"You don't have to do this alone." ||
WRITING GUIDE. a book where i make my best attempt at helping you write a kickass fanfic for the 100.
[writing tips, the 100 facts, face claims, book recommendations, etc etc etc]
"down here fear is death, weakness is death." - bellamy blake
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*WARNING. there might be spoilers in this tip, depending how far you are in the show. also, this tip isn't super triggering but it's v sad be warned.
okay. can i just say that finn's death killed me. i know some people don't really like him but he was one of my favourite characters and i'm still butt-hurt about it. anyways, onto the tip.
so, you're evil. and you've decided to kill off one of your characters. maybe it's an OC that you made up, or maybe it's a character from the TV show who dies (i.e. wells, finn, lexa, lincoln, etc). either way, you want to make it sad.
now, these tips that i compiled from various sources on the internet are more for characters that are/were a main character in your book, or at least a supporting character. (i.e. a character that your readers, and the other main characters in your book care about). the main thing to remember is you don't have to use these tips if you're killing off a random minor character that nobody really knows. AND you don't have to follow all the tips. they're more guidelines, but if you use one or more when you kill of a character, they're bound to make your readers cry. maybe.
HOW TO MAKE A CHARACTER'S DEATH SADDER↴
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✗ give them a strong relationship with your main character(s). it's sad because if your main character and the person who died had a really good, dynamic relationship it's sad for your readers knowing that will be gone.
✗ leave one of their major goals unfinished. something they had been living for, or looking forward too. the more enthusiastic they are about reaching said goal, the sadder their death will be because it's like BUT THEY NEVER GOT TO _____. killing a character off in the middle of their character arc is the worst. (see the chapter on character arcs for help)
✗ similar to the quote above, if you give your main character something they wanted to tell the deceased, but never got around to saying, or was too scared to say, that's the worst too. for example they never got to say 'thank you' or 'i love you' or something.
✗ if your OC/main character witnesses the death, describe it well. take time to write it until your satisfied, do not rush it. go back and edit it, make sure it's exactly how you want it. also make sure to vividly describe your character's reaction to the death.
✗ unless it's a death that happens in the show that you can't really avoid, make sure you want to kill your character off (i.e. if it's an OC). think, will it upstage a different death..? does it make sense for them to die right now...? a rushed, random death won't really help you.
✗ keep their memory alive. the worst is when in fanfics a main character dies and then it's like two chapters later everyone's like yeah mmkay whatever. i know the characters in the 100 experience A LOT of death, and unfortunately they kind of, in a twisted way, get used to it. BUT especially if the deceased was a close friend of your main character, make them remember them once in a while in dreams, flashbacks, conversation, etc.
✗ make the deceased fight for their life. the less scared a character is to die, the less sad their death is. i know this sounds super morbid but facts are facts.
✗ build up suspense before the death. don't just be like, 'they woke up the next morning, and ___ was dead", or "they were randomly running through the woods and out of nowhere ____ was stabbed". the more suspense and tension the sadder it will be.
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OKAY WELL THAT WAS SAD LOL. i'm gonna go roll up in a blanket and cry now. not actually but kind of. today i had to do a CPR class to renew my training or whatever, and i think i literally broke my hand doing chest compressions on a fake dummy practice dude bc it hurts so bad to type or to touch my hand lol. of course i would hurt myself while learning first aid.
