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

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.

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?

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

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 [ ]

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

>

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.

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

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.

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!

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

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!

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

>

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

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.

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

NaNo 08: Damaged Sandwich

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

<

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.

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.

• 
• The Mage of Gates: Warning
• Part One: SEEKER Complete
  

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

Runs Through Faerie Rings