Death

  • folie a dru.

    folie a dru. (1270)

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    Writing death. We don't all do it, but some people do.

    Do you kill your characters often? Rarely?

    Suicide, murder, natural causes?

    Do you have a certain way you like to write it?

    How do you think writers should approach death in their stories?
    I don't kill my characters often. I tend to kill the same character (Ryan). Suicide once, death from anorexia another time.
    February 3rd, 2011 at 06:54am
  • fun ghoul fez.

    fun ghoul fez. (100)

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    I kill characters a little too often. I have written a lot of murders in my chaptered stories and a few suicides.

    I kill Mikey and Frank in equal amounts. XD
    February 3rd, 2011 at 07:06am
  • cruciatus.

    cruciatus. (455)

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    I kill my characters off, but only if the story is telling me that it needs to be done. Shifty I always cry when I do it, too. I've written suicide and murder, but neveral natural causes. I like to write it in detail, but not...overdone. XD
    February 3rd, 2011 at 07:12am
  • folie a dru.

    folie a dru. (1270)

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    Oh. And I wrote a story where Brendon killed a guy who was holding Ryan at gunpoint, even though it was an accidental killing.
    February 3rd, 2011 at 07:13am
  • fun ghoul fez.

    fun ghoul fez. (100)

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    I seriously just skimmed my list of stories and made a list of deaths and how it happened. XD There were 27, four of which were Mikey.

    The number would be much higher if everything I've ever written was posted on here.
    February 3rd, 2011 at 07:40am
  • folie a dru.

    folie a dru. (1270)

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    I tend to focus more on the emotions of the death rather than the actual death itself.

    ---

    People used to die a lot more when I wrote Green Day. Or at least that's how I'm remembering it because everyone complained about how often I killed Billie.
    February 3rd, 2011 at 07:51am
  • Westyane Wan

    Westyane Wan (100)

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    Death is an awesome tool that could be used different ways. But it should be used carefully. I think I tend to kill off - or tend to plan killing off - characters frequently, wether it's a poem or a story. Why? Because there are so many awesome options and perfect turns or go-ons in that cathegory.
    February 3rd, 2011 at 08:02am
  • folie a dru.

    folie a dru. (1270)

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    In oneshots I think it's more difficult to kill characters. Or maybe not more difficult. It's just that typically the oneshot has to build to that or at least present a situation where it would happen, whereas a chaptered story tends to have more twists and turns the build-up of the entire story doesn't have to be character death.

    I know I've killed characters in oneshots where it was a shock, but for the most part when I read it in oneshots it tends to be the focus.
    February 3rd, 2011 at 08:04am
  • malkin.

    malkin. (105)

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    I agree about one-shots and death. It's too short place to develop a proper plot which would not quite revolve around the death itself, specifically. If that makes sense? Shifty

    I've written a few fictions in which I killed my characters (suicide in one of them, car accident in the other), but I agree with Dru that I too tend to focus on emotions rather than the actual death.

    And I have written a one shot with Death as a character. tehe
    February 3rd, 2011 at 03:50pm
  • folie a dru.

    folie a dru. (1270)

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    Peter London.:
    And I have written a one shot with Death as a character. tehe
    Oooooh, I did that once, too! I got inspired by "Blonde" by Joyce Carol Oates. Death drove a blue car in mine.
    February 3rd, 2011 at 05:20pm
  • Roseh; believe

    Roseh; believe (330)

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    I have a huge love of killing off my characters.

    I just find the whole issue of death a really fascinating one to explore. I love thinking about the causes and effects, particularly the way people deal with grief. In fact, I've written a play around that whole issue; it's about a major car crash, involving many people, and explores the consequences of it on those who have both survived and died, as well as the families, friends and relatives.

    And half the reason I wrote La Fin Des Bohèmes was just to kill off all the characters from the prequel XD

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    Peter London.:
    And I have written a one shot with Death as a character. tehe
    I've sort of done that as well! It was one of the possible interpretations I had in my head for the narrator of 8:23. It was slightly inspired by The Book Thief, which is a whole story narrated by Death.
    February 3rd, 2011 at 06:18pm
  • volta.

    volta. (1000)

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    I wrote a poem called, 'Dancing with Death,' and there was Death, and his female dance partner, Life, and as she danced, she was falling in and out of consciousness, until he finally danced the last step and she died. Well...that's how it was intended. :)

    I just finished a story where the main girl dies in a car accident, but I didn't write it from her perspective or a perspective at the site. Instead I just changed the narration and her partner got a phone call and such - I think that one was more based on the emotions.

    Then one where the guy didn't know he was dead, and was in a hazy world, and his girlfriend tried to coax him back with her, but he just watched when the scene cleared at what was going on, feeling sorry for the poor guy on the road.

    And my 1930's murder mystery :) Character killed, but that wasn't very convincing, so that one's been scrapped for a bit.
    Roseh; new york:
    I just find the whole issue of death a really fascinating one to explore. I love thinking about the causes and effects, particularly the way people deal with grief.
    Agree with that, because it's all very different, not everyone deals with death the same way and such. :)
    February 3rd, 2011 at 08:30pm
  • Saul Hudson

    Saul Hudson (355)

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    I don't kill characters often or I try not too unless I really need too. Although I'm beginning to write a lot of murder stories so characters end of up dying.
    February 5th, 2011 at 02:46am
  • ChemicallyImbalanced

    ChemicallyImbalanced (1365)

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    I've never killed any of my characters off. It would be hard for me. I've never really experienced someone dying, so I don't think I'd be able to portray the emotions or feelings very well.
    February 5th, 2011 at 02:58am
  • Icamane Hatake

    Icamane Hatake (250)

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    One of my favorite books, The Book Thief, is written from Death's POV tehe It's pretty damn awesome.

    -

    As for killing people... I don't think I've killed anyone in a oneshot, but I do have a thing for killing characters in my chaptered fics. Whether it's the Cullens getting pwned in Bently McQuinn or all the good guys dying in Music Girl, I write it a lot xD Most of the time it's murder. I don't think I've written a suicide yet Think
    February 5th, 2011 at 03:13am
  • folie a dru.

    folie a dru. (1270)

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    ^
    Suicide is fun.
    Oh, shit. That sounded bad. XD
    It's fun to write. It shouldn't be, but I really enjoy writing suicide. My fics tend not to deal with the story after that if I do it, so it's kind of perfect.

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    After Supper and it's sequel, After the War are really the only stories I have that deal with a character death. Gabe goes into a coma and Will has power of attorney, pulls the plug. Basically Will gets PTSD following it and Ryan takes care of him. Pete goes crazy and in the sequel, Ryan tries to take care of both of them.
    February 5th, 2011 at 03:41am
  • idiotheque.

    idiotheque. (100)

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    I used to write more stories with suicide and that usually was really the only death I worked with. I think I've only ever killed someone in Fly Away but he doesn't even die in the one-shot, it's just implied that it happens.
    February 5th, 2011 at 04:29am
  • southpaw

    southpaw (565)

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    I've killed about 8 characters. One was a suicide, a few others were car crashes, one was a shooting, two died in a house fire. I don't really focus too much on the actual death part, but the aftermath and the way it changes the other characters.
    February 5th, 2011 at 04:04pm
  • spector

    spector (250)

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    I've never written an explicit death - I think it's maybe been implied once or twice, but nothing more. I do have an unposted oneshot which revolves around the father of the protagonist dying, but I generally don't write it.

    (I do adore Death as a character in the Discworld novels, though. tehe)
    February 5th, 2011 at 08:02pm
  • Siriano;

    Siriano; (100)

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    I almost always kill off a character. Shocked
    February 5th, 2011 at 08:39pm