For those who kill off their main charcter at the end...

xRuthx
For those who kill off their main charcter at the end...

37,071 / 50,000
Official Participant
Joined: Sep 29, 2009
Location: Runcorn, Cheshire
Posts: 14
Posted on:
Nov 8, 2009 - 09 13

Does the ending of your story mean your main character(s) will die? Or do you just fancy adding a twist to your story?
I am planning on killing my troubled Heroine/Outlaw at the end of my story and I was wondering which of you Wrimos are doing something similar? I will have to slap myself a few times and tell myself she is just a fictional character but I will do it, will you?
----------
Create your own banner at mybannermaker.com!>

CunoGlowing Halo

60,030 / 50,000
Official Participant
Joined: Oct 2, 2002
Location: Toronto
Posts: 160
Posted on:
Nov 8, 2009 - 09 44

My MC will 'die' during the climax. He comes back though. I'm big on resurrection, plus it's a major plot point in this novel.

----------

Bandgeek101010

528 / 50,000
Official Participant
Joined: Nov 4, 2009
Location: Canonsburg
Posts: 2
Posted on:
Nov 8, 2009 - 09 48

My novel is really controlled by death so I will have her die at the end.
I haven't decided if I should have her die killing her mother (who is my villian) or if she should die after wards. What do you think?

Atsiko

855 / 50,000
Official Participant
Joined: Oct 10, 2009
Posts: 275
Posted on:
Nov 8, 2009 - 09 49

I've had stories were MCs die. Not planning to for my NaNo, but it's something I always keep in the back of my mind.

Of course, I don't always have a single MC, so maybe those don't count.

----------

All lines are arbitrary; otherwise, we wouldn't have to draw them. ~Nicholas Vesiri

http://atsiko.wordpress.com

HeraldMage

33,818 / 50,000
Official Participant
Joined: Sep 29, 2008
Location: VA Baby
Posts: 71
Posted on:
Nov 8, 2009 - 09 50

My two mains will die at the end, betrayed by someone they thought they could trust.

I already had the ending planned before November, and even though I'm starting to fall in love with these two, it won't change. I have a sequel in mind that follows their child, and their deaths will play a role in his upbringing and all that fun stuff.
I hate to do it, as I've never killed off MC's before, but it has to be done...

----------

NaNo'08: Collision [failed]
NaNo'09: Dissonance [ ]

nepeta

5,200 / 50,000
Official Participant
Joined: Dic 9, 2007
Location: Ankh-Morpork
Posts: 194
Posted on:
Nov 8, 2009 - 10 03

My actual MCs will not die, but the other two major characters will. Basically, the MCs rescue a prince, but find out he's a complete jerk. They take him back to the palace anyway, only to find out that his brother was the one who had him kidnapped in the first place. The princes then fight and kill each other. The king's cousin (a nice guy) inherits the throne.

----------

Adopt one today!

kmn.64

51,551 / 50,000
Official Participant
Joined: Sep 23, 2009
Location: Cleveland
Posts: 38
Posted on:
Nov 8, 2009 - 10 31

not only am i killing my main character, i've already killed her mother, her best friend will die soon prob., she's gonna get H1N1 and her daughter will die trying to save her, the MC will commit suicide, and the rapist of the story (everyone needs one) will get mauled by a bear...or stabbed with an icicle.
im such a mean novelist.

rozen-crayon

39,046 / 50,000
Official Participant
Joined: Oct 17, 2008
Location: WOOOOSH
Posts: 1
Posted on:
Nov 8, 2009 - 10 33

Yup. My two MC's are going to end up trying to kill each other(they're two princes of neighboring countries that both want to control the other who were placed into an awkward arranged marriage because of succession laws) before they commit a double-suicide.

triident

21,141 / 50,000
Official Participant
Joined: Oct 11, 2006
Location: Sherwood Hall, Uni of Nottingham
Posts: 67
Posted on:
Nov 8, 2009 - 10 39

I'm definitely not killing my two MCs, but I'm toying with the idea of killing their mother. Lorelei is a bit of a complicated character who at first left her children to be killed, but is now trying desperately to save them. I'm trying to decide whether she should die to save them at the end, or whether I should leave it hanging so the reader never finds out what happens to her when she manages to save them. It could work either way, I guess I'll have to see how it goes when I get there.

----------

Dante Alicheery

45,566 / 50,000
Official Participant
Joined: Oct 12, 2009
Location: Milwaukee, WI
Posts: 29
Posted on:
Nov 8, 2009 - 10 40

One of my main characters is getting trapped in another dimension, because I couldn't quite get up the guts to kill him, or figure out how to kill him. Plus, I actually think it's worse if he is still alive, that makes so much more guilt for the main main character. And then she has to figure out how to save him.

----------

"Nailing a live octopus to a wall is impossible. Everything else is merely difficult." -Simon R. Green

xRuthx

37,071 / 50,000
Official Participant
Joined: Sep 29, 2009
Location: Runcorn, Cheshire
Posts: 14
Posted on:
Nov 8, 2009 - 10 41

My story is quite in the style of a revenge tragedy so in like every chapter someone dies and I knew prior to writing that my character would die but I've completely fell in love with the two main characters and I don't know if I have the heart to kill them lol. If they do die it has to be far better than any of the other deaths. In this story, the sinners who pose as saints are the ones to die so by my main character killing them, she also becomes a vengeful sinner who finds it her duty to carry out justice.

----------

Create your own banner at mybannermaker.com!>

Lord Blackstaff

32,286 / 50,000
Official Participant
Joined: Oct 4, 2009
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 83
Posted on:
Nov 8, 2009 - 11 22

Only if it leads to a proper fulfillment of plot points. I never kill a character for not apparent reason, and I won't even consider it unless it was to impact things in a large way.

So maybe, it really depends where things turn out.

chelsea_holden

50,162 / 50,000
Official Participant
Joined: Oct 11, 2009
Location: Leek
Posts: 33
Posted on:
Nov 8, 2009 - 12 05

I'm killing off my MC at the end --- but I wrote it first, before i liked her, now shes like a friend and im sad shes dying

Origx_Eye_of_th...

27,893 / 50,000
Official Participant
Joined: Nov 1, 2008
Location: Massachussetts
Posts: 40
Posted on:
Nov 8, 2009 - 12 38

I don't think I would be capable of killing off a main character permanently, but I do plan on having my MC this year end up trapped inside his own mind by the end of the novel.

Neushorn

38,352 / 50,000
Official Participant
Joined: Oct 29, 2008
Location: Utrecht
Posts: 141
Posted on:
Nov 8, 2009 - 12 46

Lord Blackstaff wrote:
Only if it leads to a proper fulfillment of plot points. I never kill a character for not apparent reason, and I won't even consider it unless it was to impact things in a large way.

I don't like that, personally. I know how hard it is to write a death in a way that it does not feel like it was utterly pointless (I especially paid attention to this in tv-series). However, people do die and depending on your setting and plot people do get killed. So, I don't like to say that a death must be important for it to happen.

But that, of course, is only my view and the great thing about writing is that you may use your own view in your novel while I use my view in mine.

----------

My novel's little corner

Toying with widgets!

larelmian

50,155 / 50,000
Official Participant
Joined: Oct 25, 2004
Location: Oregon
Posts: 562
Posted on:
Nov 8, 2009 - 13 56

I killed my NaNo's main character. I knew from the start that I would do it. Her death was the climax of the story -- at least the climax of the second act.

And by that point, I knew she totally deserved a public execution. But I did feel a bit sorry for her, especially after her past came back to haunt her.

----------

"What you create doesn’t have to be perfect. So what if the eggs are greasy or the toast is burned? Don’t let fear of failure discourage you." - Dieter F. Uchtdorf

UnderwaterBonfireGlowing Halo

30,285 / 50,000
Official Participant
Joined: Oct 1, 2004
Location: Elemental Plane of Crayons
Posts: 92
Posted on:
Nov 8, 2009 - 14 58

I killed off the FMC in my 2007 NaNo-- of course, the whole point of the story was explaining how she got to where she was (on trial for treason) and she did a bunch of really nasty things, so... yep. She really deserved her death.

I'm seriously considering that this year as well, only it might end up more of a 'heroic sacrifice' kind of a deal. I'm really big on those, personally.

----------

Won: 2004, 2007 (No WoW; WoW fanfic)
Epic Fail: 2005, 2006, 2008 (Curse you, WoW!)
2009: The Broken Legion
Goal: 60k by 11/20
Progress in Packing Up Apartment: -23%
Characters Shanked: Not enough!

xRuthx

37,071 / 50,000
Official Participant
Joined: Sep 29, 2009
Location: Runcorn, Cheshire
Posts: 14
Posted on:
Nov 8, 2009 - 15 18

As am I. I love it when people sacrifice themselves for others which i s a sort of running theme in my book as the main character is reeping avengence on the world it seems or those in it who cause pain and suffering to others. She wants justice to be provided to those who are threatened or dictacted to and will help them as her mission in life

----------

Create your own banner at mybannermaker.com!>

Wandering_Moon

4,135 / 50,000
Official Participant
Joined: Oct 21, 2009
Location: Durham, Ontario Canada
Posts: 11
Posted on:
Nov 8, 2009 - 15 37

Ohh...I hate to sound wishy washy but I actually haven't decided yet. Because really? My story could go both ways! If one of my main characters saves the other in time then all is well for Brighid but I don't know for sure how Caoilfhionn will react. As in, whether or not she'll let her sister save her. Caoilfhionn's life kind of sucks but I know if she lets Brighid save her then it will sort of turn around, she'll gain confidence and yadda yadda but I don't know! And the not knowing is so annoying!

I have killed off main characters before, but I usually don't do that, generally I make their life suck by killing off people they care about, which sounds really callous now that I think about it. Ah! And I don't know how Brighid will cope if Caoilfhionn does decide not to let her sister save her. Because if Brighid dies then she can be with her sister in the Fae world and...yeah. I don't know yet.

----------

...and those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music. - Friedrich Nietziche

NaNoWriMo09 The Dance of the Fae (?) - 4, 025

When I Met Her

28,756 / 50,000
Official Participant
Joined: Oct 29, 2009
Location: Grosse Pointe, Michigan
Posts: 63
Posted on:
Nov 8, 2009 - 15 41

It really depends on how the story goes. I'm discovering that I have less control over this plot than I have had in years previous. It's really bad.
I was planning on having them both die [my FMC and my MMC], but now there are accidentally six MCs and it would just be cruel to kill them all. I'm pretty sure my FMC is still going to die, and my MMC might die trying to save her. Neither deaths are going to be romantic, they're just going to get ripped apart by zombies. I just can't decide if I want Anora, Sam, Michael, and Christabell to die along with them.

branflakes

52,487 / 50,000
Official Participant
Joined: Ago 11, 2008
Location: Spring Hill, KS
Posts: 138
Posted on:
Nov 8, 2009 - 15 55

my MC died right before the novel started. And he'll die at the end. But he'll still live. Yep, that's right.

----------

Photobucket
NaNo 08: Damaged Sandwich

AThousandLivesOld

27,366 / 50,000
Official Participant
Joined: Nov 3, 2009
Location: Boise
Posts: 81
Posted on:
Nov 8, 2009 - 17 32

I might have to end up killing one of them. If HE dies, she cries over his body and moves on. if SHE dies, he cries over her body and then put a bullet in his head. cant WAIT for THAT ending. >.> good lord.

DarkReality

34,322 / 50,000
Official Participant
Joined: Oct 18, 2009
Location: North Carolina, USA
Posts: 96
Posted on:
Nov 8, 2009 - 20 37

My MMC's destined to not survive by the end, but the title of the book makes you think he's the title character, which he's not. The "twist" is that the story isn't really his, but his sister's, who shares his name. My MMC's a cool enough guy, but I never planned for him to be alive at the end. Whether I leave it at that or do a sequel with her as the main character (a few years later), in any case, it's her story, her, I guess you would say, introduction.

----------

Cups of coffee drank: 25

fleurily

17,395 / 50,000
Official Participant
Joined: Oct 31, 2009
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 43
Posted on:
Nov 8, 2009 - 22 02

My main character was originally going to die in the middle of the story, but as things progress, I think it's more likely she will be dying at the end. Either way, she'll be brought back- It's just part of the plot, since a large number of the focal cast is homunculus-esque living dead.

----------

ainekatt

20,566 / 50,000
Official Participant
Joined: Oct 31, 2007
Location: Eugene, Oregon
Posts: 85
Posted on:
Nov 8, 2009 - 22 27

I'm still not a hundred percent on this, but I'm thinking my main character is going to commit suicide at the end. Or rather, after the end. Being as this is a memoir.

----------

"When writing a novel, that's pretty much entirely what life turns into: 'House burned down. Car stolen. Cat exploded. Did 1500 easy words, so all in all it was a pretty good day.'"
-- Neil Gaiman

Matiera

26,845 / 50,000
Official Participant
Joined: Ago 19, 2008
Location: Auburn, WA
Posts: 77
Posted on:
Nov 8, 2009 - 22 42

Sadly, one of my two main characters is fated to die at the end of the novel.

----------

Photobucket

Penpilot

37,977 / 50,000
Official Participant
Joined: Sep 13, 2009
Posts: 85
Posted on:
Nov 8, 2009 - 23 16

One of my main characters dies, but it's foreshadowed throughout the whole novel. And is an inevitable consequence of the way my story is set up.

As a general rule for all endings. Endings should be surprising yet inevitable based on the foundation you lay out in everything you've written from beginnng to the end.

Don't kill a character for the sake of being shocking or different. It has to be set up not just because you feel like it.

----------

Life is a long lesson in humility

"Whenever you feel like criticizing any one...just remember that all
the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had."
- F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

JayhawkWriMo

7,969 / 50,000
Official Participant
Joined: Oct 30, 2007
Location: Miyagi Prefecture, Kurihara City, Japan
Posts: 37
Posted on:
Nov 9, 2009 - 02 41

Penpilot wrote:
One of my main characters dies, but it's foreshadowed throughout the whole novel. And is an inevitable consequence of the way my story is set up.

Same here. I am writing a re-telling of the Yoshitsune/Benkei story, and my first chapter mirrors the end. My MC fights for his brother against a resurgent evil and he succeeds, only to have an uneasy peace. When the MC's brother calls on him join his coup against the sitting king, he refuses and it's lights after that. The last chapter will be tragic yet interesting, I think.

----------

After two years of failing to launch, this will be my year.

2009: The Tears of Angelcynn

<

Bookish13

32,500 / 50,000
Official Participant
Joined: Sep 17, 2008
Location: Naples, Italy
Posts: 128
Posted on:
Nov 9, 2009 - 04 05

My MMC will die at the end and stay dead, durnit. If I don't kill someone I'll end up getting ideas for a sequel, and this is a stand-alone book. I very well might end up crying while writing it, but I'm going to do it. That is, unless I end up saving him.

----------

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

DarkeAOU

29,406 / 50,000
Official Participant
Joined: Oct 6, 2007
Location: Georgia
Posts: 99
Posted on:
Nov 9, 2009 - 04 28

Rain, my protagonist, will probably die at the end. I'm at least 95% sure about that. He's had a terminal illness all the way through the series, and he also gets poisoned about midway. It's not really going to be a surprise ending, because I plan on revealing his illness at some point. Maybe during Zeal's story arc.

It's not really a disease than can get cured. So even if I don't kill him at the end, he's still going to be dying.

I don't know how many of my other main characters die off, though. I haven't planned their story arcs at all yet. I'll get to it.

----------
  • Adopt one today!
  • The Mage of Gates: Warning
  • Part One: SEEKER Complete
Deborah Wolf

36,864 / 50,000
Official Participant
Joined: Oct 16, 2009
Location: Lake Ann, Michigan, USA
Posts: 301
Posted on:
Nov 9, 2009 - 05 06

My MC won't die till Book 3, but she will be wishing she was dead long before then *sigh*

----------

Runs Through Faerie Rings

Principal :: Sobre Nosotros :: Buscar :: My NaNoWriMo :: FAQs :: Diversiònes :: Donación/Tienda :: Forums :: Programas
Política de privacidad :: Privacy Policy :: Términos y condiciones :: Política de devolución :: Terms and Conditions :: Codes of Conduct :: Returns Policy

Copyright © 2009 The Office of Letters and Light :: All posted novel excerpts remain copyright their authors.
Powered by Drupal