Where the soul-sucking nature of Internet volunteer work gets to me, and I rant about writing 'sad' emotion in stories · 4:28pm Jan 30th, 2013
Approved over seventy stories today. Failed probably about another twenty or so. On an unrelated note, scotch is delicious!
Okay, so there are a few things that really bug me when it comes to writing, some of which are very prevalent in this fandom. And while being able to sit back and make snarky comments and reject stories for these problems is always fun, it’s not terribly helpful. So, I figured why not talk about some of these danger areas in the hope that maybe, just maybe, someone might find it useful.
This time around, I am going to talk about doing ‘sad’ emotions in stories.
The ‘sad’ story is a bitch. Yet so many authors jump to it, and we can all instantly name a handful of ridiculously popular ‘sad’ stories. For some reason, people love to make themselves feel like shit. Catharsis is a drug, I swear to God. But there is also lots of potential to write material that is beautiful, poignant and meaningful, and that’s probably where the attraction lies.
It is also one of the hardest genres to get right, in my opinion. This is because conveying emotion well is a very difficult task, one that a lot of amateur writers struggle with (myself included).
So where do people go wrong? The answers vary, and it will depend on story to story. A lot of the time it’s simply because people try to tackle emotions they don’t personally understand, or they don’t have the technical abilities as a writer to present them in a way that is convincing, relatable, or realistic. The My Little Pony fandom is filled with a lot of younger adults and teenagers, so this is hardly surprising.
In order to make things sad, people run straight to the extremes. They appear to have this concept in their heads of what intense emotions are meant to be like, and they try as hard as humanly possible to punch readers ‘in the feels’. This is why people love to make their characters have tears streaming down their faces and have them yell and scream. There is an assumption that by writing a character crying, you can make readers sad.
Unfortunately, this is rarely the case. Some of the best advice I have read was a line saying that, in real life, drama is about people trying to control emotion. What does this mean for writers? It means that writing understated and simple emotion is the stuff that will always feel the most ‘real’ when done right. Even the most intense emotions can be expressed in simple ways, without the verbose descriptions of ‘tears flowing down her visage’.
Similarly, stick far, far away from cliché. Those scenes where a pony stands in front of a tombstone or in a hospital, lamenting how they are sorry or how they miss the other pony so much all suffer from the same problems. People all try to use the same cliché wording to describe emotion, the same cliché dialogue. They try to write about sad things and expect the reader to feel sad. It’s like a formula that, because people don’t feel comfortable with the emotion they are trying to express, they fall back on time and time again. And the readers, many of whom are not the most emotionally mature folk (which, to be fair, I wouldn't expect them to be), lap it up.
Unfortunately, this is not good writing, despite how popular it may be. Emotion is very hard to get right, and it involves making the readers feel the character’s emotions, not just describing the behaviour that shows they are sad. I can sympathise with people who think, show vs tell is a thing, therefore, if I describe the pony crying a lot, it will show the readers just how sad they feel! But, show vs tell is often far more nuanced and complicated than that, and 'sad' requires the writer to be able to get the reader to feel and relate to the specific situation. For me, this is where metaphor, simile or even things like association to something in a character’s history come into play. Either way, keep it simple, and keep it emotive.
Of course, there are moments in life when people do display big outpourings of emotion, and while ‘simple’ may seem a little contradictory in these instances, believe it or not, the general points remain the same. Make me feel the emotion.
Because I am a writer of examples, the three best ‘sad’ stories in the fandom, in my opinion, are as follows: Somewhere Only We Know, Bubbles, and The Promises We Keep. Also, special mention to Salvation’s first interlude for being absolutely brilliant (THAT’S how you do intense emotion, folks). The one thing all of those stories have in common is the simplicity with how they present emotion. It’s honest. It’s realistic. It's mature, and there’s nothing over-the-top or too verbose. They’re all very well written stories.
So, what do I want you guys to do? Be aware of badly done emotion! It’s freaking everywhere, and so many people eat it up. And go and read those stories listed above. They’re great.
Maybe next time I will be a little more constructive, haha. Got any topics you would like an essay on? Show vs tell, writing engaging description? If you do, let me know! I am always looking for ways to recycle my EqD reviews.
Anyway, now it’s time for me to go and sleep or something. Ranting makes me sleepy. :(
Love you all!
I agree 100%. The best sad fic I have ever read was "Simply Rarity," and, given that it's written in the form of journal entries, the Rarity's emotion isn't just understated, it isn't even directly mentioned.
I think a lot of time, less is more. So I'll end the comment here.
Also, I've read Bubbles; I'll have to read the others.
Emotion is something very difficult to 'get right'. I've gone both routes. The classic 'This character is sad so you should feel sad' route (complete with tears streaming quicker than in an anime). And the creating a scene and letting the interactions of the characters convey the emotion. Both in the same story, actually.
Personally, I don't like 'Sad' for the sake of 'Sad'. I much prefer writing and reading 'Bittersweet'. But that is an even harder balance to strike than just 'Sad' because you need to mix your 'Happy' and your 'Sad' in just the right proportions.
you know what's funny Mystic ? the same goes for most clop storys haha
anyway, i try to stay away from SAD and DARK stuff here ... because most of the time its just ... well dumb ? dunno how to say it, but 99% it doesnt fit the overall setting of MLP ...
Well said Mystic! This is a good reference to how I would hope it's widely considered to be done the right way. Sadness that is.
Hoo boy, I know how hard it is to write stories in the "Sad" genre. "Dark" too, it's difficult to pull off a dark setting without it going full-on "lol grimderp" on the readers.
The most important thing I can think of for people to improve their writing in it is to just read. Not fanfiction, per se, but actual, older novels, where you actually have to THINK when you're reading. The first one that comes to mind in terms of "Sad" is "Brave New World" (which, ironically enough, I'm writing a crossover story of). The turmoil of emotion in that story is so subtle, you have to actually re-read certain parts because it all happens so fast. The feeling of isolation due to cultural shock has many effects on one's mind, and being able to spot that and relate it to the reader is a sign of an excellent writer.
Another piece of advice I can throw in is to always have someone to bounce ideas off of. If you are writing a story, and you have nobody to give you feedback, ACTUAL CONSTRUCTIVE feedback, then you will never improve. I was lucky enough to start writing my stories on /mlp/, where (while quite a bit more strict, was still very constructive) I was able to receive feedback on all of my stories when I was still writing them, so in less than a year I was writing much better and creating more than I could have ever imagined I would be.
Writing emotion in a story is very important, very tricky business. You have to know what you're doing before you get started, and if you screw up then SOMEONE'S going to be blamed for it, and you damn well know it's not going to be the readers' faults.
Wow.......damn, that was a massage. I seriously have to remember all of this, very, very enjoyable read....I been told I'm really good at writing dark and tragic stories, but I don't think I am....how does one write humor though? Does the author themself have to be funny?
Excellent blog entry, Mystic. This is very helpful for beginners, as it will inspire new writers to do some research in order to better improve their writing abilities. Anyway, can't wait for the next chapter of As the Sun Sets.
-JJ2
PS. Looking through your stories list really make me saddened that All Paths Lead Home doesn't have more views than it currently does. Seriously, you deserve at least three times the amount of likes on that story than you do. Just thinking about it... Man that story is sooooooo good.
Anyway, I'm stupid. See you later.
It's so much work though!
Thank you for the help, I think I had a little bit of an idea of what you were talking about but you really solidified it for me. It's just I also think you have to REALLY want your fic to be good and be a great author striving to be the best they can be, and as a casual writer I don't really think that much. Still, good advice.
We said, Mystic.
My fellow writers, do me a favor? If you feel you can legitimately write a scene where a character is bawling their eyes out, I mean they are absolutely ruined... don't make them suddenly have long lines of dialog simultaneously.
Well put, Mystic. It is one of the seemingly easiest types of stories to write, yet in practice, one of the tougher ones to do well. And thanks for yet another plug.
773243 Hehe, it was on google docs for a little while when it was first posted on EqD before it came here. There are probably people who read it there instead!
773512 Well, like a lot of things, writing is a craft, one that requires lots of practice to become good. Like any sport or drawing, etc. However, lots of people still do those things for fun and it doesn't bother them that they're not at 'professional' levels, and that's completely fine, too!
775105 It's a damn good story! Haha.