This is something that I've struggled with, as it touches more on personal preference rather than on writing structure. As the thread title states, is it always a bad idea to kill off a FiM character? I'm specifying those that are considered untouchables; the Mane Six, any of Ponyville, and any that are tied to Twilight in some way.

I think I should clarify something. There have been a few times where a fic has used such deaths intelligently. Airstream did a very good job with this in his Lines and Webs universe. However, the fact that he killed off some- in my mind -major players in the second one is why it's only a favorite of mine.

Am I being too critical of fics that use the death of a character as a way to drive a plot? i guess that's what I'm really asking here.

6241698

is it always a bad idea to kill off a FiM character?

No, it is not always a bad idea, there are certainly times where it can very much be an acceptable way to tell a story so long as it's executed well enough. (I will never get tired of that double entendre.)

I wouldn't say it's a bad idea. Actually, I think if you can make it work, you shouldn't worry about it. There are entire stories, good ones, which revolve around one of the characters dying. Killing off a major character always carries the implication that this is not following the status-quo for the show, and that pretty much anyone can die here.

6241698
If it serves the plot, sure. Just be prepared for backlash from the fans of whomever you kill off.

6241712
Yeah just look at Game of Thrones.

6241698

I should probably clarify a bit here. As I mentioned previously, a lot of this is personal choice. Like with most leisure pursuits, I read fimfics as a form of escapism.

Real life is full of crap. To get away from said crap, I read. Now, I know that a lot of fiction has the same crap that is in real life. Fimfiction, however, is supposed to be, well, cleaner. If there must be violence, there must be a reason. Senseless death for the sake of a plot is- in my opinion -not a good reason.

That's why I specified major characters. An example of a good way to use the death of a major character is how Airstream did it. At the same time, that particular fic loses major points because he killed off both Spike and the CMC.

Maybe I am being too harsh.

6241698

Nah. I've made plans to kill off major canon characters several times.

Of course, usually I bring them back to life afterwards, 'cause I like plot points about cheating death.

Seriously, though, it's just something you should think about before you do it: Is it an important part of the story? Does it suit the tone? Will it break any promises you've made to your readers? Can you achieve the same thing with less extreme measures? Character death is not to be taken lightly, but that's why it's a powerful tool.

6241719

I guess this is more of an issue as to what I think should or should not be done in a fimfic. One of the reasons why I'm so against grimdark fimfics is because I frankly don't really like grimdark anyway.

At the same time though, this is an actual writing issue I have, as I may or may not have to do something like this in one of my own stories. In fact, I already have. They weren't major characters, and they were all OC's, but they were still deaths.

That's why I get the feeling that I'm being just a little too critical concerning this issue.

6241744
Well, at the end of the day, it all comes down to you. They're your OCs so you have to decide their fates. If their deaths help the plot or are meant to convey a dark message, then, by all means, go for it. I guess one of the main reasons why some authors don't like killing off their characters is that they tend to think of them as actual beings. And by killing them it makes the author a murderer. Yeah I know, it's pretty stupid. But in all seriousness, if their deaths are meant to further or help the plot or story then go for it.

6241712

Killing off a major character always carries the implication that this is not following the status-quo for the show, and that pretty much anyone can die here.

Personally, I think that's a very poor reason. Killing characters just to prove a point is a sign of insecurity in your ability to create suspense and immersion. You don't have to demonstrate to your readers that it's possible for the characters to die, you just need to make them feel like it is.

6241698
It depends on how you d it.

If you kill off a major character, it should have meaning. There have to be good reasons not to choose someone else, their death should impact the other characters and not just be forgotten about two minutes later, and it should be a good death.

Don't kill off, say, Spike, just for the sake of killing off a major character, or because it's easy to leave him out of the rest of the plot. If you do kill Spike, Twilight should be devastated, and Rarity should be pretty upset about it as well. I'd probably do moments where Twilight absentmindedly calls for Spike to do something,t hen realities he's gone, that sort of thing. It's going to be a major part of the story.

And don't write deaths the way JK Rowling does...

--Sweetie Belle

6241698 I'm not generally a fan.

Like, the logical writer in me knows that the death of any character is a weighty thing. I like to compare death to power tools: they'll get the job done, but you've got to hold them right otherwise you're taking a trip to the hospital. When you kill a beloved and popular character on top of that, you're getting pretty deep into the danger zone. You'll be provoking your readers to react in a big way to something, whether you do it right or wrong, and in my experience, it can be pretty unpredictable to what extent people will react and how.

I don't really come here to watch characters I like die off, though, so on average I tend to keep my distance unless I'm given a strong reason not to. I'm not gonna say it's wrong to kill a canon character, but it's not something I'd advise people do unless they've got a strong plan in mind. I don't even like using the death of a canon character as just a tool to propel the story out of sheer pragmatism, as I think doing so tends to backfire by attracting more attention from the reader than it should, and that can seriously muck up a writer's plans.

It's like stripping at a tea-party to distract people from a smaller disaster. Sure, you'll get the job done and distract the gents around, but now you've got a bunch of elderly gents with tea and cakes staring at your danglies and it's pretty chilly, actually. Basically, killing canon characters can create more problems than it solves, because canon characters walk around with about seven season's worth of people loving them to bits and that can translate to some pretty unpredictable reactions.

You literally go to hell for it. Read the Bible, heathen. "Thou shalt not slaughter the LORD's favorite talking pastel horses."

6241748
Not to mention that only using death as your tool for creating tension is poor work. There are multitudes of stuff that can threaten and create tension against the characters, why go for the joker straight away as the end-all solution? It has become a very popular hammer ever since A Song of Ice and Fire, especially since Martin himself forgets to use any of the other tools he has at his disposal to show that his characters face loss, with the exception of maybe Sansa and Arya (I don't count Tyrion, Bran, and Jaime since all of their injuries are made for the sake of plot and are bypassed. Sansa at least faces a constant tension/threat of her protector/guardian/pretend father raping/marrying her, and Arya faces loss of self and purpose in search of her vengeance).

6241864

Not to mention that only using death as your tool for creating tension is poor work. There are multitudes of stuff that can threaten and create tension against the characters,

Pretty much.

It has become a very popular hammer ever since A Song of Ice and Fire, especially since Martin himself forgets to use any of the other tools he has at his disposal to show that his characters face loss,

"Oh, we all know the world if full of chance and anarchy, so yes, it's true to life for characters to die randomly. But news flash! The genre's called fantasy! It's meant to be unrealistic, you myopic manatee!"
-JRR Tolkien.

But seriously now. I personally think Martin goes way overboard with it, but I can at least respect that he not only offs important characters but also treats their deaths as the game changers they really should be.

As 6241755 alluded to, JK Rowling did this really poorly. I love Harry Potter, but goddamn. She axed several likable yet ultimately unimportant characters in the proverbial last minute seemingly only for easy sads and to give the illusion that the heroes could die, even though I doubt anyone believed for a moment that Harry, Ron and Hermione weren't going to survive. That's just a very cheap and kinda disrespectful way to use your characters.

6241698
it is absolutely SO WRONG to kill off a major character!!!! especially that I want no one, and I mean NO ONE, kill off the one character I love the most: Sunset Shimmer!

6241698
It's all in the way you implement it.
To kill one of the main six without a major plot reason would probably make many of your readers will want to kill you instead.
But if it fits the story and the plotline, and you can pull it off, then there is nothing wrong with doing it.

6241698
If done intelligently, it can work. If you don't like it, there are millions more horse words to choose from.

no.

I mean if it's a personal issue for you, you really don't have to. I suppose you could try another way to move the story along.
I like coming to fanfics to escape from garbage-y stuff in real life too.
Yet in my own stories, I always end up writing what I'm going through anyways. I suppose it is a subconscious form of processing.
So maybe a way you can look at it is, you can write the story to process your life (the events don't have to be exact either, whether for creative purposes or your own mental sanity) and you may end up even giving readers something to relate to in their own tough times perhaps.
I have struggled with this question for my own stories because eventually I grow attached to my characters. When the time comes to fulfill the plot I've had in mind all along, I hesitate; look for ways to possibly escape what I've wanted to do for my story, find some plot device where they can live but still have the story make sense.
At the end of the day though it's all up to you. I doubt anything anyone says here will completely sell for you, because it's a personal issue.

6241698
6241954

I mean if it's a personal issue for you, you really don't have to.

Yeah, this is a good point, actually: There is absolutely nothing wrong with setting your own rules and principles for defining your style of storytelling.

If you honestly feel that something doesn't belong in your art, then it doesn't.

Just do what you want.

6241734
Spoilers! Now I know not to worry too much when characters die in your stories... You'll have to start killing them off for real to throw me off...

6241882
Even J.K. Rowling said that she regretted killing some of the characters at the end.

6241698
I don't think there's anything wrong with it; so long as there's a good reason. I've killed off a few major characters in my stories; heck, in my comedy, Celestia dies what seems to be a rather pointless death in the prologue. But then, it's a comedy; having a character die a pointless death in a comedic way is kind of par for the course. There were actually a couple reasons I did it; but they were never really revealed in the story; only hinted at. I really need to get around to writing more of that sequel... I have too many stories going at once, even if only one is currently being published.

In a more serious setting; I think deaths of major characters need to have real purpose, not just to stir up emotions. And I mean all major characters; canon or not, if they're important to your story, then their death needs to serve a purpose to the narrative. You need to feel their loss through the rest of the story.