{"id":978,"date":"2020-01-13T22:14:59","date_gmt":"2020-01-13T22:14:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.clippings.me\/blog\/?p=978"},"modified":"2020-01-13T22:15:02","modified_gmt":"2020-01-13T22:15:02","slug":"how-to-write-a-death-scene-readers-cry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.clippings.me\/blog\/how-to-write-a-death-scene-readers-cry\/","title":{"rendered":"10+ Tips on Writing a Death Scene That Makes Readers Cry"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Did you know that Game of Thrones<\/em> has more than 118 notable deaths<\/a> throughout its storyline? Yes yes, we know it’s not the death count, but the effect of the characters’ deaths on the story that should be looking for \u2013 but still, if you want to know how to write a death scene that makes readers cry, you’re in the right place. Without further ado, let’s dive into our gruesome guide on how to write a death scene that works!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Develop a Strong Relationship\nBetween the Reader and the Character<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Think about it, why do people cry when family\nmembers die? It\u2019s because they had a complex relationship with them. And if you\nask them why are you sad? They would innocently say: \u201cBecause I don\u2019t want them\nto die\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can take this question<\/a> as an example. “Care” is the first natural word that comes out as a reason for crying over someone\u2019s death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This takes us to one conclusion. If you want\nthe readers to enjoy a significant death scene, you have to make the readers\ncare about the dying character. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most critical part of doing this is by creating an interesting character. There are multiple types of character arcs<\/a> that develop a compelling relationship with the reader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can have the dying character believe in a\ncertain truth or a lie. This gets the reader to be emotionally invested in the\ndying character.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You should also work on character development.\nAdditionally, you should make sure that readers can relate to the dying\ncharacter at some point. Don\u2019t be shy about spending some time to develop this\ncharacter\u2019s backstory and personality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another key to getting a great buildup to a meaningful death scene is the character\u2019s motivations. If you perfected the development of the characters up until the point they die, you\u2019re going to have a death scene that invokes tons of emotions<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, you shouldn\u2019t put all your focus on making the death scene emotional and forget about the main plot<\/a>. The character\u2019s death must also add meaning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Create an Antagonist That the Readers Hate with Passion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Killing a character doesn\u2019t always have to\nmake the readers sad. Of course, losing a good character can have a strong\nimpact on the plot. Additionally, you enhance the sorrow factor within the\nreaders by killing him. However, you should never forget about the villain, as\nwell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By developing an evil character who caused a\nlot of suffering to the reader\u2019s favorite persona, nothing beats seeing him\nmeet his end. To further prove the point, let\u2019s use one of the best examples of\na villain\u2019s death satisfaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[Incoming spoilers!]<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Shawshank Redemption<\/em>, the prison warden, Samuel Norton<\/a>, was a hypocrite who uses his position of power to his own gains. He would also kill anyone to cover up his evildoings. Although being locked up is the same prison would be a poetic end for him, I prefer the movie\u2019s<\/a> end, where he shot himself, over the book\u2019s<\/a> end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To get the most out of killing a villain, you\nhave to make sure that the audience has a great hate buildup toward him. Seeing\nthe character you\u2019re rooting for bringing the villain\u2019s evil to an end never\nloses its shine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you managed to create a genuine villain\nthat readers despise, you\u2019ve got yourself a recipe for an excellent death\nscene. Remember, making the reader cry over a death scene was meant to leave an\nemotional blast, not to leave them in agony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Avoid Using a Natural\nAdversity as Your Antagonist<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You should try as much as you can to personalize the antagonist. It\u2019s generally not recommended<\/a> to have your antagonist in the form of natural adversity like illness or any natural disasters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These ingredients can act as a great catalyst\nin the main plot of your story. However, such elements lack the ability to act\nagainst your characters on purpose. The intention to hurt the protagonist is\none of the core qualities of a great villain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Generate a Chain Reaction\nThat\u2019s Based on the Death Scene<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The best way to make the most out of a death\nscene is by allowing it to lay its shadows on the plot. Getting the readers\ninvested in death\u2019s outcome is great. However, getting the other characters\ninvested gives you the most meaningful death scene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An effective death scene can add extra layers of depth to your plot. It\u2019s essential to show how the character\u2019s death affected other characters, especially your main protagonist. You should also make time to explore the chain reaction after the death scene. This includes the impact on others and the related repercussions that follow losing that character. It\u2019s important to explore all the lost opportunities and the personal costs to every character\u2019s death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Avoid Spoon-Feeding the Readers with Overused Clich\u00e9s<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A good reader appreciates reminders and hints.\nHowever, throwing out tons of details at the reader might make your story\npredictable and not enjoyable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a mistake that many beginner writers\nfall in. It\u2019s always tempting for writers to pack death moments with tons of\ndrama, and there\u2019s nothing wrong with that. Yet, it\u2019s essential that you watch\nout for the excessive intensity, as readers might think it\u2019s overdone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the readers, it feels like you\u2019re trying\nto force them toward a certain emotion rather than letting them explore the\ndeath impact in them. This can easily backfire at you if you aren\u2019t careful\nenough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You should also know that if the readers have\na good buildup until the moment of death, they\u2019d be too invested to need a push\nfrom you. If you find yourself writing the scene in a way that forces the\nreaders\u2019 emotions, this means that your buildup is lacking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Revisiting your buildup here is a good thing\nto do. It\u2019s important to keep an eye on the development of the story. This is\nanother common mistake where some writers focus on the scene more than the\nstory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you focused on the writing style and forgot\nabout the story itself, the end result won\u2019t live up to the standard you\u2019d be\nhoping for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One example of overused death scenes is when the dying character has a long speech. Even if the dying character is revealing an important piece of information, the long speech might draw the emotions out of the scene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Avoid Killing Characters Only for Shock Value<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As we mentioned previously, one of the\nessential qualities of a death scene is that it needs to have a meaning. Death\nscenes should affect the story and its characters, as well as the readers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the biggest pitfalls that many writers fall into is when they rely solely on the shock value of sudden death. This results in a meaningless and off-putting death scene<\/a>, and it doesn\u2019t go well with the audience<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, sudden death is a strong plot\ntwist, but only if it still contributes to the value of the story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shock value isn\u2019t about sudden death only. It also includes the elements you use while writing a death scene. For example, in the movie Saw<\/em><\/a>, most of the shock value came from the extreme torture of the characters in the movie. Although you could easily predict the characters\u2019 deaths, it\u2019s one of the most shocking movies in history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s perfectly fine to use these elements to add a shock value to a meaningful death<\/a>. Yet, when you use them for the sake of shock value alone, they lose their purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To avoid going overboard here, always remember\nto check if you\u2019re providing more details than the reader really needs. If you\nthink the gore levels are too much, you can tone it down by keeping it simple.\nFor example, instead of showing how much blood is on the ground, you can write\nabout the dying character\u2019s beating heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. Should you Go for a Slow or a\nQuick Death?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The purpose of the character\u2019s death is the\nmain factor that should influence your writing. You can control how long does\nit take for your character to die based on the value it serves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sudden death can be shocking, you can use it to entice the reader. For example, in the horror novel Desperation<\/a><\/em>, a father who survived most of the events in the book was killed out of the blue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other side, you can use a long death for a heart-consuming scene. One of the best examples of a long death is Mordecai Richler\u2019s Barney\u2019s Version<\/a><\/em>. In this novel, Barney Panofsky is dying throughout the entire storyline, as the book walks us through his life in flashbacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8. Try to Balance Between the\nBuildup and Shock Value<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Of course, using the element of surprise to\nyour favor is a great formula for a shocking plot twist. Yet, sudden death needs\na smart balance between buildup and surprise. You shouldn\u2019t give away your\nshocking death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A buildup might tell the readers that something bad is about to happen. For example, you\u2019re writing a story about a group of friends who are crashing into an old farm. They start hearing a strange noise coming from the woods. However, they shrug it off and continue to camp there through the night. Even I didn\u2019t mention anything uncomfortable for a few pages forward, the reader is already expecting something to happen. This is an overused formula that is highly predictable, such as in Scarecrow<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A smart way to maintain the shock of sudden death is by suddenly referring to the character as \u201cdead\u201d. This gives the readers the \u201cvalue\u201d in your shock while allowing for the needed buildup for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

9. Put Yourself in the Reader\u2019s Shoes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The best way to write a death scene that\ntouches readers\u2019 hearts is by putting yourself in their shoes. You have to put\nyourself in the right mindset to write a piece of literature that sheds a tear\nof your own eye.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This doesn\u2019t have to be literal. However, the\nmore you feel what you\u2019re writing, the more it\u2019ll evoke the same emotions\ninside the readers. Similarly, if you feel indifferent about the death scene\nyou\u2019re writing, the readers are likely to feel nothing as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10. Bad Reasons to Kill a\nCharacter<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Shocking the reading audience for the sake of\nshocking them isn\u2019t the only bad way to end a character\u2019s life. There are other\nreasons that you should avoid while deciding to kill a character.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, you shouldn\u2019t torture a reader by\nexploiting his tendency to feel sad. Readers don\u2019t appreciate making them sad\nwithout a clear reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, don\u2019t kill a character just to\nprove the cruelty. If you want to show that the world you\u2019re creating is harsh\nand merciless, you don\u2019t have to sacrifice good characters to show it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

11. Good Reasons to Kill a\nCharacter<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now that you know the worst reasons to kill a\ncharacter, here are some of the best reasons to generate a meaningful death\nscene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Character Has Reached a\nDead-End<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes, a character has fulfilled his\npurpose in your story. However, letting them go away suddenly doesn\u2019t seem to\nwork well with your plot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This can be a good chance for a meaningful death that can trigger some strong emotions. Most war movies do this, such as Pearl Harbor<\/a><\/em> and Saving Private Ryan<\/a><\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Killing That Character Serves the\nPlot<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You can initiate a death scene that has a great impact on the plot. For example, killing a character that motivates the main protagonist, such as Uncle Ben in Spider-Man<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another way to use a character’s death to advance the plot is by having him a victim of the villain\u2019s brutality. It also helps in building realism in your story, such as Schindler\u2019s List<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

12. Draw a Connection Between the Death Scene and Early\nMoments<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

However you go about writing the scene, you\nshould make sure that you build a connection between that scene and early\nmoments when everything was going well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only does it remind the readers of the\ngood times, but it also concludes the character\u2019s journey in a unique way. This\ncan be a part of the burial scene, or just before he catches his final breath. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The death of King Leonidas and the 300<\/a> Spartans in the Battle of Thermopylae is an excellent example of this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

13. The Character’s Legacy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Always make sure that the character\u2019s death\nholds a great significance within the other characters. A great way to show\nthat is by showing how much the other characters miss the dying character.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, if the plot allows it, you can also provide a new nickname that glorifies the dying character\u2019s legacy. This can be also seen in the movie 300<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Killing a character in your story is a\ndouble-edged sword. That\u2019s why it\u2019s important to apply our tips if you want a\nkiller scene! (Pun intended.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There you have it, a rich guide on how to write a death scene that will bring your audience to tears. If you liked this article, be sure to share it on your social media accounts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photo by davide ragusa<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Did you know that Game of Thrones has more than 118 notable deaths throughout its storyline? Yes yes, we know it’s not the death count, but the effect of the characters’ deaths on the story that should be looking for \u2013 but still, if you want to know how to write a death scene that …<\/p>\n

10+ Tips on Writing a Death Scene That Makes Readers Cry<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":979,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fiction-writing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clippings.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/978"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clippings.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clippings.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clippings.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clippings.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=978"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/www.clippings.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/978\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1109,"href":"https:\/\/www.clippings.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/978\/revisions\/1109"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clippings.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/979"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clippings.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clippings.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clippings.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}