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.

How would you make a reader care about a character?

Here are five ways to make readers care about your characters:

1. Make Your Characters Need Something. …
2. Make Your Characters Take A Stand On Important Issues. …
3. Make Your Character The Underdog. …
4. Give Your Characters Idealistic Qualities. …
5. Give Your Characters Formidable Foes.

How do you make a character death impactful?

7 Tips For Writing Meaningful Death Scenes

1. Make the reader care about the character. …
2. Make the reader despise the character. …
3. Show the death’s effect on other characters. …
4. Avoid over-dramatisation and clichés. …
5. Don’t rely on shock value. …
6. Try not to make a death predictable.

How do you get over a character’s death in a book?

Because, guess what, you’ll find new stories to immerse yourself in, new characters to adore, and new fictional deaths to mourn over. So, take a deep breath and come to terms with your grief. Remember: Sometimes taking a breather from the story to take time and reflect is needed to calm yourself down.

How do you foreshadow a death of a character?

Foreshadow. In general, your characters shouldn’t die out of the blue. Yes, you may want to shock your reader but when they look back, they should realize his fate was inescapable. For example, before watching Endgame, I knew Tony Stark was going to die (I’m still not over it).

How do you make a character’s death hurt?

How to make a character’s death sadder

1. Don’t have them die of old age after a long, fulfilling life. …
2. Leave one of their major goals unfinished. …
3. Give them strong relationships with other characters.
4. Make them fight against whatever is causing their death. …
5. Kill them in the middle of their character arc.

How do you write a heartbreaking scene?

6 Tips for Writing a Sad Story

1. Tap into your own emotionality. …
2. Know the difference between sentimentality and truth. …
3. Leave room to be surprised by specific detail. …
4. Pair strong emotions with ordinary ones. …
5. Use backstories to add weight. …
6. Use sad moments to further character development.

Why does the death of a fictional character hurt so much?

The suspension of disbelief inherent in fiction allows us to feel like those characters are real at that moment when we are reading or watching. We empathize. We find ourselves in them. Hence, if the character dies, the reader will often feel grief as well.

Is it OK to cry over a fictional characters death?

Cry as much as you want.



People can go through a similar mourning process for fictional characters as they do for real people in their life, though it may be less extreme. Know that you are completely justified in your sadness and don’t try to suppress feelings of grief.

Why does it hurt when a character dies?

Even though characters in TV shows and movies are fictional, it’s important to understand that your feelings can be the same regardless of whom or what was lost. Because you felt connected to your favorite character, you may feel sad or angry after he or she dies—and that’s perfectly normal.

How do you say someone dies in a story?

As hard as it is sometimes, we always say that someone died, not that they “passed away” or “passed on.” You can certainly use this language in your questions, but when it comes time to write the story, stick to “died.” Generally, obits and death stories focus on the positive parts of a person’s life.

What are 5 examples of foreshadowing?

Common Examples of Foreshadowing

• Dialogue, such as “I have a bad feeling about this”
• Symbols, such as blood, certain colors, types of birds, weapons.
• Weather motifs, such as storm clouds, wind, rain, clearing skies.
• Omens, such as prophecies or broken mirror.
• Character reactions, such as apprehension, curiosity, secrecy.

What things symbolize death?

14 Symbols of Death From Our Collection

• King vulture: Vultures are scavengers that eat the flesh of dead bodies. …
• Mummy:
• Bat skeleton: …
• La Catrina:
• Hearse:
• Memento Mori:
• Death’s head hawk moth: …
• Skull x-ray:

How do you revive a character in a story?

You have two options with this one:

1. Let them die. All the way. Let the other characters grieve (or rejoice), then bring them back to life in a later scene.
2. Let them live, but they are severely handicapped for the rest of the story.

Why do I cry over fictional characters?

One theory behind the paradox is that tragic fiction provides catharsis, or a purge of negative emotions. “It gives us something to focus those negative emotions on and get them out of our system.” Other research has shown that people tend to feel better after crying.

Is it OK to have a crush on a fictional character?

If you watch a television series or read a book regularly, you will grow a fondness for the characters and that’s only natural … It is NOT weird to feel attracted (even sexually) to a fictional character if this character isn’t too young or an animal (or something similar).

Are Missing fictional characters normal?

Falling in love with a fictional character is not unusual, and many people have found themselves emotionally attached to a character in a book, movie, TV show, or video game.