by Gayle Haynes

Considering the fragility of life, committing suicide sounds simple. Don't be too sure. The human body is relatively committed to staying alive.

What factors make such a desperate act believable? Cut the wrists and bleed to death or take a few pills and never wake up--sounds simple enough. It's not!

Motivation to commit suicide is hard to establish. Life is tough. Most people deal with problems, needs, failures, threats and disaster on a daily basis. To make suicide a believable act you must provide some logical and reasonable succession of events. I do not suggest that the suicide be reasonable to the reader. Indeed, the reader will probably be saying, “No, no, don't do it.“ What you can do is show that in the character's mind or from his viewpoint, it is reasonable.

Depression is the classic symptom. The person who feels he has nothing to look forward to or has no hope of bettering his already wretched situation is the best candidate for suicide. No matter how well it integrates with your story line, most people do not want to die. Your reader may not want to identify with a character that is planning it. Most people who are successful in committing suicide have a long history of suicidal ideation or behavior. It may be remembered only after the person is dead.

Cutting an artery is serious and, if it is the jugular in the neck or a major artery in the groin or chest, you might die quickly. If the injury is not a major artery, it is going to be a long slow process. Peripheral cutting, that is, to the arms or legs, usually causes a big mess and lots of panic, but the body has made the decision not to die. The blood coagulates and efficiently conserves enough blood to keep the motor running. If you

choose to use cutting, make sure your terminally depressed person is on a blood thinner. Remember, it is going to be slow unless it is in the neck or groin. You might increase the tension and suspense this way.

Suicide by the chemical method is risky, too. There is such a thing as a lethal dose of many medications. The problem with that is that when a person takes that large a dose, he usually gets sick and throws up. You can complicate the whole thing by having him aspirate when he vomits, but it's terribly messy and not necessarily lethal. It might even give you life on a kidney machine or life support.

To make the best use of the drug method, mix a minor tranquilizer with alcohol. Taking uppers and downers at the same time can stress the heart and cause death, but it's unpredictable. You might succeed accidentally. Dosages are difficult. Body weight, food consumption and tolerance may complicate things. You should check the interactions of drugs in a Physicians Desk Reference. The effect of minor tranquillizers increases exponentially with alcohol. The cause of death with this mixture is usually depressed respiration. Other drugs would cause low blood pressure or seizures. Do the research.

A gunshot to the temple may cause a frontal lobotomy and leave a victim disabled but not dead. Too far back and a gunshot can leave the victim blind and helpless. Research how the brain works to make death plausible with the injury you describe.

The advent of better forensics and better-informed readers requires writers to keep up with the field. Everybody watches CSI. Know and use details that are believable

If you don't want to do the research, then make it very hush-hush and don't give any details. Many people don't want to talk about suicide anyway. If you really want to use it, make your details match the reality of self-destruction.