: Re: How to write a death scene without making it overdramatic? Okay. In the story there's a flashback where one of the main protagonists loses his best friend in a battle where he was the only

@Debbie451

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Not meaning to be trite, but avoid the promise. Been there, done that in too many stories already. But if you need an example of how to do it well, go watch Saving Private Ryan, for Tom Hank's character's last few words, or those of Buster Kilrain in the movie version of Gettysburg.

Pretend the death scene is EARLY in a movie.

Maybe all the dying friend does is move his hand towards a pocket, in which your protagonist discovers a letter he feels obligated to deliver to some one, or something which forces the hero into "I must survive" mode. If it's a war movie, maybe there's a radio call which announces "more enemy incoming..." etc. or your hero realizes that he has been framed for killing his friend and has to get out of there, etc. etc. etc.

That's reasonally dramatic, but doesn't require much "screen time" even if the screen is my imagination as I'm reading your book.

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