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Q&A When can I kill my character?

When it serves the plot. That's really the only reason you do anything in a plot-driven story. If the death serves the plot, do it. If it doesn't serve the plot, then don't. Don't do it for shock...

posted 6y ago by Lauren Ipsum‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Answer
#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-13T12:00:47Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/37780
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T09:27:27Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/37780
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by (deleted user) · 2019-12-08T09:27:27Z (almost 5 years ago)
When it serves the plot.

That's really the only reason you do anything in a plot-driven story. If the death serves the plot, do it. If it doesn't serve the plot, then don't.

Don't do it for shock value, or purely to motivate another character (that's called "fridging," which you can read about on [TV Tropes](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/StuffedIntoTheFridge)), or because it's trendy or edgy or GRRMartin or J Whedon does it.

Do it because there is a reason which makes sense for your plot to move forward.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2018-07-22T13:16:16Z (over 6 years ago)
Original score: 17