So You Wanna Kill a Character?

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I was going to be serious and some of these suggestions will be in that category.  Yet I find myself in a silly mood, which means we’ll see what happens.  So what are some things to consider when killing off a main character?

1. Make sure the readers will care.  If a central character dies and there’s no reaction then something went wrong.  Maybe you forgot to include them in the previous parts of the book?  Perhaps you forgot to explain what the character’s purpose was besides getting shanked in the giblets.  Either way, you might want some beta readers to make sure this doesn’t happen.
2. Have it be memorable.  Nobody likes a forgettable death scene.
3. Have it be simple.  Only so many ‘life story’ speeches a character can do without a gaping chest wound.  Unless they’re in a Metal Gear game and then they seem to have…