For the vast majority of stories, the main character doesn’t die at the end.
So then why do we fear for the character’s death anyway? And how can we make sure we do it to readers of our own stories?
Let’s find out!
During the last stream we attempted to answer this question: Most main characters don’t die at the end of stories. So how do you make readers fear for something they know won’t happen?
See our answer here, or scroll down to read it.
You can also see some great examples we made here!
Answer:
This is a complex topic, so let’s break it down into three parts:
(1) There are plenty of things we enjoy already knowing the outcome.
- We know we won’t die riding a roller coaster, but it’s still thrilling.
- We know a magician will find our card, but it’s still exciting.
- And we know a main character won’t die, but it’s still gripping.
– Writing a good story isn’t so much about making your reader FEAR for the death of your character. Rather, it’s about making your reader CARE about your character and wanting to see them succeed.
– If we care about the character then we’ll INSTINCTUALLY fear their death.
(2) Make us care by bringing your character CLOSE to failing/dying, but then succeed in fun ways.
– Most genres have plot tropes:
- The couple always gets together at the end of the romance story…
- The good guy always defeats the bad guy at the end of the action story…
- The detective always solves the crime at the end of a mystery story, etc.
– The binary question of “are they dead or alive at the end?” isn’t what drives us readers forward, it’s seeing HOW the character perseveres and eventually succeeds.
(3) Have them come close to failing/dying by having others die, or have them fail in other ways.
– Friends/family/allies can always die in stories, so their fates are unknown to the reader.
– If the stakes aren’t death, then the final fate of the main character can be unknown too.
- A character has to choose whether to live with mom or dad…
- A character has to get married by the end of the year or they lose their inheritance…
Final Answers:
– Make us care about your character, then we will automatically FEAR their death.
– Do that by bringing them CLOSE to failing, but then succeed in a satisfying way.
– Do that by having other characters fail/die, or have them fail in other ways.
(Check out the video to see some really cool story ideas we came up with using these ideas!)
After that, we wrote this prompt: You are a thief of hearts in a heartless world.
In a heartless world, a thief of hearts is either a fool… or a genius. Reg’dranath the Blood God demands sacrifice to stay appeased, and those who hunt down and serve up the hearts to satiate his infinite appetite have both the most dangerous and most honorable job in the realm.
Thankfully I’m pretty damn good at it.
I sneak into the house of a nobody from the village. It’s a small wood cabin on the outskirts of town nearby the woods, one of a hundred such dwellings. The windows are open to the night air, low enough to the ground that I easily climb inside the one-room home. My feet land silent as falling leaves; my black cloak billows around me, quiet as the darkness.
Pulling it tight around my body with one hand and gripping my dagger with the other, I creep forward up to the bed. The sleeping wheezings of the older man bring the blanket up and down in a constant rhythm that I match my footsteps with, all the way up to right beside his neck. My dagger shines in the moonlight from the window.
No one knows this man. No one would miss him. It’s time.
Right before I make my move, the man snorts and coughs on his own snore, springing to life in his bed. Startled, I step back and my foot knocks over a wooden cup to the floor making his eyes snap to my presence.
“What the–!” Startled awake, he flails and thrusts out his hairy arms defensively, breathing heavy. As he makes a move to scoot off the bed to whatever safety he’s trying to find, I reach out and snatch his wrist.
“Stop,” I command as calmly as I can. Usually I don’t like to do my work with my victims all up in a huff, but I’ll do what I have to do. For a moment the man fights back against my grip, but then he glances down at my dagger, and falls limp in defeat.
“Oh,” he mumbles. “It’s one of you. Reg’dranath’s minions.”
I nod. He sighs and slowly turns himself to the edge of the bed, presenting himself as an easy target.
“Do what you must, then,” he says. “Our world is a heaping pile of horse dung, but it’s the only one we’ve got. If my heart will keep the Blood God at bay for a little longer, then take it.”
A relief to hear that. It made my job easier. I release his wrist with one of my hands and bring out the dagger with the other. I extend my arms as wide as I can…
…and then swoop in for a giant bear hug.
I wrap my arms around the man’s bulky body and squeeze tight. Just as he lets out a gasp of shock, I bring my head back and plant a sloppy kiss right on his cheek. His face burns red as I step back to look at my latest “victim.”
“What are you doing?” the man asked, gazing at me in disbelief.
“I’m doing what we should’ve done a long time ago,” I said. “We’ve been sacrificing hearts to Reg’dranath for generations now… and for what? Just to cower in his shadow? I say enough is enough. It’s time to steal hearts in a different way, for a different god. Venella is her name, the goddess of love, and if we can give her the strength that she needs, then maybe she can help us defeat Reg’dranath instead of fear him.”
The man looked up at me and a smile spread across his blushing face.
“I agree,” he said, “wholeheartedly.”
In a heartless world, a thief of hearts is either a fool… or a genius.
If you want to join us and help write a story by trolling in chat, or share your own writing for feedback, then we’d love to have you. We stream on Twitch every Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday at 6:30pm-10:30pm (U.S. Eastern Standard Time).
And you missed the stream, you can still watch them on the YouTube channel or watch the full stream reruns.
Hope to see you next time, friend!
Scott Wilson is the author of the novel Metl: The ANGEL Weapon,
forthcoming March 2019.
Featured image: Pakutaso (edited by me)