How to Write A Truly Tragic Death Scene (and Avoid Clichés)

Gif credit: Tenor

Your reader doesn’t want their favorite character to die randomly. They want to look back at the events preceding his death and see your hidden hints.

Some good examples of foreshadowing are:

• Tony’s death was specifically foreshadowed when Captain America said Iron Man would never be the one to make the sacrifice play in the first Avengers movie.
• Spider-Man: Homecoming foreshadows Peter’s death when Tony says that if the kid dies, it would be on Tony’s conscience. 
• Anakin Skywalker becoming Darth Vader was foreshadowed over numerous events in the prequels and the Clone Wars TV series. Most notably was when he slaughtered the entire Sand People village. 

Give It a Point

Characters dying for no reason is really irritating. In real life, death is devastating (but we as Christians have hope after death!). It should be the same in your fictional world.

Their death should do something. It should move the plot along. Instigate a change in the main character. Force the other characters to come to grips with their own mortality. 

And your point should not simply be to make the reader sob their eyes out. That’s not nice, okay? 

At first glance, Peter Parker’s death in Infinity War seems to fit the category of “hehe, let’s watch the fans wail” but it has a deeper purpose than that. Once you watch Endgame, you see that Peter’s death is what drives Tony Stark to solve time travel and reverse the Snap. Without his death, Tony wouldn’t have been motivated to help the Avengers. 

Gif credit: Tenor 

(Whoever made this, it’s amazing.)

So yes, make your readers cry, but give their tears a purpose. 

Avoid Gushy Emotions

Our first instinct when writing the aftermath of a death scene is to go on and on for pages about the characters’ grief. But this actually isn’t the best way to handle tragedy in writing.

My college creative writing textbook quotes Anton Chekhov: “When you describe the miserable and unfortunate, and want to make the reader to feel pity, try to be somewhat colder--that seems to give a kind of background to another’s grief, against which it stands out more clearly. Whereas in your story the characters cry and you sigh. Yes, be more cold.”

The author of the textbook, Heather Sellers, explains, “‘Going cold’ means that the more intense the emotion is [that your characters are feeling], the less intense the writing should be.”

Oftentimes, your character won’t have time to focus on the tragedy. 

Think of when Gandalf died fighting the Balrog. The Fellowship didn’t stop and cry for ages. They had to keep moving.

Or when Luke Skywalker watched Vader slay his mentor. He had to finish rescuing the princess. 

So don’t slow the action for pages wallowing in sorrow. Doing so brings the pacing to a screeching halt.

As you do so, remember your characters should feel something. If they are too cold, it will be just as unrealistic and frustrating as pages of sobbing.

And sometimes, the best reactions to a death scene are not the emotions but the way in which the surviving characters change because of it. Like after the Snap in Infinity War. All the Avengers handle their grief in a different way--Tony focuses on his family, Thor starts drinking, Steve counsels others, Nat keeps trying to protect the world, and Clint...well, he goes a bit crazy.

Actions speak louder than words and emotions. Any character can cry but only those truly affected will change. 

Don’t Focus on the Death

Rather than writing pages of melancholy description, try focusing on one small element that stands in stark contrast to the death. 

K.M. Weiland has a good video where she explains this concept:

Gif Credi: Giphy

Or what about when Tony Stark dies? Surely as he’s sitting there surrounded by his friends and family, he could say something. Yet he doesn’t. And it makes the scene all that more tragic. (Here’s an article explaining why he’s silent.)

Remember, a character’s last words are important. Most of the time, the character knows they are about to die and choses their words carefully. Whether you give them an opportunity to say them or not is up to you. 

It Doesn’t Have to be a Physical Death

This last point might seem a bit off-topic, but I assure you, it’s not. 

When we think about a death scene, we think of someone (probably the mentor) getting stabbed and dying in the hero’s arms. Then the hero proceeds to mourn and vows to take vengeance. 

But what if you tried a different kind of death scene? What about the death of a dream, a relationship, or a treasure? 

Everyone has experienced this kind of death. Everyone has a hope that got crushed, a dream that vanished into darkness, or a friendship that crumbled. 

Sometimes, this type of “death scene” hurts more than if someone physically dies. 

Remember the fight between Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi at the end of Revenge of the Sith? Neither character physically dies. But it still hurts.

Or take the battle between Iron Man and Captain America in Captain America: Civil War. In this scene, there is no death. But you can see the characters’ friendship crumbling with each blow. 

So before deciding your best bet is to kill a character, consider if turning them against the hero might improve the story. 

As you prepare to write the death of a beloved character remember these few tips:

• Make the character’s death inevitable by skillfully utilizing foreshadowing. 
• Don’t let them die in vain. Their sacrifice should drive the hero onward.
• Go cold. Don’t wallow in the grief. 
• Focus on an unusual detail that stands out against the tragedy. 
• Know when to use last words and when to remain silent.
• Sometimes the death of a dream or relationship hurts way more than physical loss.
• Bring lots of tissues.

Here are some more resources on writing death scenes:

Top 5 Myths to Avoid When Writing Grief

6 Tips for Writing Grief Realistically 

3 Reasons You Should Kill A Main Character

How to Kill Characters Without Enraging Readers

4 Tactics to Make Tragedy More Meaningful In Your Stories