I'm getting to the point in my story where I need Sam, the mentor character, to die. I've already written most of his funeral, so this guy has to die. Problem is, I haven't decided just how to accomplish that. My characters have already gone up against and killed a number of demons, so it wouldn't seem right to have just any old mission be his last. I'm thinking he can either die at the hands of one of the Big Baddies, (though I'm not sure how to shoehorn them into the story for that,) he can die saving someone else, or can die by some kind of assassination / poison, or I can just have him die by freak accident. Or, a million other ways. There are thousands of them, and I don't know which one to use.
Since Sam is your mentor character - a special character, evidently - maybe you need to find a special way to have him die. Sounds like he may have had a hand in killing off some of your other characters. How about this: Have Sam accidentally die in a trap that he set up for another character to die in? And have that other character live - at least until next years NaNoWriMo, when he/she/it transforms from a baddie into your new Good Hero.
Maybe you could write this death in three different ways and see which one is the most effective (getting additional word count for November).
It might be good for Sam to die because of a mistake made by the main character; and, perhaps, you could have Sam sacrifice himself as he realizes how that mistake might jeopardize other lives.
There might also be a moment of irony by having Sam die because of something that he did earlier in the book (you could add this in later), e.g., perhaps he was once merciful and that has come back to haunt him. Or perhaps it is not just any poison but a very painful, long, lingering poison that he received earlier in the book but didn't tell anyone about, because he knew that there wasn't anything that others might do for him and this way he could still be active and helpful until near the end.
All good suggestions. I'll move on to the next chapter, and keep thinking about how I want to execute this, pun intended. Keep those suggestions coming!
I do have an enemy demon that got away in an earlier chapter, but he wasn't all that powerful. He could definitely level up and come back. He could just as easily die to a demonic curse. And he is the sort of character that would sacrifice his own life to save someone else. Sooo... maybe I can find a way to work all three of them into one death.
All good suggestions. I'll move on to the next chapter, and keep thinking about how I want to execute this, pun intended. Keep those suggestions coming!
I do have an enemy demon that got away in an earlier chapter, but he wasn't all that powerful. He could definitely level up and come back. He could just as easily die to a demonic curse. And he is the sort of character that would sacrifice his own life to save someone else. Sooo... maybe I can find a way to work all three of them into one death.
Maybe it will help to decide what kind of impact you want Sam's death to have on the rest of the story. A sacrificial death a la Obi-Wan or a death caused by a mistake that the MC made will have a much differentimpact on the MC's actions going forward than if Sam dies by accident. The MC could also learn a lesson from Sam's mistakes if, as Tim suggested, Sam dies because of something he himself did earlier in the story (like showing mercy to someone he shouldn't have).
I'm getting to the point in my story where I need Sam, the mentor character, to die. I've already written most of his funeral, so this guy has to die. Problem is, I haven't decided just how to accomplish that. My characters have already gone up against and killed a number of demons, so it wouldn't seem right to have just any old mission be his last. I'm thinking he can either die at the hands of one of the Big Baddies, (though I'm not sure how to shoehorn them into the story for that,) he can die saving someone else, or can die by some kind of assassination / poison, or I can just have him die by freak accident. Or, a million other ways. There are thousands of them, and I don't know which one to use.
Since Sam is your mentor character - a special character, evidently - maybe you need to find a special way to have him die. Sounds like he may have had a hand in killing off some of your other characters. How about this: Have Sam accidentally die in a trap that he set up for another character to die in? And have that other character live - at least until next years NaNoWriMo, when he/she/it transforms from a baddie into your new Good Hero.
Character deaths, for me, fall into one of the following camps:
Maybe you could write this death in three different ways and see which one is the most effective (getting additional word count for November).
It might be good for Sam to die because of a mistake made by the main character; and, perhaps, you could have Sam sacrifice himself as he realizes how that mistake might jeopardize other lives.
There might also be a moment of irony by having Sam die because of something that he did earlier in the book (you could add this in later), e.g., perhaps he was once merciful and that has come back to haunt him. Or perhaps it is not just any poison but a very painful, long, lingering poison that he received earlier in the book but didn't tell anyone about, because he knew that there wasn't anything that others might do for him and this way he could still be active and helpful until near the end.
All good suggestions. I'll move on to the next chapter, and keep thinking about how I want to execute this, pun intended. Keep those suggestions coming!
I do have an enemy demon that got away in an earlier chapter, but he wasn't all that powerful. He could definitely level up and come back. He could just as easily die to a demonic curse. And he is the sort of character that would sacrifice his own life to save someone else. Sooo... maybe I can find a way to work all three of them into one death.
All good suggestions. I'll move on to the next chapter, and keep thinking about how I want to execute this, pun intended. Keep those suggestions coming!
I do have an enemy demon that got away in an earlier chapter, but he wasn't all that powerful. He could definitely level up and come back. He could just as easily die to a demonic curse. And he is the sort of character that would sacrifice his own life to save someone else. Sooo... maybe I can find a way to work all three of them into one death.
A blog I follow just hada post on different types of character deaths! Maybe one of these options will inspire a plan!
Maybe it will help to decide what kind of impact you want Sam's death to have on the rest of the story. A sacrificial death a la Obi-Wan or a death caused by a mistake that the MC made will have a much differentimpact on the MC's actions going forward than if Sam dies by accident. The MC could also learn a lesson from Sam's mistakes if, as Tim suggested, Sam dies because of something he himself did earlier in the story (like showing mercy to someone he shouldn't have).
Good luck! :)