Fantastic post I found on tumblr on ways to make your character's death sadder. From http://the-right-writing.tumblr.com/post/92161649804/how-to-make-a-characters-death-sadder (linked to in the EXTERNAL LINK)

1. Don’t have them die of old age after a long, fulfilling life. Many people don’t even think of this as sad (note that this can still work if you have enough of the other factors). (Yuffie insert: Death of the Eleveth Doctor from Doctor Who had me in TEARS, even though he died of old age after a very long and fulfilling life. Try to see which of the 'other factors' below played into the Doctor's death!)

2. Leave one of their major goals unfinished. The more enthusiastic they are about completing the goal, the sadder.

3. Give them strong relationships with other characters.

4. Make them fight against whatever is causing their death. Their ultimate loss is sadder if they struggle.

5. Kill them in the middle of their character arc.

6. Don’t describe their funeral in detail. Maybe it’s just me, but I find that long descriptions of funerals kill the sadness.

What are the saddest character deaths you've come across and why were they so tear-jerking? Any factors from the list above, or something else? Share in the comments below! (please put the appropriate spoiler warnings in your posts!)