I agree with the others: only kill them off if it is crucial to the story. If you're killing them off just to say you killed them off, then no, don't do it. There needs to be a good reason for doing so.
I started my novel knowing full well that my MCs wouldn't be killed off. But as I write more and more and near the end of my novel, the evil writer on my shoulder is saying "Do it! Do it!" and I just try to ignore her...or else fling her off my shoulder entirely. I know I won't actually do it, but the possibility has been lingering on the back burner.
I actually wrote out an "alternate ending" just to try and get that desire out of my system. It helped too. I was able to write the dramatic and tragic ending but it won't be part of my novel.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2009-12-03 05:29 am (UTC)I started my novel knowing full well that my MCs wouldn't be killed off. But as I write more and more and near the end of my novel, the evil writer on my shoulder is saying "Do it! Do it!" and I just try to ignore her...or else fling her off my shoulder entirely. I know I won't actually do it, but the possibility has been lingering on the back burner.
I actually wrote out an "alternate ending" just to try and get that desire out of my system. It helped too. I was able to write the dramatic and tragic ending but it won't be part of my novel.