How to kill a character?

DamaNegra · Jan 6, 2006

See, I have this very important character, but for the story to work, I need to get her out of the picture. Now, the logical way would be killing her off, thus adding a little extra drama to the story.

However, I thought suicide would be a good choice, because of what happens to the character and the character's way of being. However, I wonder if a suicide is 'correct' or it will scare the readers away. A stupid doubt, I know, but a doubt nonetheless.

Shall I make her kill herself, or shall I find her another way of dying?

The problem is, an accident won't have the effect I need and if she's murdered, I have to drag my story along another storyline that I'm not sure I can manage due to my very limited POV. What to do?

Shadow_Ferret · Jan 6, 2006

What type of story? Fantasy? Speculative? Thriller? Romance?

If it was fantasy she could be gored to death by infuriated unicorns who realized she wasn't in fact a virgin.

Or not.

DamaNegra · Jan 6, 2006

Shadow_Ferret said:
If it was fantasy she could be gored to death by infuriated unicorns who realized she wasn't in fact a virgin.

LOL!! I'd love that, but sadly, it's not fantasy

I'm writing a romance novel, something I swore I'd never do, but mainly I'm doing it to experiment with a new POV, which is very limited but I think works. Anyway, in a nutshell, this is the storyline:

Girl meets guy. Guys is sister's bf. Girl does not want to hurt sis. I need to get rid of sis.

The sister's personality does not allow for charity acts or realizing that the guy does not love her so she has to let go of him. She's the kind of person who would hold on even more tightly to bf after realizing he doesn't love her.

What to do? Considering what the sister is like and what she has to go through, suicide will be the best shot. But is it right?

waylander · Jan 6, 2006

DamaNegra said:
LOL!! I'd love that, but sadly, it's not fantasy

I'm writing a romance novel, something I swore I'd never do, but mainly I'm doing it to experiment with a new POV, which is very limited but I think works. Anyway, in a nutshell, this is the storyline:

Girl meets guy. Guys is sister's bf. Girl does not want to hurt sis. I need to get rid of sis.

The sister's personality does not allow for charity acts or realizing that the guy does not love her so she has to let go of him. She's the kind of person who would hold on even more tightly to bf after realizing he doesn't love her.

What to do? Considering what the sister is like and what she has to go through, suicide will be the best shot. But is it right?

Depends really on her character.
Does she have any history of suicide attempts or mental illness? These are two of the biggest indicators of a potential suicide.

stormie · Jan 6, 2006

Ah, killing off characters. So much fun! I love to think of different ways it can be done....

Seriously, if the sister were suicidal, you'd have to put in little hints throughout the book (in bed a lot or crying a lot or threatening suicide or any of the other signs. You could go to www.psych.org for more info). But those hints might take away from the surprise of the suicide and the sister no longer being in the way. Hmmmm.... How about the sister takes a walk down the street and a brick from a building falls on her head? Or a sudden heart attack from an undiagnosed heart condition? Or the sister gets amnesia from that fallen brick and forgets about the boyfriend? These are just my rambling thoughts on the matter. I need another cup of coffee to get my imagination flowing freely.

DamaNegra · Jan 6, 2006

I also thought about an accident. Of course, as I said before, the girl was kind of unstable and it would be believable for her to actually kill herself without dropping many hints along the way. It's in her personality, after all.

But I'm wondering if it will scare readers away.

My-Immortal · Jan 6, 2006

Have an anvil drop on her head....?

Susan Gable · Jan 6, 2006

No matter how she dies, take into account that the sister is going to look somewhat less than heroic if she takes up with her now-dead sister's former guy right away.

You're tiptoeing through a minefield. <G>

It's all about motivation.

Good luck!

Susan G.

Susan Gable · Jan 6, 2006

Oh, and why is death the only option for getting rid of her? Brainstorm a list. There has to be something else that would entice her to leave the scene of your story.

If she's a selfish person, dangle whatever carrot she's always wanted - a job in broadcast tv on the opposite coast, a trip to wherever for an extended period of time... I don't know. But surely death isn't the only option for getting her out of the way.

Susan G.

loquax · Jan 6, 2006

I'd have her die of an illness. Then the ending will be all the more happy. Perhaps on her deathbed she could wish them the best together or something.
I personally think that having her commit suicide would completely destroy the relationship you want to create. The chances are the sister would blame herself, seeing as she was after her sister's man, and would end up attempting suidcide also. There are far too many unhappy feelings floating around to have a romantic denouement.

If on the other hand you want a tradgedy, take a leaf out of Shakespeare's book and have them all die (suicide, murder, broken heart, it's all good)

Jaycinth · Jan 6, 2006

What about: Sis (one with bf) meets and has fling with attached guy and makes sis( who wants bf) promise not to tell. Then, a chapter later have attached guy's siginificant one show up and go off on 'bf' sis, and either sis or both psycho attachment and sis die...leaving other sis to confort BF and startled attached guy..I don;t know....maybe he becomes a priest.

MattW · Jan 6, 2006

I was going to say stab her with something pointy, and wiggle it until she falls down.

Maybe her depression leads her to consider suicide, and you brace the readers for it, but she does something reckless or self-endangering to save a child or puppy.

Slow spiral of drug addiction? Fast spiral of drug overdose?

pepperlandgirl · Jan 6, 2006

I think if you're writing romance, death in any way isn't the way to go. First, well, death/suicide isn't very sexy. Second, if it happens just because "it's in the script" (as they say on the bad movie sites), it'll be insulting to people's intelligence. Third, if the suicide has <I>anything</I> to do with the BF/Sister relationship, well, that'll make everybody feel pretty shitty. Fourth, hooking up with your dead GF's sister because you're finally free is well...a bit unseemly. Fifth, it's the standard "Oh, I have an obstacle but instead of working through it the fair way I'll kill her off! Problem solved!" If not handled correctly, it could come across as very lazy writing. I'm very careful to not set up love-triangles in my own work if I can't treat all the characters fairly.

DamaNegra · Jan 6, 2006

I hadn't thought of that, that's a good point. I think I'll let the story flow for a while and then see what I can do with the sister. Thanks!!!

SusanR · Jan 6, 2006

If it's a romance, you could do a neat couples switch...say, have your MC have a boyfriend who isn't completely right for her, but they stick together because of oh...history, they had sex and feel obligated to one another, any one of a dozen reasons mismatched couples stick it out. Then have her listen to her sister complain about sis's relationship with HER bf. Your MC can wonder what the hell is wrong with sis, complaining about a wonderful guy like her bf.

Then maybe they double-date. Or go to a family wedding together (the boyfriends are guests of the sisters). They swap dances and as MC dances in sister's boyfriend's arms.....she KNOWS...this is the one....and then she has to deal with it. Maybe her sister has the same reaction, dancing with MC's boyfriend....

.....LOL...maybe I should write this story. Just kidding! It's fun.

SusanR

writermom · Jan 6, 2006

I agree that killing someone off in a romance is not romantic. Consider:

If it's regency letting the sister be "caught" with an equally smarmy character who she has to marry. That is romantically satisfying!

If it's a modern romance she could simply "lose interest." Shallow girls do this all the time. And it leaves it open for a sequel where she could possibly redeem herself.

The Gorn · Jan 7, 2006

Would this work?

Susan Gable said:
Oh, and why is death the only option for getting rid of her? Brainstorm a list. There has to be something else that would entice her to leave the scene of your story.

If she's a selfish person, dangle whatever carrot she's always wanted - a job in broadcast tv on the opposite coast, a trip to wherever for an extended period of time... I don't know. But surely death isn't the only option for getting her out of the way.

Susan G.

Damanegra, I think you would do well to consider these suggestions. They all seem good to me. But since I am not in your position I cannot suggest any specific one. Now, if you are still wanting to go with the kill-her-off routine I do have a suggestion. Perhaps you could make it a sibling rivalry situation. Maybe the not-so-stable one is jelous because her sister has always gotten everything while she has had to beg for scraps, so to speak. Now, as far as offing the one with the boyfriend or having the other commit suicide, Here is a scenario that combines both.

The sisters are perhaps out for a walk together and maybe arguing because the rivalry between them has come to a head. Miss Not-so-stable is finally voicing her opinion that dear old Sis cares for no one but herself. She then steps out into the street in front of an on-coming car daring sis to save her. It is her intention that one of them is going to die right now. Sis believes she is playing a crule game but quickly realizes she is dead serious. Sis darts into the street and shoves Not-so-stable out of the way and gets clobbered by the car herself. Thus, she is now out of the picture.

Wether this results in her dying or being left a vegetable, I leave up to you.

Sharon Mock · Jan 7, 2006

Perhaps the sister could do something stupid or malicious (perhaps illegal?) and drive the guy away from her?

If you want a cloud of guilt hovering over everybody's head, you could have her do something stupid or malicious for the guy's benefit -- sabotaging his rival, or the like.

sirensix · Jan 7, 2006

Yeah... my first thought is... if our heroine has to wait for the sister to die in order to get her man, how much can the man really love her?

The only thing that would be satisfying to me would be that the guy leaves the sister because he sees what a horrible person she is. Not leaving her FOR our heroine, but just leaving her, period. Then you could have the drama of our heroine feeling guilty about pursuing her sister's ex, even though they are obviously meant for each other.

You could possibly kill the sister off later just to really clean things up (are drugs a possibility? Sort of an accident/suicide combo? Or perhaps another kind of accident as a result of something reckless (bad driving, drunk driving, amateur bungee jumping, Russian roulette... something that tells you she kind of asked for it).

All I know for sure though is that the guy has to leave the sister BEFORE she dies, or our heroine is nothing more than a consolation prize. We have to see that even if the sister were still alive, it wouldn't work out between her and the guy.

MadScientistMatt · Jan 9, 2006

I have to agree with the others - even if a suicide doesn't upset the reader, it will definitely upset the characters. It may even drive romantic thoughts out of anyone's mind.

Susan Gable said:
If she's a selfish person, dangle whatever carrot she's always wanted - a job in broadcast tv on the opposite coast, a trip to wherever for an extended period of time... I don't know. But surely death isn't the only option for getting her out of the way.

Susan G.

I like that idea. Have sis's own selfishness cause her to follow some lure that takes her right out of the picture. Vacations and dream jobs seem like two good ways to get rid of her.

One other possibility would be to have her taken off to jail for doing... well, what federal offenses is sis capable of?

badducky · Jan 10, 2006

Why is everyone obsessed with death?Is the American Penal System just too difficult to muster?

First, the girl is in the park having a nice conversation with a pretty lady. They go to the restroom together, and a quick snide comment leads to a quick and nasty arrest. While searching the character, an illegal amount of marijuana is found on her person. Then, she is thrown away in jail longer than if she were a pedophile (don't ask me why our penal code puts potheads away longer than child sex abusers)...

Then, the cellmate, a very kind, motherly woman gently introduces the character to the joys of womanhood.

She`s out of the picture, and her beau needs consoling.

Justice is better than death.

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