The Unfortunate Demise of Characters - Writing the Death of a Character

"What?!  Why is Alea writing about death?"  you ask.  "Uh oh.  This means one of her characters is going to die..."

*Smiles innocently*  Today I am going to talk about character deaths.  I know it is a pretty depressing topic, but it seems to happen a lot in books.  *Raises hands in the air* I am just saying...

Every emotional reader has cried over the death of a character.  I know I have numerous times.  (I won't give spoilers, no worries.)  I think this is a good thing.

"You shouldn't have to mourn characters!" you say.

It shows I care about that character.  I care about the book.  That is just what the author wants.  They want us to feel what is happening in the book.

So why do authors kill characters?  (Please note there are propably more than just these few)

1. To make it realistic.

2. To set it apart.

3. To annoy the reader.  (Honestly some authors are heartless and kill the character for absolutely no reason.)

4. It causes a turning point in the main character's life.

5. It makes the story more powerful.

6. The author is sick of writing the series so he/she kills EVERYONE.

Yeah, you get the point.  The good part is, I trust my favorite authors (Jaye L. Knight, Nadine Brandes, and Anne Elisabeth Stengl) with the lives of characters.  They don't kill unnecessarily.  Which brings me to another point for you to know as a writer:

ONLY KILL A CHARACTER IF IT IS NECESSARY!

(Yes, that is me as a reader talking.)

What I am saying is it is okay to kill a character, just make sure there is a good reason.  :)

Thank you for listening to my rambling and pleading.  You may carry on with the rest of your lives now.

Tally ho!  Cheery bye!  Until we next meet!