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Killing Off First Person Protagonist
I have an urban fantasy series that’s first person that I will want to eventually draw to a close, not just “stop writing.” I envision this being the character’s death. I’ve hinted that the novels are the protagonist’s retellings of his adventures (thus the first person), however, they are not written in an epistolary style.
Any ideas for how to approach the protagonist/narrator dying, yet having that death recorded or somehow documented at the end of the series?
I’m thinking an epilogue would work from a particular second character’s POV. Something that “puts a bow” on the protagonist’s last act of sacrifice that leads to the character’s death.
Brainstorm! Let me know your thoughts.
Thanks.
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5 Replies
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Hey, J.T.
To my understanding this can be very jarring for readers and as such is difficult to pull off. My suggestion would be to, rather than actually kill off your main character, imply that they’ve died at the end of the book. This being that you have them reflect on their life and adventures, they’ve grown old and have children now, and/or something else to show that the world is at peace and now they can rest. You close the book with them laying down or perhaps falling asleep and your reader can infer that the main character has died.
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There are some details I left out. My character is immortal. He can die, but he gets back up a few days later, dusts off the grave dirt, and goes on about life after a few days of recovery.
I need a final death. A permanent one. The only way I can contrive for this to happen is for him to sacrifice himself to save a loved one a the feet of an angry deity that makes his last death truly a LAST death.
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A bigger question comes to mind here for me. Throughout the story, have you suggested that there is a possibility that he can die? How, with an immortal/indestructible character can you add tension to the story enough that the reader will feel like something major is at stake for the character throughout his adventures? Perhaps you’ve solved this problem already, or I am barking up the wrong tree.
Regardless, if you decide to have his final death happen, a deity would be a good option, though I would suggest foreshadowing throughout so that your reader knows that this is a possibility. That way, when it finally happens, it doesn’t feel like deus ex machina, but more like a natural progression of the story.
Another option you could use would be to give the protagonist the option to “opt out” of living. Meaning, maybe every time he dies, he can choose whether or not he wants to come back. At the end of the series, he’s had enough, or feels like he’s finally saved the world and so decides that he doesn’t need to come back again. To add to this, it may be worth noting that there is some cost to the protagonist each time he comes back. Maybe he forgets someone special to him? Or maybe his rebirth comes at the cost of someone else’s death. There are a lot of possibilities.
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These are all great ideas, but a tad late. 🙂 The first two books about the protagonist are already published, so not much wiggle room in the retcon there.
As far as the tension goes, he’s always on a ticking clock that’s winding down FAST for all of his missions. He can’t afford to “be dead” for 3 days and then take another 3 days of recovery time. Severe punishment from the deities he works for will come down on his head if he manages to get himself killed. Also, it’s really not all that pleasant to die and the recovery pretty much sucks as well.
I do like the idea of “opting out” of living as a conscious decision that he makes when the chance arrives. That’s a good way of putting it.
Thanks for the brainstorming! All great ideas!
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If you’re definitely killing him in the role of heroic sacrifice, I like the idea of an epilogue where we see the good outcome of that death: the hero saved stepping up in a way he wouldn’t have before. Or a sidekick who thinks the death wasn’t worth it deciding that now he owes it to the dead person to become a crusader and take on that role. Or you could go the route of Iron Man and leave a last letter/recording where the dead hero gets his chance to speak- and offer all the advice or final wisdom he wants. Like Never get in bad with deities, because they will make every living day a hell. Think of me as, finally, at peace.
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