Game of Thrones: Writing Death

IN TODAY'S POST, we’re going to talk about book one of A Song of Ice and Fire, or as you all know it, A Game of Thrones and what it got right: death. More specifically, how, when, and where to kill characters.

Young Adult Genre

The first thing I should clarify is that in the young adult genre, killing main characters isn’t often done because a lot of times, the plot is dependent on one or two characters. If you look at the Percy Jackson series, I can count on one hand the number of characters who died over the course of 10 books. And even then, I can count at least three instances in which characters who were thought dead came back to life. Harry Potter is another example. Where would the plot be if Harry, Ron, or Hermione died? In other words, the plot is dependent on them.

So, the model series I’m going to be talking about today is a Game of Thrones. As you’ve probably imagined, since I’m going to be talking about death, there’s spoilers up ahead. And for those of you who haven’t read the books or watched the series, I’ll be breaking down the background, so don’t worry.

As some of you might have guessed, we’re going to be examining Ned Stark’s death: the buildup to his execution, why it was so impactful, the effect of his death, and what we can take away to implement into our own writing.

In Game of Thrones, the king’s hand is the second most powerful position in the realm. After the death of the previous hand under dubious circumstances, the king, Ned’s longtime friend, offers the position to him.

Ned is hesitant to accept the role because of the political responsibilities he must shoulder and because of his family’s tragic history serving the previous king. But after receiving accusations that the previous hand of the king, Jon Arryn, a man Ned looked up to as a father, was murdered, Ned accepts the role to investigate alleged treachery against the crown from the queen’s household.

As Ned investigates, he discovers one of the King’s bastards in the capital and after reading some of the books the previous hand read before his death, Ned learns the long-kept secret. The King’s three children are not in fact his. They are bastard born.

Background

To give you background about Ned, he’s a very honorable man, sometimes to an ungodly degree. In the feudal age where A Song of Ice and Fire takes place, bastards are an accepted truth of society, common in other words. After fathering a bastard during a military campaign, Ned shockingly brings his bastard son—Jon Snow—into his own castle and raises him alongside his true-born children. So, he is morally conflicted because he knows that if he tells the king the truth, those children will be put to death.

Ned’s honor and decency compel him to warn the queen, to tell her to take her children and flee. This is where the beauty of Ned’s death starts to show. Martin implements one of the core principles of writing: creating internal strife. While Ned’s duty compels him to tell the King the truth, his honor compels him to try to save those bastard children.

Ned getting betrayed and ultimately executed is a huge surprise because, reading or watching Game of Thrones for the first time, the audience expects the good guys to win. This is why Game of Thrones is such a sensational masterpiece. While a lot of the plot in book one is driven by Ned, the entire plot is not dependent on any one character.

In fact, the effect of Ned’s death drives the plot forward rather than hinder it. This is the difference between good and great writing. Questions like, how does Ned’s family react to this, do they rebel? Cause us to keep reading. And the reason we can ask these questions because, after his death, the story continues on with other characters slipping into the spotlight.

What Went Right?

So, what did George R.R Martin do right? He answered the how to kill in the simplest, most shocking way. With his daughter watching, his head is chopped off. Instead of a slow death, or a dramatic one, he avoids the cliche of “famous last words” and opts for the clinical approach. This works because the stun factor makes the audience want to read on.

He answered the when to kill perfectly in the sense that after Ned’s imprisonment leading up to his execution, his eldest son Robb, raises an army in the North and marches South. While this is happening, after the life of his daughter is threatened, Ned confesses his treason and begs the new king’s mercy. Instead, King Joffery executes the traitor. The when to kill is accomplished because, instead of trying to make peace with the Northern army marching South, King Joffery, in his arrogance, kills a valuable hostage, giving the Northerner’s further proof that their rebellion is justified.

Finally, Martin answers the where to kill in a public forum. King Joffery makes a spectacle out of Ned’s death by having his own daughter and the public watch how he deals with traitors. The public nature of Ned’s execution furthers the plot because, one, it reveals to Ned’s eldest daughter, Sansa, the true nature of her betrothed, the new king, and two, cements Joffery’s position as king because of the mob’s support for his actions.

After Ned’s death, the falling action follows his eldest son Robb, as he wins a major battle and captures the queen's twin brother, Jamie, the father of her children. The ending perfectly sets up internal strife compared with external strife going into book two.

My next tip when trying to write death is to really live in your protagonist's psyche. What I mean by that is to try to immerse yourself completely into who your character is. After all, your protagonist is human. He has wants, needs, and desires. I like to call this the trifecta. The most effective way to write internal conflict is to have these three be at odds.

Try to match the deaths in your story with the crescendo of the novel. So, the plot doesn’t end up disjoined and off pitch.

Whenever I write my characters, it helps me to create an outline for them. I’ll go over planner’s vs panster's in detail in another episode, but for now, it’s enough that you know I plan my characters. I plan how they look, their core values, how the story will challenge those values, and how their character arc will end. Check out this video below if you're interested:

While this may seem intimidating, it’s helped me and I recommend you give it a shot.

Jon Snow

A perfect example of contrasting the trifecta to create a three-dimensional character is Jon Snow, Ned’s bastard son. Because he is bastard born, and has no place in southern court (where Ned is going to), Jon travels to the Wall instead to join the brothers of the Night’s Watch. Jon’s core desire, however, is to be a Stark. He is constantly insecure about his heritage and who his mother was.

His need, on the other hand, is to not be a Stark. Sound confusing? While it’s not easy to do, writing great characters usually hinges on the degree to which you can clash these three values: desire, need, and want. Jon’s need is to not be a Stark because of his overall role in the story. Moreover, a common theme I’ve noticed throughout the books is that the more a character desires to be a Stark, the less likely they are to become one and vice versa. This applies especially to Jon’s half siblings: Bran, Arya, and Sansa Stark.

Remember, need is not what the character wants to happen. It is what is best for the character as judged by the author. That’s what makes crafting need so difficult. And that’s why it’s so important that you literally personify your character. As a writer, you have to be able to judge what a character needs compared to what the character wants and desires.

Anyway, Jon’s need is to not be a Stark because of his role in the brotherhood of the Night’s Watch and overarching plot. The Night’s Watch has always served to defend the seven kingdoms against wildlings, bests, and pretty much everything north of the wall, including the rumored others—the white walkers.

He is integral to the story because he provides a POV exploring the danger these threats pose. The contrast here is that, while the seven kingdoms go to war following King Robert’s death and Ned’s imprisonment, Jon faces the threat beyond the wall. And he recognizes that it’s a threat that humanity must collectively deal with. And yet, the seven kingdoms are more divided than ever before.

Finally, Jon’s want is to be accepted. This links very heavily with his desire to be a part of the Starks, because he desires to be accepted in the family. While Ned has tried to raise him as his own son, Jon has always felt ostracized because of the way others, especially Lady Catelyn Stark, treat him. His want also plays an integral part in his character arc. The Night’s Watch is composed of bandits, rapists, thieves, and every worst sort of criminal you could find. In other words, a bastard is not an oddity. Jon’s want is fulfilled as he begins to accept his place amongst the brotherhood. So, his want also links with his need—to not be a Stark—because he has found another family amidst the Night’s Watch.

Thanks for reading today's post. As always, if you enjoyed this, hit that subscribe button to get semi-weekly rants. Stay tuned for a deep dive into more Game of Thrones.