AUTHORS GOTTA WRITE - FAMOUS LAST WORDS

AUTHORS GOTTA WRITE - FAMOUS LAST WORDS

We've talked a lot about your characters, which are, as I like to put it, the "life and blood of your story." Without good characters and good character development, your readers will find the journey with your characters less enjoyable. 

Do one of your characters meet an unfortunate end in your story? First, decide whether or not they should die (read the post Should You Kill That Character? for more information), and then decide: what are their last words?

You wouldn't think the last words spoken by your character are important, but they are - to your readers, your characters are important, and they will remember the last words the character says, whether or not you want them to. I still remember the last words spoken by half of the Harry Potter characters, because the death of a character is no piece of cake - it is an important part of the story, one that your readers will remember until the end.

The famous last words of your character may say a lot about who the character is. For instance, if your character is a prankster, their last words could have something to do with a joke. If your character is kind and compassionate, their last words could have to do with "letting the others go free, unharmed." The "famous last words" of your characters speak numbers.

But what about the characters who don't die in the story? What about their famous last words?

An exercise I do all the time is write a one-liner sentance of what each character's last words could be. For example:

Really Intelligent Character: No...it didn't work...
Prankster Character: You're joking, right? This can't be happening--
Fierce Character: You'll never take me alive!
Selfless Character: NO! Don't hurt them!

Doing this helps develop your characters -- even if they never actually die in the end of the story. Writing your character's "famous last words" enables you to learn more about your characters -- even more beyond their actual personality.

(I need your feedback! :D Let me know what you think, and let me know what post you think I should do next! :D Until next time, awesome readers and writers! :D) -Beyond