Cliche Writing Advice Debunked: Killing Your Characters

We've all heard the phrase before: "if you're stuck, kill someone off". We've all followed it at some point in our writing lives, I'm sure. I know I have. But is this good advice? Should we go on a killing spree just because we can't think of what to do next? No, not really. Let me debunk this advice, show you three reasons why this isn't helpful in your writing, and what to do instead. I'll also show when you should take this advice.

~Unnecessary violence~

I've heard plenty of people complain about the unnecessary violence in books and how it was borderline scarring to them. Maybe that writer had a bunch of characters she didn't need and was really bored one day, so she killed them off. Come edits time, she doesn't bother to take out this useless, waste-of-words scene. What? You're willing to kill your characters, but not your darlings? Maybe that book should have gone through a harsher round of edits before you published it.

If you're not going to keep a character, simply make a note to yourself and then continue writing as if they never existed. When you go back and edit, leave this character out entirely. Just because you put a character in your story at first, doesn't mean they have to stay. Believe me, I've learned this the hard way.

~A bunch of wasted words you will have to take out later~

You're smart. You know that any death you have in your books has to push the plot forward. I'm sure you've heard of the ongoing competition between writers about body counts before? Yeah, you can throw that out of the window. I mean, sure, it's a fun running joke we all have, but it's not worth your time if it doesn't do anything for your story.

Instead, think of circumstances that would push the plot forward and work with one or more of those options. You'll end up with a much better outcome.

~With the death of your characters comes the death of your creativity~

Okay, I'm stretching the truth quite a bit here. But if you keep using the 'kill the character because I don't know what to do' tactic, you'll start missing out on actual awesome ideas that would make your story better. You also ruin the effect of death scenes that actually make a difference in your story.

Instead of immediately killing off your character(s), find ways to push your story forward without unnecessary violence. When it comes time to actually kill a character, the death will be far more compelling than if you already had a killing spree or two in your story.

~Sometimes the character has to die~

There are times where character deaths are necessary. I've had several in my books. They're all important to the story. They're the pivotal points for my MCs. It's what drives the story forward. If this is the case for your death scenes, KEEP THEM IN! They're important.

I hope this was a bit helpful for y'all. Do you have any other cliche writing advice you want me to debunk? Also, what are your thoughts on the header? I'm working on a new color theme. I'm mostly curious about the blue lettering. Does it come out well? Or should it be bolder/darker/larger/etc.? I'm also hoping to add some texture to the background. I'm happy to take whatever feedback you might have!

Do you have character deaths? How do they affect your story (no spoilers, please)? What are things you pursued instead of killing sprees because you knew it was better for your story?