D is for Death
Feb. 20th, 2013 01:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
snowynightJ.R.R. Tolkien
“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.
"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
Death is horrifying. We are fascinated with death because we all know that we can't avoid it, no matter how much we try. Death is always a big deal in fiction, except when death is cheap or there's a revolving door of death, but even even then we feel the weight of deaths.
Common tropes in character death
As the tv tropes says, from Never Say "Die" through Red Shirt Army to Anyone Can Die (or even Kill 'em All), you're going to have to decide to what degree death can affect the characters. Don't forget the death of villains, too, from Thou Shalt Not Kill to Shoot the Dog and so forth.
Pitfalls
We all remember the episode that the one supposed to be shot to dead somehow manages to continue to talk for an hour. We all remember the TPTB that decide a cheap death is just the thing to spice up the show. We all hear about the Women in the refrigerator or the Black guy goes first. Don't.
Writers' Lounge
The tone of a death scene can vary, from the gallows horror in black comedy to big epic death in high fantasy, but what's important is that your readers will probably feel cheated with a sudden death thrust into their throat, especially with a very beloved character. So you may want to consider the following.
How inevitable is the death? If it's war film and a crime fiction, death is inevitable, but you probably won't expect death in say, Garfield comics. Mood whiplash may happen if you suddenly insert a death.
Do you want the death to count? A death is the end of a life, but not the end of a relationship. Show people who are affected by the death. Make the dead person count by telling us what they're like when alive. Use the five senses for a death scene. You want your death to be felt poignant. Be subtle and restrained. Alternatively, you may want to use the death to show what a cracksack world there is. Then show us how the characters are hardened and unmoved by that. Explore their psyche. Insert humour and surrealism.
How realistic do you want the death? Death is gruesome and unpleasant. If you want the details, research, research, research. Or you may want to do it soft and it's all right too, depending on your story.
What's the cause of death?
Freak accident has been done too much that it's now itself a cliche. But it can be done, just be careful if you don't want your readers to suspect that you're doing it to gt a character forever out of the scene. If they're killed, how does this affect the people responsible for their death? If they know that their death are coming, what do they feel and how do they prepare for that?
Question: How do you feel about a death scene in fanfic or canon? Do you have any example it's done right or wrong?
“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.
"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
Death is horrifying. We are fascinated with death because we all know that we can't avoid it, no matter how much we try. Death is always a big deal in fiction, except when death is cheap or there's a revolving door of death, but even even then we feel the weight of deaths.
Common tropes in character death
As the tv tropes says, from Never Say "Die" through Red Shirt Army to Anyone Can Die (or even Kill 'em All), you're going to have to decide to what degree death can affect the characters. Don't forget the death of villains, too, from Thou Shalt Not Kill to Shoot the Dog and so forth.
Pitfalls
We all remember the episode that the one supposed to be shot to dead somehow manages to continue to talk for an hour. We all remember the TPTB that decide a cheap death is just the thing to spice up the show. We all hear about the Women in the refrigerator or the Black guy goes first. Don't.
Writers' Lounge
The tone of a death scene can vary, from the gallows horror in black comedy to big epic death in high fantasy, but what's important is that your readers will probably feel cheated with a sudden death thrust into their throat, especially with a very beloved character. So you may want to consider the following.
How inevitable is the death? If it's war film and a crime fiction, death is inevitable, but you probably won't expect death in say, Garfield comics. Mood whiplash may happen if you suddenly insert a death.
Do you want the death to count? A death is the end of a life, but not the end of a relationship. Show people who are affected by the death. Make the dead person count by telling us what they're like when alive. Use the five senses for a death scene. You want your death to be felt poignant. Be subtle and restrained. Alternatively, you may want to use the death to show what a cracksack world there is. Then show us how the characters are hardened and unmoved by that. Explore their psyche. Insert humour and surrealism.
How realistic do you want the death? Death is gruesome and unpleasant. If you want the details, research, research, research. Or you may want to do it soft and it's all right too, depending on your story.
What's the cause of death?
Freak accident has been done too much that it's now itself a cliche. But it can be done, just be careful if you don't want your readers to suspect that you're doing it to gt a character forever out of the scene. If they're killed, how does this affect the people responsible for their death? If they know that their death are coming, what do they feel and how do they prepare for that?
Question: How do you feel about a death scene in fanfic or canon? Do you have any example it's done right or wrong?
Well...
Date: 2013-02-20 08:07 am (UTC)It doesn't have to be. I break this a lot in my writing. That doesn't mean I never write about death as horrifying, but rather, I don't make that the default. A death can be horrifying if, say, someone is tortured, or dies young for no reason, or whatnot. People can freak out about it. But it's also possible for death to be meaningful, or sublime, or welcome, or just a thing that naturally happens and isn't a huge deal.
Different cultures have different perspectives on death. America is not one of the more rational ones. So I look for more variety.
Re: Well...
Date: 2013-02-20 10:23 am (UTC)