Writing a death scene isn’t easy

You know one of your characters has to die. The plot demands it. So how do you write the death scene? This is what I did in Winging It. Oscar is an old man and his death doesn’t come as a surprise to the reader but it clearly amazes him. His reaction – “What? Me? Now? But…” still makes me smile, so I guess I avoided the sentimentality that trapped Dickens.

‘Oh, baby,’ he whispered. He started to pull himself out of the chair. He was halfway up when I saw the change in him. It started with a look of astonishment, a sort of “What? Me? Now? But…” His rise from the chair halted, and then reversed. Back he went, down into his seating position but he didn’t stop there; he went on sliding, onto his back, and then from the chair to the floor. There wasn’t any doubt. I’d never seen a dead person before but, still, there wasn’t any doubt.

Find out more about Winging It here.