Events are not the cause, events are the effect of our national character.

FORBES: 'Systemic Risk' Is Not Event Driven, It Is Character Driven

Brevoort said this character's death will have a ripple effect on other Marvel books.

CNN: 2011 is bringing a death to the 'Fantastic Four' family

The uncanny valley effect could have to do with uncertainty about whether a robotic character is truly alive or dead, and even play into our deep-seated fears of death.

CNN: Why zombies, robots, clowns freak us out

Another way of avoiding the tennis-match effect is to refer to what is happening or to how a character is feeling before reporting the speech.

WSJ: Alexander McCall Smith on Writing Dialogue | Word Craft