: Re: Is it okay to kill a main character? I am a young author writing a fantasy series. I started this book with a light bulb idea late one night while reading Peter Pan. I didn’t know anything

@Yeniel532

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You need to ask yourself what kind of story are you trying to tell, what are the themes and the core messages. Then ask yourself whether the ending including Dylan's survival contributes or detracts from those things compared to an ending including his death. How do your characters grow, learn, and change over the course of the story? What is Dylan's role in the plot, and in the growth of the other characters? How is it going to affect the other main character if he dies? How about if he lives? Does him living add to the plot, character arcs, and themes somehow, or is the only reason you are waffling about killing him because you have grown attached? Is there an additional active roll for him to play in the plot that couldn't easily be filled by the other characters? Ask yourself all these questions, and try to look at it objectively.
I've had to admit to myself before that a character I liked no longer had an active purpose in the plot and that it would create much better tension if I killed them (even though my romantic heart wanted them to live and marry another character!) Conversely, I've reversed the decision to kill a character before when I realized there was a new direction I could go where they lived that actually had more plot, conflict, and interest then my original intentions. So it really depends on the circumstances, and where you are going with things.
One author I read originally planned for the lead in his series to die at the end, but reversed that decision when he moved up events that were supposed to happen later originally (and he also admitted he was afraid all his fans would come after him with pitchforks if she died, since she was everyone's favorite! Which is also a somewhat valid reason, given that fans are the ones who buy your books!)
P.S. Adhering to realism is a good policy (and when you are being strictly realistic and then back off it can be glaringly obvious, like how in Game of Thrones at the beginning main characters died left and right, then at the big battle at the end none of the main cast died and all the fans called them out for the unlikelihood of that) but sometimes you need to recognize a little step back from realism can be a good thing, too. Many people read books to enjoy new places and experiences (fantasy, sci fi, magic systems, all very realistic, yes?), or to escape their own boring, depressing reality (why do you think many women devour sappy romance novels? Swoon). So it really depends what you are trying to write and convey to your reader. Generally "suspension of disbelief" is where we consider the line between realistic and not in writing to be: basically, will the reader be happy to just accept this and go along even if it isn't 100% realistic, or are they going to find it hard to believe and jarring? It can be a delicate balance to strike.

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