcs are key to a character’s development, and ending their journey before they have had the opportunity to confront or resolve these issues can be unsatisfying to both the reader and the character itself.
For example, if a character is on the verge of reconciling with a loved one or uncovering a long-held secret, killing them off before they can achieve closure can feel like a missed opportunity. The unresolved conflict leaves a hole in the narrative, and often, it’s the failure to address these loose ends that makes their death feel artificial.
Rather than ending a character's story before they can complete their goals, consider finding ways to incorporate their growth into the plot before making their death meaningful, whether it’s by allowing them to confront their past, fulfill their purpose, or leave behind a legacy.
Death would undermine the tone
A sudden, unexpected character death, especially if it doesn’t fit with the established tone, can feel dissonant or jarring, even if your character is old. For instance, if a story has a lighthearted, whimsical tone, a grim or brutal death might seem out of place and disrupt the mood.
Likewise, in a deeply serious or tragic tale, a character death that feels trivial or lacks emotional weight can undercut the gravity of the tone. If a story is focusing on loss, grief, or conflict, each character death should serve to enhance these themes, not detract from them.
Their presence drives the plot
If a character is central to the unfolding of the story—whether as a protagonist, antagonist, or key supporting figure—removing them from the equation without careful consideration can leave the plot floundering.
Consider how a character's death would impact the trajectory of the story. Would their absence create a void that no other character could fill? Would it bring the plot to a standstill, or could the story continue in a meaningful way?
Characters whose presence is integral to the plot should not be killed off lightly. Instead, their death should be a deliberate and impactful choice that forces the remaining characters to grow, shift, or adapt in a way that advances the narrative.
30-DAYS NOVEL PLANNER
