I made the leap and am writing madly toward the conclusion of The Tale of the Drakanox. As I’m pulling the threads together, there’s one thing I didn’t really consider before I got to this point. Will all of my characters survive the experience?
In previous posts, I’ve mulled over how authors decide whether characters should live or die. Sometimes a character is “bad” and needs to be “punished,” so they die in the end. Or they’re “good” and deserve to live by whatever contrived means. (Thinking of all those movies where it seems like a character is dead, but then they start breathing again.) Sometimes the author is looking for a juicy twist. Sometimes, they seem to feel that victory must have a cost. These can all be valid reasons, or they can be manipulations.
Or, both. As they say, two things can be true at the same time.
What I’m thinking about here are three main issues. First, as a pantser, I follow the most logical outcome of situations. If a character dying is most logical, then I should let it happen. Unless I need that character for later in the story. Then I will revise the situation so escape is more logical.
Second, I consider the reader’s reaction. Will they be disappointed if nobody dies? Grieving for fallen characters is a thing that some readers seem to enjoy. Other readers may be upset if the “bad guy” lives to tell the tale. Should I bump off a character to satisfy those readers?
Third and perhaps more important, I consider the underlying theme of the work. With the Minstrels of Skaythe series, it’s resisting a vicious regime through non-violence. If I end the series with a major bloodbath, that would undercut my own point and I’m certain it would disappoint readers who value my theme.
Before I go farther, I’ll probably make up one of my charts that lists all the possible outcomes. Just looking at them all laid out like that sometimes gives me a knee-jerk “yes/no” reaction that helps me. I might even roll dice for some of the choices.
Looks like I have some decisions to make!
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