death scenes are supposed to be emotional - you want to draw some sort of emotion from your readers, whether sadness, relief, or happiness. readers immerse themselves into the novel, often experiencing the same emotions that your main characters go through themselves. however, to ensure the impact of a death scene is how you intend it, there are some things that are helpful to consider:
what are the reader's opinions on the character?
how do your characters react to the death?
was the death foreshadowed?
are you accidentally creating a cliché?
there's no right or wrong way to write, but there are ways to create more layers in your work!
how your readers feel about a character changes how they'll react to their death. for a death to be meaningful, you want your readers to associate strong emotions with them - whether positive or negative! therefore, it's important to establish a strong relationship between your readers and your character, before you kill them off.
when your readers feel connected to a character, they feel connected to the story. when a major event (such as a death!) occurs, the impact they experience will be greater than otherwise. this is exactly what you want as a writer - for your readers to be involved in your story, and experience emotions as you intend!
the way your characters react to the death also impact how your reader reacts - it's likely the emotions they experience will mirror those of the main character! what were the repercussions of the character's death? are the other characters happy or sad? by showing how they react, you give your readers an insight into the relationships within your novel, as well as hinting to them how you expect them to react!
furthermore, you can use a character's death to develop the killer's backstory. do they feel guilty, or indifferent? a new villain may feel more guilty than an experienced killer. this allows for you to give insight into a character's past, without simply saying “they've killed lots of people”.
furthermore, you should decide whether to foreshadow the death or not - as this impacts how your readers will perceive and react to the death. a sudden, abrupt death is likely to elicit stronger emotions from your reader. often, it's best to foreshadow slightly - but not enough that your readers can put together the full picture.
you can use riddles and props to hint that a death is coming - but don't give everything away! perhaps you'll mislead your readers so they expect another character to die, or perhaps they'll receive a letter with a riddle hinting to their death. whatever you choose, try and give your readers all but a few pieces of the puzzle - this allows for a greater shock value, while still engaging your readers!
lastly, try to avoid using clichés in your work! you often might not use them intentionally, but they can impact how genuine your work seems - even if they do make your plot easier to figure out! for example, you're most likely familiar with fantasy deaths where the protagonist finds a skeleton holding a key, or a character dies and reveals the next clue on their deathbed.
this is convenient, but not realistic! while you may not want your fantasy novel to be life like, there are still some clichés (like these) that can make your work seem tacky. the occasional cliché is okay, but try not to fill your novel with them!
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