𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐬 & 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐬

how to make a character's death sadder

1. If possible, try to kill them off in the middle of the story (or near the end) so we had time to like them and we will have time to let the loss settle in.

2. Place the surviving characters in a situation where having the deceased person there would help them get out. You can choose whether you will point this fact out or if you want the audience to make the connection themselves.

3. Make them die by sacrificing themselves to save someone they love.

4. Have their loved one, broken hearted, tell the team to stop fighting because "it's over."

5. Have their pet come looking for them.

6. Family witnessing the death and/or blaming themselves for it.

Add some frustrating to the reader's sadness

7. Kill the character in the middle of making a joke, smiling, or expressing/experiencing joy/happiness.

8. Make the character's death slow and painful, but make them unable to call out for help even though they can literally see the other characters nearby.

9. After killing the character, have the others think that character betrayed them so they'd always hate them and remember them as traitors and never say nice things about them...you're readers will be the only ones that know the truth.

10. Right before their death, show a side of them nobody has seen. (Someone who is always tough and brave being genuinely scared of dying alone; someone who is always laughing being in tears before dying, etc.)

11. Make them the only person that knows a big important secret that would help others in the story.

12. Have them be "lied" to right before dying. (They'll think they've been betrayed; thinking they weren't loved; thinking they've lost their loved ones when it was just a lie, etc.)

13. Make the character very enthusiastic/passionate about a certain goal, constantly put stress on their goal, have them die unexpectedly before they can reach their goal.

14. Have another beloved character kill them-a close friend, one that absolutely nobody suspects, one that everybody can't help but love, one who is always enthusiastic about things and encourages your character.

15. Have the character go through a horrible death and end the story before the other characters can find out about them dying. The reader will not get to see those character's reactions.

That's all I've got!

Now you'll be able to write some super emotional deaths that may cause your readers to shed some tears. In my opinion number 8 and 13 are extremely sad. 😭 Okay I'm done now haha.

Let me know what you guys think!