The Final Curtain

Dealing with the death of a character in a novel.

Last week Our Writer tasked me with finding the best and most concise way to explain what their novel was about. I think that I did a brilliant job.

However, I was in trouble for suggesting that one of the characters doesn’t make it to the end of the book. I didn’t actually say that they died. You know I didn’t. I said that somebody doesn’t find out how the novel ends. I won’t mention who it was again, I don’t want to be in more trouble, you can always read it back.

Anyway, so now I’m thinking, how do writers deal with the death of their characters during the story?

Sometimes the writer has had enough and they kill off the main character. This can lead to a backlash by the readers. Sometimes the backlash by the readers is a story in itself, Misery.

Sometimes the novelist announces that a popular character is going to die in the next novel in their series, but the readers have to read through in order to find out who it is. There’s a feeling of panic that it might be the main character and then relief when it’s only a minor one. It’s so hard to keep a secret nowadays that it’s probably better to announce it beforehand.

This won’t be a problem for Our Readers, because Our Writer isn’t that famous yet. I did try to explain this when I was reprimanded for hinting that Angela dies.

Oops.

You see, Our Readers don’t know who Angela is so they don’t really care. There she is, in one chapter, large as life, bossing everyone around. And then, suddenly, a few chapters later, she’s not there anymore, but all her stuff is. Her death isn’t covered, it’s implied.

I might not even shed a tear for Angela. Having said all this now though, Our Writer might take revenge and make me break my heart over the demise of Angela. Our Writer might bar me from Substack and give Angela the gig instead.

Have you ever actually cried at the death of a character in a novel? I have. I cried when Helen Burns died in Jane Eyre and I cried when I thought Aslan had died in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.

This week I’ll be exploring how writers deal with deaths in their novels and hopefully I’ll be posting back to you. Unless Our Writer throttles me and I’m reincarnated as Angela.

Below is my illustration of the chapel in the local cemetery, in watercolour and fineliner.