Jill Williamson is a chocolate loving, daydreaming, creator of kingdoms. She writes weird books for teens in lots of weird genres like, fantasy (Blood of Kings trilogy), science fiction (Replication), and dystopian (The Safe Lands trilogy). Find Jill on FacebookTwitterPinterest, or on her author website.

*Warning* There will be a lot of spoilers in this post.

When I got to the third book in my Blood of Kings trilogy, I knew I was going to have to kill off some characters. I mean, I was writing what I hoped was a realistic style of medieval fantasy, and there was going to be a major war. Death is a huge part of war. And it wouldn’t have been realistic if all my main characters had lived.

Yes, I was a wimp. I loved my characters and didn’t want to kill any of them. But I knew I had to. I probably should have killed more than one main character. Perhaps I’ll be braver next time around.

Goose and Maverick

You’ve probably never seen the movie Top Gun, but it is one of my husband’s favorite movies. He’s probably seen it more than thirty times. And when I told him what I was writing today, he said, “Goose.” [Spoilers for any of you who haven’t seen Top Gun and ever wanted to.] But Goose dies. So I asked my husband why he thought Goose was a good example for my blog post. And here’s what he said:

“Goose is set up as a likable character, not a hunky character. During the volleyball scene, he’s the only one wearing a shirt. He’s funny and charming, has a wife and a kid, which creates a stronger emotional connection with viewers.”

And Brad was right. Killing off Goose tugged at moviegoers’ heartstrings. “Why?” they asked. “Why Goose? He had so much going for him!” Which was why his death was so heartbreaking for viewers and for Maverick. And it taught Maverick that piloting fighter jets wasn’t just a game.

That doesn’t mean you always kill off the likable guy. But it raises a good point.

The death has to matter.

We wouldn’t have cared if Professor Trelawney had died in Harry Potter. But the fact that Dumbledore died was powerful because it meant that no one stood as a protector between Harry and Voldemort anymore. Harry was on his own from then on out.

THINGS TO TRY AND DO

-The death should move the plot forward, motivate the hero, affect other characters. In the movie A Walk to Remember, Jamie’s death mattered. It changed Landon’s life. It was powerful. We sobbed, yet so many people still love that book/movie and will read/watch it again and again.

-It needs to be done in the most powerful way. I think the ending of The Book Thief worked so well because the narrator spoiled it for us. Without that bit of warning, readers would have been shocked and horrified and thrown the book. But we knew it was coming, which made the “how” of it suspenseful and when it happened we cried.

-It needs to match your plot, genre, and theme. Just like in my third Blood of Kings book, in the final volumes of Harry Potter and The Hunger Games, people needed to die. The authors had created stories in which death matched the genre, the plot, and the feel of the stories. Leaving death out would have been a mistake. But not every book needs a death. Imagine how odd a death might feel in a Diary of a Wimpy Kid book. I’m not saying it couldn’t work, but it would have to fit the genre. Don’t force a character’s death into the story. You can always kill something else the main character cares about, like a relationship or a dream.

-Every death should give way to some kind of new life. Don’t miss the chance for characters to mourn and reflect. But don’t force a message either. The movie Steel Magnolias does a great job with this. Shelby dies, but her baby lives. And another woman has a baby, and Shelby had been the one to set that couple up. It’s a hopeful way to end such a sad film.

THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR

-Too many deaths. The Walking Dead is guilty of this. I had to stop watching that show. What is the point of getting attached to characters who are all going to die? It’s just too much for me.

Pointless death. In the movie Speed, Jack’s partner Harry had barely recovered from being shot when he followed a lead to the bomber’s house and … ka-boom. But his death does nothing for the plot or to help catch the bad guy. There’s no point but to anger Jack. But simply angering your hero isn’t enough. Harry deserved to go out in a powerful way.

-The sudden death of a major character or a shock value death. In the film Serenity, a main character is killed suddenly, and it’s a jaw-dropping experience for viewers. “No way, no way!” In an interview, director Joss Whedon defended his choice and said that he wanted to create the sense that anyone could die in battle. I have no problem with that. It was how it was done that didn’t work. The plot was resolved, and the character died in a meaningless way. It wasn’t heroic or sacrificial. And it came from out of nowhere.

-Stupid deaths. This is when a character dies from doing something dumb. Sure, it happens in real life, but readers don’t want their characters going out like that. One example that comes to mind is a random soldier in the movie Saving Private Ryan. He gets shot in the head, takes off his helmet to look at the bullet lodged there, and while his helmet is off, he takes another bullet in the head. Dead. And the audience says, “Really?” And, yeah. Maybe that did happen. But readers don’t want to see such stupidity, especially if it’s a character they love. Boba Fett is another example of this, falling into the Pit of Sarlacc. He was too cool to go out like that. Sad.

-Unworthy death. In the movie Star Trek: Generations, Kirk and Picard work together to thwart the bad guy, and while the explosion stops the villain, Kirk is crushed by debris and dies. It’s not a heroic death for such an iconic character. If Kirk is going out, we want to see him sacrifice himself to save the world or something. I mean, come on! This is Captain James T. Kirk, not a red shirt guy.

-You, the author, killing someone to prove a point. Don’t do it. It’s lame. Suzanne Collins did this in Mockingjay, in my opinion. Prim’s death lacked meaning. It was another way the author was hitting the reader over the head with her “war is bad” mantra. We get it. The plot has done the job of giving us that theme. And if Rue was going to die, it needed to be in a better way.

-Cliches. There are so many cliches, sometimes I think it’s impossible to avoid them all. But you can try. Here are a few to watch out for: killing the mentor, killing the sidekick, retirony (which is killing a character who had just announced he was going to retire), killing the wife or kid, killing to dog, resurrecting dead characters. Work hard to make the deaths in your story matter. And if someone is dead. Leave them that way.

What are some books or movies that you feel killed a character in a powerful way? And what are some that failed to do so? Leave your answer in the comments.