Killing Off A Favorite Character...

I'm recently retired and am finally trying to do something I've wanted to do my entire adult life; write a novel.

I have the plot outline written and bulk of the major characters defined. In fact, I've got the novel about half way written (just over 80,000 words.) The problem is as follows. One of the main female characters starts out as sympathetic at the beginning of the story and continues to become more so as the story progresses. However, she is killed about two thirds of the way into the plot, which drives her husband to seek revenge. Without her death, the whole story falls apart.

My problem is that I've become too attached to the female character that's supposed to die. I've got to great lengths to make her complex and three dimensional, and I can she her being a vehicle for a lot of future fiction. (I already have a sequel outlined, even if this one flops.) She could go a long ways if only she doesn't die.

So, what do I do? Should I go to a great deal of effort to save her (or not place her in danger in the first place) or should I just "bite the bullet" and let her go to her fate? I'm interested in all viewpoints that any of you might have to offer.

 

Keep her killed off, if you like her character and also want depth to the story, think about her past.

Bring it up throughout the story, maybe even in the husbands memories later in the story and throughout the beginning so the past reconnects to the future

 

Zombies seem popular...


j/k




Go with the memories route ^^^ or keep her around in some kind of "spirit" form. That doesn't have to be a ghost, but could be. Could just be a mental connection to the husband, like "voices" in his head but guides his path.


I donno.

 

That never even occurred to me. Writing flashbacks from the husbands memories is perfect! Thanks!

 

The fact that she's your favourite character is neither here nor there. However if she becomes one of the fave characters of your readers, then there is no doubt that they will feel cheated when she is killed off.

Flashbacks should be used sparingly as they can become annoying to readers if there are too many.

Is she the main female character or just one of many? How often does she appear in the 80,000 words you have written so far? If the answer to the first question is yes and if she appears in almost every chapter so far, my answer is let her be. If the answer is no, kill her off by all means

But without seeing a synopsis of your novel answering either way is difficult.

 

There are three main characters in the novel, of which she is one. (The main character is her husband. The story is written first-person from his point-of-view.)

In the first two-thirds of the novel (prior to her death), she plays a major role in at least a third of those chapters.

 

Okay. Then how about having her attacked/assaulted/raped but not killed. She then suffers from retrograde amnesia and is unable to remember anything that happened except for maybe a single word or phrase. Her husband then goes out for revenge but against the wrong person and maybe at the climax she is able to finger the person who did attack her.

Just a thought.