Does all good books have people die in it?

Question

i'm not much of a book reader; but i'm starting to get into writing. people say that i have good detail, but i wounder do i really have to have some one die in my book in order to make it good??? hhmm
also the reason why i ask is because someone brought it up to me.

Answer 1

No.... The Devil Wears Prada was a very good book and no one died!

Answer 2

It depends on the audience you are trying to reach. Anymore, the more graphic and dark the death, the better. Personally, I do not agree with this. I think you have real talent if you can keep all of our main characters alive.

It also depends on what type of story you are writing. For instance, if you are doing a war story, people have to die. This makes it more realistic. It is also an excellent way to bring emotion into the story. It is a unavoidable fact; people die in war. The same thing applies to most tragedies. (Romance novels would probably be the only exception.)

I am an author-wanna-be too. I am currently writing a story based off of the events that surround the Space Shuttle Columbia tragedy. (The seven crewmembers on the shuttle will die in the book, because they actually did die in real life.) The book is currently 165 pages typed.

Best of luck!

Answer 3

It depends.

Death is something literally everyone can relate to. Most books talk about people who died before the book took place. Sometimes that is the main focus of the book, other times it's just a burden (or relief) for the protagonist.

As you said, a lot of authors make the decision to kill off a character. It adds a certain depth to the story and makes it seem very real. For instance, having a very lovable and innocent character die says something about "the good dying young". Having the antagonist die refers to "good triumphs over evil" and so on.

Death is almost unavoidable in writing, but it doesn't neccesarily make the story or writing good. If you simply say, "Then, he died" it won't bring the reader to tears or anything, and will probably just make the story seem very stupid. Adding too many deaths makes it feel sappy and/or wayyyy too tragic. Having no death at all, like sunshiney happy bunnies world, is just pathetic. But don't think you have to kill off all your good characters!

Good luck writing.

(NOTE: Work on your grammar, girl! You'll never be able to write a book talking like a redneck and/or Paris Hilton!)

Answer 4

Interesting question. The only book I can think of that I absolutely love that doesn't have a death in it is Pride and Prejudice. But even then, the eventual death of Mr. Bennett is really the driving force of the book, and Mr. Darcy's late father also plays a role.

Often a dead person affects the main character (or main villian) even though the death took place before the plot of the book per se.

But I don't think simply adding a death will make the book better. Most bad books also have dead people.

Answer 5

it has more of an appeal. People can relate to the loss of the hero who worked hard who gave his life for what he believed in and the villain who fell to his doom.(or any other death that affected the plot) Its a part of life we can all relate to, kind of like how books also appeal to the reader by using love, deceit and other aspects of human life. But not all good books require someone to die. It depends on how you're carrying your story and what your purpose in writing is. Take your story where you want it to go.

Answer 6

No. While it makes a good Conflict, which all stories need, and many good stories include a death, not all stories has this issue...


Five things that might help you along...

1.

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Strat constucting your story, it does not have to be done in order, write then edit them together.

Show your reader, don't tell...

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3.

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4.

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Hope This Helps:

Answer 7

The best books are the ones that say something important about life. And death is definitely part of life, which is why so many great books have prominent deaths of beloved characters.

But don't feel like you have to include a death scene if you don't have anything in particular to say about life, death, love etc. Sticking a random death in your novel isn't going to necessarily improve it.

Answer 8

Some of my favorite books have no deaths. Pride and Predjuide, The Amchesmist to name two

Answer 9

No.

There are some rules in literature that writes have to follow. Like, a novel has to have a love story in it. You might want to find out about those rules. This is pertinent to the classification of your work, rather than to the work itself.

People die in books because death is one of most important and dramatic events that can occur. You can write about other interesting things.

Answer 10

Most writers kill off a character in their book. It makes it more interesting but it depends on the writer.

Answer 11

I read a book where the main character was suddenly murdered and I put the book down and haven't pick it up since. lol