As an author, how do you feel as an author killing off such a significant character?

[MFontana]

I would honestly only ever consider killing off a main character if I'm already aiming to write a tragedy. I think the main cast tends to be so important that it feels broken if any of them dies for good. It'd be like eliminating a Mugiwara. The damage would be irreparable.

But when talking tragedy, I think of course, that nothing could be more devastating than the loss of the characters you followed through the journey.

Sounds oddly similar to something that might eventually happen in one of my writing someday~ :o Still you did mention that in one of your universes the characters may always be revived, so as long as that is present to the readers they might still have hope to make things right.

Lyn mentioned! She's one of my top three favorites along Lucina and Alear.

Would you say a story like Dragon Ball needs to warn readers that characters may die? Technically the first death of ever of a main character like Krillin's was a shocker.

Luci is definitely up there too, but had some strong competition in Awakening.
Also, yes. That IS always a possibility through the Transmigration of Souls. (A major plot point of one of my earliest story projects that I may revisit at some point after finishing the ones I'm writing right now).

I don't remember Dragon Ball permanently killing off protagonists (permanently at least)... most Anime don't. It's always supporting characters only. There are rarely any real MC deaths because Japanese Mangaka know the heavy reactions from their fans.

Also, you can't compare Anime with web novels.

I am merely stating that a majority of your readers will not acknowledge your decision and will revolt if you kill off a beloved main character (especially if it's later in the story and you are past the 100-200 chapter mark)

As someone who killed off a major character (not the main character) in the early arcs of his stories, I have received quite a lot of hate mail, and a lot of people stopped. Those who accepted it didn't enjoy it.

I am merely telling you the reality. There is barely any upside, but there is a real downside.

As for upside, well that's a matter of perspective.
For me, the upside is maintaining the artistic and authorial integrity in my narratives, and this is something that I will not ever compromise on.
Nothing is without cost, or consequence, in my stories, and sometimes that cost is the life of one, or more, characters. Others, it is a massive migraine and horrible hangover. That all depends on genre and tone. So when it is necessary, anyone may die, at any time. Character deaths aren't the end of the story, however. Merely... a transition into the next phase.

No amount of hate-mail, or complaints, will change that. It may be a trade-off, but that's fine for me.

 

[FRWriter]

As for upside, well that's a matter of perspective.
For me, the upside is maintaining the artistic and authorial integrity in my narratives, and this is something that I will not ever compromise on.
Nothing is without cost, or consequence, in my stories, and sometimes that cost is the life of one, or more, characters. Others, it is a massive migraine and horrible hangover. That all depends on genre and tone. So when it is necessary, anyone may die, at any time. Character deaths aren't the end of the story, however. Merely... a transition into the next phase.

No amount of hate-mail, or complaints, will change that. It may be a trade-off, but that's fine for me.

I have like barely over 2k readers on this platform, and maybe another 10-15k on other sites.

I don't take my writing and myself too seriously.

Talking about artistic integrity feels a little bit too much for me. I want to write interesting stories, battles, and include a lot of worldbuilding. I thought, yeah, a death would be cool, that would fit my story, but I experienced nothing but rejection. Then I thought about It and while it solidified the MC's personality, I have realized that I could have achieved the same results with 100 different methods. In hindsight, it's a cheap and easy way to facilitate character development. A skillful writer can achieve the same effect without sacrificing characters.

Anyway, just my thoughts and experiences.

My advice is that everyone here should focus on telling a great story. Using cheap tools to aim for some kind of strong karthasis rarely works. At this point, it's predictable and honestly a little bit of a cop-out.

I've learned a lot about myself and writing in general since committing to these decisions.

Just trying to warn people that I regret my decisions. Thankfully, I get a lot of comments on various sites, so I can tell you that nobody, not a single reader, said: "Wow, that chapter was so strong, I cried when YXZ died. You did a great job writing that scene."

Most people didn't care, and a smaller, but very vocal part hated it, with quite a few people dropping the story. I even earned myself a one-star hate 1-star Review here on SH from someone who hated it so much. That person also deactivated his account, so I can't ever remove it.

Anyway, I hope everyone does what he or she wants to do. There will be tons of mistakes, but these mistakes are important as well, since I learned from mine. My intention was merely to make people question their rash decisions and to tell them that the genius idea of "killing off a major character" can backfire.

 

[Worthy39]

Luci is definitely up there too, but had some strong competition in Awakening.
Also, yes. That IS always a possibility through the Transmigration of Souls. (A major plot point of one of my earliest story projects that I may revisit at some point after finishing the ones I'm writing right now).



As for upside, well that's a matter of perspective.
For me, the upside is maintaining the artistic and authorial integrity in my narratives, and this is something that I will not ever compromise on.
Nothing is without cost, or consequence, in my stories, and sometimes that cost is the life of one, or more, characters. Others, it is a massive migraine and horrible hangover. That all depends on genre and tone. So when it is necessary, anyone may die, at any time. Character deaths aren't the end of the story, however. Merely... a transition into the next phase.

No amount of hate-mail, or complaints, will change that. It may be a trade-off, but that's fine for me.

I have like barely over 2k readers on this platform, and maybe another 10-15k on other sites.

I don't take my writing and myself too seriously.

Talking about artistic integrity feels a little bit too much for me. I want to write interesting stories, battles, and include a lot of worldbuilding. I thought, yeah, a death would be cool, that would fit my story, but I experienced nothing but rejection. Then I thought about It and while it solidified the MC's personality, I have realized that I could have achieved the same results with 100 different methods. In hindsight, it's a cheap and easy way to facilitate character development. A skillful writer can achieve the same effect without sacrificing characters.

Anyway, just my thoughts and experiences.

My advice is that everyone here should focus on telling a great story. Using cheap tools to aim for some kind of strong karthasis rarely works. At this point, it's predictable and honestly a little bit of a cop-out.

I've learned a lot about myself and writing in general since committing to these decisions.

Just trying to warn people that I regret my decisions. Thankfully, I get a lot of comments on various sites, so I can tell you that nobody, not a single reader, said: "Wow, that chapter was so strong, I cried when YXZ died. You did a great job writing that scene."

Most people didn't care, and a smaller, but very vocal part hated it, with quite a few people dropping the story. I even earned myself a one-star hate 1-star Review here on SH from someone who hated it so much. That person also deactivated his account, so I can't ever remove it.

Anyway, I hope everyone does what he or she wants to do. There will be tons of mistakes, but these mistakes are important as well, since I learned from mine. My intention was merely to make people question their rash decisions and to tell them that the genius idea of "killing off a major character" can backfire.

Gege Akutami would like to weigh in on this conversation.