All Is Lost: Four Kinds of Death in Fiction

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Death comes in many forms, especially when you’re writing a novel.
With the popularity of Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat beat sheet, the “Whiff of Death” moment has many writers asking, “Do I need to kill someone every book?” Of course not. You also shouldn’t do it just because a popular story structure format says you should. But for stories that will benefit from a “death” for emotional or storytelling impact, the All Is Lost moment is a great opportunity to grab a reader by the feels.

While the death part of “whiff of death” suggests we actually kill someone, it’s not recommending an actual death every time. Death refers to a loss, usually profound, for the protagonist. That can mean a character bites the dust, but it can also mean the loss of hope, or the loss something once held dear.
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com