#angst

#angst

Sad things you can do in a book other than killing of a character

Character death is sad, but it also has huge consequences on your plot that can’t be reversed. Not to mention, depending on your genre, character deaths are often reserved for later in the series as a way of telling the reader that things are getting serious. 

So, until that moment, here’s a quick list of things you can do to tug at your readers emotions: 

1.- Destruction of an item of value. For this to work you’re going to have to set this up early on, it could be a childhood toy they need to sleep at night, a necklace they swear gives them good luck, and old family trinket or any number of things. The important thing is you show just how important it is to the character, make them happy and excited just to talk about it. Later on your character will feel loss and so will the audience. 

2.- Arguing. Two characters with a strong bond arguing can be heartbreaking, even if you know the argument is going to resolve itself eventually, going from cuddles and banter to cold looks and the silent treatment, can easily hurt the audience just as much as the characters. 

3.- Betrayal. When well done, it’s worst than character death. When you as a reader fall head over heels in love with a character, only for them to betray the rest, it’s heartbreaking, especially if when you read back the foreshadowing was there. It was so obvious yet you were all so blind! As blind as the other characters. Also, unlike character death, they’re still there, there to taunt you with their mere existence. 

4.- Failure. We have probably all felt that emptiness, that feeling as the world crumbles around us, haplessness, when we failed an exam in school or just couldn’t get the house clean in time for that visit. Take that feeling and reflect it into your characters, it doesn’t have to be an exam, it can be anything, a task they’re parents asked them to do and they tried their best, a mission, anything. Just let them fail and feel the world crumble. 

5.- Being forced to stay behind. Following from point four, if a character is not good enough they can be left behind, perhaps it comes from a place of love, an attempt to protect them from enemies too strong, yet it still hurts. Perhaps they haven’t failed, perhaps they are left behind for another reason, because they are “too valuable”, or because they’ll be more useful back home. Either way, watching those close to you go of to fight for what you believe in, without you, can be painful. 

6.- Finding out something they believed in was a lie. It can be something relatively insignificant, an assumption they never bothered to question. Or something world shattering. Allow me to offer up an example with an unimportant spoiler from my second book (it’s not even out yet but oh well): in this book, while talking about some law, Henry realises his daughter believes he and her mother were married. This is an assumption Itazu made and never questioned. It affects nothing, nothing changes, yet finding out her mother and her father were not the happy married couple she’d always pictured, it’s painful. 

This could also be something huge, finding out you’re adopted for example. 

7.- History. Oh, history, how depressing it can be. And if you have a fantasy world you have many opportunities to go into this. From slaughters to slavery, finding out how society got to where it is, the base on which it is built. Well, it’s pretty depressing. Obviously be careful how much inspiration you take from real world history and always be respectful and do your research! 

8.- Scarring. An injury can be painful, it can be scary. And depending on what caused it, leave you with traumatising memories. Now add to that a physical visible reminder on your skin you can never remove. Well, that can be pretty horrible. Imagine the scar came from a battle the protagonist longs to forget, but can’t because every night before going to sleep they can’t help but glance at their arm where the nasty scars forever lies. 

As usual,  check out my book, stories I’ve written plus other social medias: here.

This another post I could probably do a part two on someday. Can you think of any books where any of these are done effectively? Do any of these happen in your owns book? Please tell me! I love hearing from you all. 

A) thank you for all your help with everyone on this blog. B) How should I add horror to a scene? Not the scary kind but that sense of “oh the humanity” you get when looking at bodies blown apart by artillery or a city burning. Right now I extensively describe details but I’m not sure that covers it.

Adding Emotional Details to a Horror/Tragedy Scene

The “oh the humanity” effect you’re talking about is that sense of raw human emotion some horror and tragedy scenes can evoke, and in writing, there are two ways we can do that:

1) Adding Sensory Details

Written storytelling works by putting an image into the mind of the reader, but that image has to be more than just a visual. By adding other sensory details, like what can be heard (agonized screams, the wail of sirens, the rumble of buildings collapsing), what can be felt (blazing heat, choking on air thick with smoke, pavement slick with ash), what can be smelled (acrid scent of wood and metal burning, the dust of crumbled concrete), what can be tasted (the bitter taste of smoke, the salty charcoal taste of ash and sweat, fear-induced bile creeping up the throat), you don’t just paint a two-dimensional image in the reader’s mind, you actually put them into the middle of the scene. They can take all that sensory detail and imagine actually being there.Have a look at my posts Horror By Darkness and Horror By Daylight for more.

2) Showing the Consequences

The other thing that gives a horror and tragedy is showing the consequences of whatever horrific or tragic thing has taken place. Consider who is affected by this horrific thing and how. As a city is burning, we expect injury and death, but we also need to see more than just bodies. We need to see people grieving over the bodies of lost loved ones, young to old. We need to see people with injuries that will change the course of their lives. We need to see someone heartbroken as they watch their longtime family business burn to the ground. This is how you add the real gut punch.

best friends to lovers prompts.

going as each other’s “platonic” date to a mutual friend’s wedding

agreeing to kiss each other “just to see what it’s like”

punching the guy who broke your best friend’s heart at prom

refusing to admit your feelings but making up ridiculous excuses to spend time together

“i’m not in love with my best friend” but everyone knows you're full of shit

there’s only one bed, which we decide to share (obviously been waiting for this moment)

friends and family think we’re dating because we’re always acting like a couple

sharing clothes, we're just that comfortable with each other

accidentally blurting out “i love you” during a conversation

“i’ll kiss you right now to prove i don’t feel anything for you” but the kiss proves the exact opposite

finding old letters you wrote to each other as kids and reminiscing

is there a reason you're always staring at me in class?

knowing your best friend inside out, everything from their favorite song, to the name of their stuffed animal in second grade

hiding your feelings, not wanting to ruin the friendship, even going as far as avoiding each other completely, yet always ending up sharing an intimate moment

immediately choosing each other for a group project, but spending more time making out than working

the first kiss and the realization of “it’s always been you”

starting to see each other in a different light

i’m watching you date all these other people and i don't know what it is i'm feeling but it's definitely not jealousy

you don't have anyone to go to prom with, so i volunteer, but we end up ditching early, instead driving around town, stopping for some cheap burgers and incredible sights

complimenting your best friend over small things, that realistically only someone who’s in love with that person would notice

that “oh shit” moment when the realization hits you

the “date” that isn't really a date but feels like one

showing up at each other’s house late at night

you're upset and disappear for a couple hours, and i'm the only one who knows where to find you (which is at the location we always hung out at as children)

one dropping hints about their feelings, the other one is completely oblivious

hearing your best friend say you’re nothing more than friends, dying a little on the inside because you wish it was more than that

family and friends constantly pointing out how compatible you are with each other

How to Write Scary Characters

Writing scary characters starts with writing believable characters. 

Characters who are one dimensional lack substance and depth. They’re superficial. Two-dimensional—sometimes called three-dimensional—characters seem more real. They are believable even if their behavior is, or can sometimes be, extreme.

Afficher davantage

soft prompts for couples who aren’t together yet

hugs that last a little longer than they should

immediately looking at the other after telling/doing something funny in hope to see their smile

making playlists and mood boards for the other

trying to learn about the others interests

continuously denying others who think they are together

“no we are not together!! … at least not yet…”

finding similar fictional characters who shares the other one’s MBTI and enneagram type

trying to know little things about them by observing

always giving the utmost attention to the other if they are in a crowd

associating random things with them

getting matching key rings

hanging out together often

I think a lot about how we as a culture have turned “forever” into the only acceptable definition of success.

Like… if you open a coffee shop and run it for a while and it makes you happy but then stuff gets too expensive and stressful and you want to do something else so you close it, it’s a “failed” business. If you write a book or two, then decide that you don’t actually want to keep doing that, you’re a “failed” writer. If you marry someone, and that marriage is good for a while, and then stops working and you get divorced, it’s a “failed” marriage.

The only acceptable “win condition” is “you keep doing that thing forever”. A friendship that lasts for a few years but then its time is done and you move on is considered less valuable or not a “real” friendship. A hobby that you do for a while and then are done with is a “phase” - or, alternatively, a “pity” that you don’t do that thing any more. A fandom is “dying” because people have had a lot of fun with it but are now moving on to other things.

I just think that something can be good, and also end, and that thing was still good. And it’s okay to be sad that it ended, too. But the idea that anything that ends is automatically less than this hypothetical eternal state of success… I don’t think that’s doing us any good at all.