"Character Death" warnings and why I don't like them

[emmagrant01]

maeglinyedi recently posted one of her pet peeves about what people warn for in fic, and it got me thinking about what mine are.

And hands down, no questions, the biggest one is people warning for character death.  There are several reasons I don't like this warning, listed in order of importance.

1. It is a SPOILER for the story!  If you tell me someone is going to die, then you've already given away the ending.  It descreases my enjoyment of the story significantly, because I spend the whole time reading wondering who it's going to be.  (This was true for me when I read OOTP too.)  In other cases, it ruins the story to the extent that there's no point in reading it.

To highlight the spoiler issue, let me use a film as an analogy: at the beginning of Saving Private Ryan, we see an old man visiting a cemetary, which fades into a shot of Tom Hanks about to storm the beaches of Normandy.  So we're set up to believe that the old man we saw before was Tom Hanks, and we spend the movie wondering if he's going to find Private Ryan or not.  So when the Hanks character dies, it's a surprise, and it's one of the most powerful moments in the film.  It makes the ending, where Ryan is kneeling at a grave and praying that this sacrifice was worth it, work.  If you went into that film knowing that the Hanks character was going to die, it would be a different, less emotionally powerful experience.  Or worse, if you just knew that someone was going to die, it would be distracting; you wouldn't get the same enjoyment out of the film.

Authors put death in fics, films, and books because it's part of life.  Moreover, it generally sneaks up on people: they're happily going along, and then someone dies and their world is shaken.  There is often not a warning.  I don't want a warning.  I want to be just as surprised as the characters were.

2. I think that authors warn for such things because they have been or are afraid of being flamed if they don't.  Now think for a moment about what that means -- a small group of readers are demanding that a writer tell them in advance what they might not potentially like about her fic.  Does that make any sense at all?  First of all, why would anyone want to tell people they might not like their fic, in advance?  But second, doesn't that sound a bit too much like conservative groups demanding that networks and film studios more carefully censor material that may be considered offensive?

Readers need to take some personal responsibility.  If you read a well-written fic that contained some content that disturbed you, that's your problem, not the author's!  It's not the author's job to hold your hand and reassure you that the fic will turn out exactly the way you want it to.  If you want a different ending, write your own fic.

3.  There is no other form of media that is required to warn for character death in advance.  If I go to Book People and pick up a few novels, I'm not going to see a warning on the jacket for character death.  In fact, there would probably be a public uproar if there were such warnings, from authors and readers alike.  Film trailers don't contain warnings for character death, either, for exactly the same reason.  Why should they spoil the story for their viewers? 

I understand that some people don't like to read stories with unhappy endings, but it isn't my responsibility as a writer to list off every possible thing you might not like about my story.  I write the story I want to write, and I post it.  People  will read it or not, for a variety of reasons, and I have no control over that.  But in particular, I can't predict how a reader will react to my story.

So what do you think? 

ETA: Oh, and if you haven't seen Saving Private Ryan in the six years since it came out, I have indeed spoiled it for you. Just for future reference, how many years have to pass before it's okay to talk about how a movie ended?

PS: Oh, and Darth Vader is Luke's father! Damn, I did it again. Silly me. :-P

Comments

[stinksap.livejournal.com]

I don't mind character deathas part of a storyline, but when a fic focuses on the killing of a character,or has one character obsessing over the death of,or killing another character to the point of it becoming a major theme of the fic, I'd much rather avoid it.

Fics *focusing* on character death should have warnings, just as those focusing on slash, incest or chan should if that is what the story revolves around.

If it is a well balanced story that happens to include elements of any of the above as part of a much larger plot? Not necessarily required.

Just my take.

[cocksure.livejournal.com]

I'm generally a lurker around these parts, but this discussion intrigued me, so I thought I'd add what I had to say.

In other forms of media, one is to assume that the characters you're getting to know and love are original characters. All the connection you feel with that character is what the original author intended. But in fan fiction, you're writing about characters that the reader has already formed their own personal attachment to. While I certainly wouldn't be upset if you wrote a fic which ended in death without warnings indicating such ... I can understand where a reader might feel a little bit betrayed. Under no circumstances would I say that that constitutes flaming, though.

So, while I definitely understand where a reader is coming from when they want that warning there, I myself find that it takes away the surprise and when those warnings appear, I opt not to read a fic, anyway.

[wisdomeagle]

I'm here from metafandom... I'm not fond of warnings and tend to skip them becasue I am vehemently opposed to spoilers. Then again, I'm not particularly easy to squick, I like darkfic, and while I'm heavily invested in fandom, char death in fanfic doesn't affect me as deeply as it obviously affects others.

Personally, I think warnings for spoilers for source are of a different color entirely and, in fact, they're the only warnings I will read on a regular basis, if I'm trying to avoid current spoilers. (I'm not entirely caught up with the current seasons of Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis, and given that the US isn't caught up in syndication, I consider such warnings only polite.

That said! For better or worse, we write for a community that is touchy about character death and certain other issues, and just like I think being polite about spoilers is just common sense, I think I owe to my readership at the very least a "warnings withheld."

Sidenote: what about ratings? They can spoil content too... if a fic is labeled NC-17, I know the characters will be having sex before story's end, and that's not neccessarily a given, especially if the story starts off as UST.

[ladysorka]

(here via metafandom)

I like warnings. I love them. But I realize that I, the person who usually reads the last page of a book before the first, skims to the bottom of a fic before starting it, and routinely visits places like <http://www.moviepooper.com">Moviepooper.com before watching a movie, am in the rather small minority.

I want to know exactly what happens before I read or watch something. I'm odd that way.

But at the same time, I realize that most people don't. So I've always found that the best solution is one of those "warnings at the end of the fic, scroll down if you want to read" things. That way, those that want to be warned are, and those that aren't... aren't.

Or else people could just skip to the end of things like I do. Works perfectly well.

[metal-dog5.livejournal.com]

1. It is a SPOILER for the story!
[snip]
Readers need to take some personal responsibility. [...snip...] If you want a different ending, write your own fic.

I totally agree with you on this. I *never* bother reading warnings on stories, because if there is a fight/injury/maming/toture/rape/death I want to feel a reaction. If the main character dies, so be it. The ending is not happily-ever-after? I can cope.





Thank you for spoiling Saving Private Ryan for me, I haven't seen Titanic either. I suppose you'll be telling me Leonardo DiCaprio's character dies in that too. ^_~

[starkittyn.livejournal.com]

You know I scrolled through the entire comment list and there's a lot I agree with. I think your point is well taken except for one thing - using your example we know two things about the movie before we see it. We know that it's a war movie and we've probably seen the trailer as well that hints (iirc) that *somebody* dies in it. As much as I like Tom Hanks in general, as well as several costars in the film, I didn't go see it because I don't care for war films nor for those in which somebody dies and I cry for an hour afterwards.

I'm probably too sensitive about that kind of thing and have learned to censor what I see or read in order to spare myself that type of discomfort. I don't go see horror films for the same reason.

In general, fanfic is romance - or at least pairing-centric. It's assumed most of the time that if the two people paired up are not happy that they are at least in some state of ust, love, smut, etc. That's what I *personally* enjoy about it. Therefore, I prefer not to read certain types of dark!fic and fic that features character death of one of the pairing partners.

Perhaps a suggestion here would be to warn for character death of one member of the pairing. I mean, if I'm reading Harry/Draco and Voldemort gets it, I'm not going to cry. If I'm reading the same and Bellatrix or Crouch Jr dies, again, not going to be upset. Those are assumed to be the "bad guys".

I can see that warning for character death is a spoiler, but since I have no trailer and no way of knowing what the fic is going to contain except by warning or by summary, I prefer to be warned so I can make a decision about reading or not reading.

[savannahdreamer.livejournal.com]

I completely agree with this pet peeve and share it. I never warn for charactor death unless an archive makes me. I do put angst warnings in my summaries sumtimes though, because I have rated a story R for violence wrather than sex so much. I think its only fair that people have some idea that hey can expect violence so that if it will trigger them in some way or just doesn't do it for them they can avoid the piece.

PS: sorry if this has all been said before, but once the comments get over 50, I just don't have time to check em all :OP

[willysunny.livejournal.com]

And hands down, no questions, the biggest one is people warning for character death. 

Word.

One time I killed Draco. Well, it wasn't me. It was Harry and Neville. I blame them entirely. And it was only once. And I still haven't recovered from the ordeal.

My point...(because I promise I have one): I didn't warn for character death. That ruffled a few feathers. But I did not see the point. It was a major aspect of the story in my mind, and I didn't want to give it away.

You need the unexpected twists and turns in any story. If it's wrapped up in warnings, then you pretty much know what's inside the package.

PS: Oh, and Darth Vader is Luke's father! Damn, I did it again. Silly me. :-P

OMG. REALLY?!?!?! Next, you're going to tell me that Luke and Leia are brother and sister.

*hugs*

[blackbird-song.livejournal.com]

I place warnings all over my fics, probably more than I should, and definitely more than I would if I didn't have such a diverse flist. I appreciate warnings of character death (unless it is canon, in which case it is ridiculous to warn of it), non-con and chan. I will read death fics, most of the time, but I do need the emotional preparation. I will not read non-con (too close to home) or chan (line in the sand).

I prefer to take the more cautious approach because it seems as though many people who read and write fan-fiction have some serious issues in their lives, including some that relate to mental or physical health, and I prefer to tread carefully and kindly in those areas. People who don't like them can skim or overlook the warnings more easily than readers can skim an entire fic, especially a WIP.

To solve the spoilery issue, though, I really like the idea that's been suggested of using a separate cut for the warnings. It's a good way, I think, of having one's cake and eating it, too, and I'm seriously considering adopting this approach.

Thank you for this post, and for allowing us to air our views!

Catherine

[angiepen.livejournal.com]

I don't do specific warnings, period. I refuse to spoil my own stories for the benefit of a small group of people who insist that fanfic writers (and no one else, as you pointed out) lay out in advance exactly what's in their creative work. I'll put movie-style ratings on, and I've put a general, "Contains possibly disturbing material -- read it or don't, make an adult decsion," warning. Beyond that, though, forget it. And if some people get upset with me for it, I can handle that. [shrug]

IMO, anyone mature enough to read porn in the first place should also be mature enough to use the [BACK] button if they run across something they don't care for, whether it's character death or BDSM or non-con or violence or rimming or underage or oral or het or gay or whatever stupid things we're supposed to be warning for these days. [eyeroll]

Oh, and if I ever get around to writing a fic where it's no obvious in the story just which characters are going to end up together, I won't put the pairing in the header either. How many romances are set up with the girl having two or three guys to choose from and the point of the story is her figuring out which one's a villain, which one's nice but boring, and which one really loves her? Half the fun is figuring out who she's going to end up with before she does, and I'll be damned if I spoil (or anything else) that for my readers.

Anyone who's too timid to read a story when they don't know every detail in advance can just go read something else.

Angie

[spinfrog.livejournal.com]

OMG! I cannot believe he is Luke's father!!! *totallyshocked* :P

I think of "deathfic" as a genre. Like, it's not really a spoiler because usually the point of a deathfic is not to shock the reader with the fact of death, but to show us the rest of the characters dealing with the said fact... like, on the cover of the book there might be a blurb about the mother having cancer, and the various family members running off to California or becoming alcoholics, or descovering the meaning of life or some such... but the point of reading isn't the plot, but the execution... you know? It's like reading Edgar Alan Poe - if one is in the mood for some beautifully executed dark depressing stuff, one knows where to go... on the other hand, if one wants a "charater H and character D get together" type of story, one would possibly avoid a fic where one of these characters might die..

[madimi.livejournal.com]

re: ETA

I hear the boat sinks...


(still lurking, still reading, still enjoying your recs and your discussions. and yeah, i prefer the minimalist approach to warnings: give a heads-up if we're in an AU, a pairing, and maybe a brief note if the story contains something that you really think might prompt me to go after the inside of my head with a wire brush. i'm a big girl. i should be able to handle everything else, or to realize my limitations and bail.)

[(Anonymous)]

I'm just wandering around your journal today looking for fic and I saw this entry. This is exactly how I feel about character death warnings! I just think they are ridiculous. I've just always been surprised that this seems to be a minority opinion among fanfic readers. When people try to claim putting them in is "common courtesy" (and I see that all the time), it annoys me to no end. It's like claiming the fanfic writer, who is only trying to provide free entertainment, is being intentionally unconscionably rude (and I've actually seen this type of claim directly too) when they choose not to spoil a major plot point in their story. Really, an offense lacking *common* courstesy is something like pushing someone over to get somewhere or sneezing on someone.

I say this as someone who really tends to want happy endings in fiction. I'm a wimp too. But as someone else responded, what's wrong with skimming ahead if you want to know? Then, the choice over whether to be spoiled or not is solely in the individual reader's hands and the entire reading audience does not have the be spoiled. Another solution is to simply ask another reader who has read the fic: a friend who knows your tastes or you can just tell them. Something like: "I want something happy and fluffy," or "I like angst as long as everything turns out pretty good or at least hopeful in the end," or "I just don't want to see *** die," or "I don't want to see xyz pairing." Or whatever. The "ask a friend" solution tailor makes your individual spoiler wants without requiring writers trying to read every single reader's mind on what they need to be warned about.

Rosebud? A SLEIGH, people!

[coyotegoth.livejournal.com]

I agree completely; I just started posting (my verion of) Book Seven; character deaths a'plenty coming up, and damned if I'll label a one of them.