How to get readers to care about a dead character?

I'm going to do something I swore I never would: I'm not going to answer the question. This is because I don't think you really need to get the reader to care for the dead character. Instead of answering, I'm going to explain why below. If I'm totally off on the wrong track, please let me know.

I once wrote a story similar to your situation. The main character's brother, while not dead, was captured by the enemy, and not shown until the end of the tale. The whole goal of the story was to get him back. I struggled with the same problem you have, thinking that as the goal of the story, some sympathy with the brother would be needed since he never showed up until the very end. As it turned out later, I was wrong.

The story is in fact about the main character (or MC). As long as you have developed your main character correctly (which I detail here and here), the simple fact that the MC cares about the dead character is enough.

The only time you might need to worry about creating sympathy with the dead character, is if things come to light which make him unfavorable in the eyes of the reader. Even if the MC still cares about him, the reader might start wondering why, and that logic, if left unanswered, can actually start damaging the reader's sympathy for the MC as well.

To avoid that, have some strength for the dead character come to light, preferably something which negates the bad thing we've discovered. He was a thief? He was remorseful and returned everything years later. He was selfish? Maybe he made the ultimate selfless sacrifice when it counted.

As I mentioned above, you don't need to create sympathy with the dead character unless there is something actively working against you. If there is something working against you though, and you do need to include the strength I mentioned above, how do you include it? In a backstory?

Probably not. While there's nothing inherently wrong with backstories, there is something wrong with writing more than you need. All you need in this case is to make the reader aware of the dead character's strength. In nine cases out of ten, you won't need a backstory for that. Take my two examples above:

• You need to show that the dead character - a thief - was remorseful and returned everything he stole.
  • He mailed them just before he died, and his victims start receiving the packages when it is convenient to the story.
• You need to show that the dead character - a selfish person - made the ultimate selfless sacrifice when it counted.
  • There's a host of ways to do this. Off the top of my head, maybe new forensic evidence is found at the scene of the sacrifice, and the truth is discovered.

Conclusion: Always ask yourself why a character needs reader sympathy. In this case, the simple fact that the MC cares for the dead character is enough. The MC is the Main Character for a reason: she's the one we want to win in this story, not the dead character.

The only time your dead character needs sympathy is when there is something actively working against him. Even then, don't be confused: the dead character does not need sympathy because the reader needs to be on his side. The dead character needs sympathy because, with the information the reader has, it is illogical that the MC cares about him the way she does. Supply the reason for why the MC cares about the dead character, and you're golden.

Best of luck!

posted over 6 years ago

CC BY-SA 4.0

Thomas Myron‭

1163 reputation 133 98 143 10

I am not a proficient story writer but I try to pay attention to the story line more than anything else when I absorb art. I will work with your latest edit:

An example would be that the main character might replace her with a android that they built together (not quite what will happen but easier to explain) and I want to both tell the background story of how they built that android as well as how said android differs from the real version (speech, personality etc.).

If you want to avoid falshbacks, you can work with what I think is called projections. Let's say if I would lose my loved one, I still carry her in my thoughts. I can see how this person views the world to the point that it becomes almost a dissociative identity disorder. Very harshly put, what I actually mean is that you can have impact from that dead character by having the living character mentioning what she would think, comparing her to the android, fearing/excusing-himself-through her reaction if she knew he would replace her with the android. This is a very smooth way, I find, to go to a flashback without doing it Tarantino style but simply as a literary tool (which I think is often used in stories).

However, this is only one option. Another option is to have a third character evaluating the living character based on the dead one. So the story will come out naturally through the living characters reminiscing.

This is my two cents on it :)

posted over 6 years ago

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Snifkes‭

5 reputation 0 1 1 0

Use diary entries.

As a substitute for narrative flashbacks, include short chapters interspersed among the main chapters that consist of diary entries written by the dead girl in first person present tense. If well crafted, the reader can quickly get into her head and become endeared to her. Provide diary entry dates that correspond to the timeline of the story. The existence of the diary doesn't need to be known by the boyfriend, though it could be if it furthers your narrative goals.

posted over 6 years ago

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MTA‭

5 reputation 0 1 1 0

Don't reveal that she's dead

At least, not at first.

Not sure if this will work in your story, or if it fits what you want to do, but you could try framing it in such a way that the reader doesn't realize that she is dead. One example that comes to mind is the Newberry Award winning Walk Two Moons

posted over 6 years ago

CC BY-SA 3.0

Kevin‭

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