Controversial/ "Weird " Storylines

AllynCrowe 2018-12-23 11:52:50 UTC #22

I am personally writing a romance story with heavy psychological influences (childhood abuse that caused anxiety and PTSD respectively) and it's definitely doable. The one thing you need to keep in mind is that even though it's a psychological romance, you shouldn't romanticise mental illnesses. They are messy, unwelcome, embarrassing, frustrating and even dangerous. They also don't excuse certain behaviours, even if they might shape or influence them.

I would also recommend using the DSM-V as a quick guide on symptoms that you can write into your characters, and how they would deal with these involuntary symptoms. Be careful not to 'fix' mental illness unrealistically quick though, it's often a lifelong struggle to cope, with lots of ups and downs.

You seem to have put a lot of thought into this though, and we need more stories who do mental illnesses right, so I'd say, definitely go for it. If it doesn't work, it's only a story, you can always retry or rewrite better next time ^^

And if you wish, here is my story

cookiety 2018-12-23 11:54:50 UTC #23

Thanks a lot! This gave me a lot of motivation and I'll definitely let you know once I make it

cookiety 2018-12-23 11:56:04 UTC #24

Thank you! I'll definitely check out your story as well

AllynCrowe 2018-12-23 12:09:16 UTC #25

It's my first, so don't attach too much value to it, but you might find a scale of reference of sorts ^^

cookiety 2018-12-23 12:22:00 UTC #26

Of course! Don't worry about it.

kip 2018-12-23 12:31:22 UTC #27

You don't need to know anyone in real life, though, just post on some social media, ask people to reach out to you. I'm sure you'll get some responses
Watching videos is useful, of course, but it's not advice tailored to your story, your needs. You say you're ready but that's not really your call to make, in my opinion. That's why plays and tv series and movies hire expert consultants who've been or are in the situation theyr'e depicting, not just therapists who'll tell them about the possible symptoms and the way of life secondhand.

inactive_account 2018-12-23 16:44:03 UTC #28

You should go with it, and as others have mentioned - you need to do some research on the mental disorder your character has. Also if you're worried about people getting offended or something, you should put a warning that your story contains content that is not meant for sensitive people. Another thing that I believe to be important: explain why your character is having these problems, otherwise the story might seem shallow.

Good luck :3

simplykit 2018-12-23 17:47:49 UTC #29

its a good concept

hope it works out for ya

cookiety 2018-12-23 18:36:27 UTC #30

Thanks! I'll definitely explain everything ^.^

vfinnigan 2018-12-23 20:55:38 UTC #31

Ooh. Dissociative Identity Disorder. I have a friend who has it along with complex PTSD. Be very careful with that, as Dissociative Identity Disorder has been portrayed very often in popular cutlure, and almost always very badly.

baasinsimple 2018-12-23 21:03:14 UTC #32

feeling creeped out isn't a bad thing