[AUTHOR'S...MUSINGS] ...why is writing traumatic events so hard? · 11:43pm Jul 10th, 2021
So I'm in the mix, the final Bad Thing before the climax, and this part is...hard. There's a little bit of the lead-in to the traumatic part that I don't have quite clear in my head that needs a little finessing, but I'm finding the emotional block to be bigger than the "get the words on paper" part. I legit just don't want to cause any sort of pain or suffering for the characters that I've grown to love so much.
But in a narrative story arc...sometimes bad shit's gotta happen.
One thing you've probably noticed is that in every chapter (except for the odd duck among the swans...you know the one) has had a "flashback" of some variety. Well, for this one I'm piggy-backing onto one of the most legendary and beloved flashbacks from MLP:FiM for this one, and it's gonna hurt the characters involved. The thing that will be the driving force behind this chapter is the direct correlation between the flashback and the events in the present. (And if you've already figured out the canon MLP:FiM flashback I'm talking about, plus you can do the math and figure out which member(s) of the HuMane 6 this chapter features, you're probably already preparing the torches and pitchforks...jokes on you, my location is hidden in the middle of a desert!)
As a sidebar, while I'll always appreciate learning new things about World War 2 and the events leading up to and surrounding it, I never, ever, ever thought I'd have to figure out a ponification of a certain German family surname now associated with some of the worst hate crimes in human history that nearly succeeded in wiping out entire branches of the human family tree (you know the one) and the pony version of the name "Godwin."
...I'm starting to feel more like a serial killer novelist than someone who writes urban fantasy...but then again, what's an urban fantasy villain but a miserable pile of secrets fictionalized serial killer?
For me, I tend to make characters I like suffer the most. I suppose I relate to them through pain.
I struggle with writing certain scenes because in many ways you are the first reader. What emotions are drawn up as you write. Hopefully what drawns in the reader. The suprise and the tragic, all in between?
There is actually some storys that I want to write that I am sure will not have a audience. Or...one that I would not want to interact with. In part mind. I am selfaware to a degree. I have read some of the comments on dark fics and though I may love the story. Some of the those people are...odd.
Like I aim to write dark tales that are nuanced yet...not trite? Or cruel? In a sense? I want them to evoke in the reader a haunting if captivating melody. (Not Blood Smut)
Ps. In truth I am probably going to write them anyway. Focusing on having a editor for those storys and prereader. Perhaps even senstivity reader, would be swell? Then disable comments and likes. Some stuff I just want it out there? You know?
Pps. I am going to reread your story it was some time ago. I have in truth forgotten about.
Ppps. With the amount of people that I follow all kinds of folks use their blog in cool ways. Makes me want to start writing there? A little gun shy I imagine? Like doesnt it have to be entertaining to be a blog?
I don't know about others, but what I do is come up with the event or tragic event and then watch compilations of that character to get a feel for how they normally act and think about how they would react to certain situations/events. Once I do that, I see if I can find similar characters in other media, and together with what I know of the character and other media characters, I write the character and the scene and how I think they would express their emotions and what is going through their minds during and after the events. I also try to connect with them by acting like them in my daily life, and this usually leads me down a good path when writing their character. I usually turn to books to get the desired emotions, but I have also watched and read anime and manga as there is a wealth of different characters with all sorts of backstories, but I always keep in mind to make the characters past and reactions as original as possible. That's what I do, so I guess the condensed version is research and a lot of it.
I haven't read you stories, so I don't know much about the context of these flashbacks or the events you're talking about.
However, when writing scenes that depict hurtful things happening to the characters you like, you have to think about the way you want it to translate to the reader. Is this something that the reader feels like is deserved? Is the reader disgusted? Is the reader hurt for the characters? Does the reader become sympathetic?
The emotion part is the hardest part to emulate in a story, for it's almost impossible to force someone to feel a certain emotion. The best you can do is to look at it from a readers perspective with the background you've already established within the story. Remember that the disconnect between Author and Reader is massive.
If you don't, well, you can take a look at my most recent story's like bar and figure out what happens.
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Ah, yes, the "Jim Butcher" school of writing.
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I think that's about a perfect summation of the problem.
"No, author, don't do that to my sweet cinnamon rolls! ...oh, wait, that's me, I'm the author!"
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But yes, all your advice is solid and I've actually used that very method to find the best ways of describing what I'm trying to convey, mostly with the "other books" route because while visual art is totally worthwhile and I'm currently supporting several visual artists via their patreon/subscribstar/ko-fi/etc., sometimes that "ooh, cool!" onscreen moment is flippin' HARD to translate to written text. Rainbow Dash's scene in "All We Do Crumbles to the Ground" is a good example; I was basically trying to write a scene from The Flash through an EQG lense, but my first draft was so bad that my pre-reader had no idea what I was trying to tell. They saw the "start" and "end" points and got that Dash was suddenly using her magic, but couldn't figure out how she was suddenly doing what she was doing. I had to delete the entire scene and start from scratch and deliberately ignore what I'd seen in the tv show for The Flash and lean on how the character had been portrayed in comic books, which aren't capable of showing the same visual tricks as video...and then filter that through how I'd describe the comics to a blind person and still keep it interesting...and then filter that through the lens of "how would this character experience what I'm describing?"
It's not really a question of mechanics that I have a problem with, it's the emotional hit of being the one to write these characters into that place and feeling like a horrible, horrible person for doing so.
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I'm down with you following my blog and commenting and all...why what?!
I'm just surprised that you're here if you haven't read my work. Do know that well-meant writing advice and thoughtful critiques will be well received even if I don't choose to act on them, it may be a time constraint that I don't follow your advice or it may not match my personal style...or I may use your advice on another project entirely that you've never heard of. Again, feel free to hang out, have a snack, enjoy the discussion and friendship, and welcome to my blog.
In the Annotated Chronicles, Margaret Weiss makes a comment about Sturm's death scene. In so many words she explains that when you've travelled together with a character, wrote them in and out of trouble, watched them suffer and delved into their minds to give them hope as the story progresses it creates an empathy for the character that makes it very difficult for you to push forth a scene where they will die (in Sturm's case) because, at the end of the day, no one knows and loves your characters as much as you do.
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