How To Make A Character's Death Sadder

How to make a character's death sadder

Don’t have them die of old age after a long, fulfilling life. Many people don’t even think of this as sad (note that this can still work if you have enough of the other factors).

Leave one of their major goals unfinished. The more enthusiastic they are about completing the goal, the sadder.

Give them strong relationships with other characters.

Make them fight against whatever is causing their death. Their ultimate loss is sadder if they struggle.

Kill them in the middle of their character arc.

Don’t describe their funeral in detail. Maybe it’s just me, but I find that long descriptions of funerals kill the sadness.

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useful interesting writers tips how to make a character's death sadder

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“That was ONE time!”

“Due to an administrative error”, or any major plot point which is caused almost entirely by bureaucratic fuckups

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Side characters with a level of fourth-wall awareness / quasi-supernatural ability which is never quite certain, like the janitor in Scrubs.

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Really, really specific similes.

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