What Happens When Characters Die?

Death scenes are strange--in fiction I mean. We authors choreograph the steps of a fight, as if the characters are puppets compelled to their fatal dance by our tune. Or else we stand aside and watch, trying to make sense of what we see in our minds, drawing those steps so others might see them too. Or else we wait for the conclusion and weep. But characters die, and we who made them are compelled to see their demise. Like them or hate them, the characters we've made all belong to our minds,...