Emotional wounds from characters and how to handle it

NinaWrites 2021-06-23 15:20:07 UTC #1

I was reading a webtoon about a female MC jumping into another world and taking over an abusive authority figure/parental figure.

It boggles my mind how some stories gloss over years of abuse and just because they took over the body, the simple act of kindness changes the victim to feel grateful and even fall in love.

I was contemplating the "beauty of weak characters (as seen somewhere in the main board) because alot of my stories tend to be more character drive as opposed to plot driven.

I'm not saying that the story I read was bad or I have issues with it, it was actually an enjoyable read, but this got me thinking...

How do you balance growth and regression for a character who obviously experienced some sort of emotional/psychological wound without the story feeling like it's dragging or dare I say it? Boring.

As you can see, (or may not) im in the process of creating my MC in my story, so hearing other people's thoughts really helps me with brainstorming! thank you!

SurvivALIST 2021-06-23 15:52:57 UTC #2

Well, you're getting me in this thread because I read those types of stories.

What you're reading may be similar to this story arc:

To be honest, isekais and reincarnation stories are interesting but the plot seems predictable that the characters become scripted or obvious. In my case, I may be using that trope but I wanted my story to stand out from all that.

I'm proud that you get the difference between a character driven and a plot driven story. Even if you write a cliche story, its the characters that will make the story amazing compared to the plot driven one which just makes the story still cliche and un-amazing. You get what I mean?

This question makes me ponder on Alist, my MC.

She also came from a life of abuse in her past life but ends up in a new world having a good family who were oblivious of the terrible future only Alist knows because she read the "novel". I placed Alist's story on hiatus just because of a question similar to this reflection.

It makes me wonder why my MC is going so fast and takes on the new world calmly. My struggle here is that Alist has two parts to act upon: as a child and as an adult. The growth and regression of the character comes tough here because she needs to mature but at the same time experience normal childhood [or act childish].

I tried adding up some wounds or bad habits she got from her previous life such as slouching which she got from carrying bricks in illegal child labor. She will struggle on that because her education includes etiquette and posture.

It can be as simple as that with little details of the past being mended in her new life. There is advantage of having knowledge two eras or time periods. My MC gets the best and worst of both worlds.

For the emotional/psychological wounds to heal over time, you can take it as a haunting dream occurring in her brain. Like in my case: my MC still dreams of her last moments dying in her ex-life. Her dreams somehow influence the growth of her magical ability.

From painful dream [psychological wound] to the development of her main power [growth], you can see a character driven transition. This, for me, is fine detail that I can continuously carry on regress towards my story.

Knowing too much about the future is a double-edged sword for Alist as well.

If you wanna balance that kind of thing with your MC, give something that will bother him/her forever and how that botheration becomes a stepping stone towards becoming strong or wholesome little by little. You don't have to make that growth more obvious but that's up to you. That certain growth should surprise us, too.

Well like you said, focus on your characters first and let not the plot of the story enslave or script the life of your MC[s].

MeltingCORE 2021-06-23 16:04:13 UTC #3

Going to address what the op mentioned about certain topics being glossed over! My own writing comes from a place in my life that I never want to return too. (Hospitalized multiple times as a teen, mental health issues, home issues, etc.) It's not something I enjoy sitting around talking about because it still hurts. I do usually put pieces of myself and people I know into my characters, however. The way I'm dealing with it in my current series is showing that one of my main characters (a dude) has basically been destroyed by his planet's government and that has caused psychological issues that lead to some really harsh decisions later on. He does really awful things but he's not one-dimensional either. He can love and cry. Feel pain and hurt.

My other main character (a girlie) tries her best to help everyone even when it's detrimental to her own well-being. She learns to say "no" as her story develops. When it comes to things like abuse and mental illness, I really dislike stories that make it seem like a desirable trait. (ie frail, sweet flower who does no wrong/handsome man whose soft and mysterious and deep) Speaking from experience, but these things can make you unstable, suicidal, angry, disconnected from reality, etc. It's messy and sloppy. I wish more stories had the guts to show the brutality of what living through this does to you. I feel like it's obvious when someone hasn't been through pain like this writes stories about these serious topics. (I used to get so furious as a teen when I came across other kids on Tumblr using mental illness to be edgy!) It's why I don't hold back in my own work (even when it's ugly and gross).

domisotto 2021-06-23 16:39:05 UTC #4

Emotional content is not boring. That fear is misplaced. What is boring is when it is done without heart or when it becomes a Pity Sue/torture sponge. When a character makes you root for them to grow—thumbs up. When they just wallow and ask for pity, let alone for pity to the writer… meh. All my opinion, obviously.

I am reading Emotional Craft of Fiction by D. Maass atm and there is a lot of good discussions and suggestions in that book. I recommend it!

DokiDokiTsuna 2021-06-23 18:24:09 UTC #5

I just want to point out that, if the writer was smart, they could actually pull that off realistically...sometimes abuse CAN do that to your brain; making you grateful for any and all kindness and sweetness you can get from someone who usually brings you fear and pain. Especially if the abuser is emotionally manipulative...

Of course, it wouldn't be a cute story; and the victim would probably have a lot of trauma and learned behaviors to overcome...but I'm just saying the setup isn't inherently unrealistic. ^^;

I recently wrote a story where I had to contend with this...basically, the issue was of trusting a former abuser who turned over a new leaf, kind of like the example story you gave. And it was hard to figure out a way to move the story forward with a main character who realistically, and justifiably, always wanted to hold back.

I think the best way to go about it (if the character's personality will allow) is to keep making the character take steps forward, and then use those steps to show the hesitation and pain that they're feeling.

For example, the character would try to have "amicable" conversations with the abuser, but be noticeably cold and avoidant of certain topics that were still touchy subjects. They would share meals with them, but be too afraid to actually eat, or wait for them to eat first.

Basically, the story moves forward with 'healing' and 'redemption' activities, but the character's mindset lags behind, and in this way you can see how they're still hurting and unsatisfied without things coming to a complete standstill.
And if they do decide to 'catch up' to what the story is doing, you'll be able to see the change in their behavior during these activities, as they gradually become more comfortable and less defensive.

indagold 2021-06-23 22:04:45 UTC #6

Easy, many times you don't. See, you don't need deep lore and intense emotional connections if you keep your story minimal especially with the fantasy genre. First thing that comes to mind is the Zelda series. A lot of stuff happens but you're more focused on the adventure than getting deep into whether Zelda is depressed about being a princess or link has crippling anxiety from Ganon. You don't over think it.

That's why it fails so much because the author turns it into a melodrama by getting far too deep into it and not knowing how to plot it out organically or avoid plot holes. I think a lot of authors these days want to write psychological dramas but don't know how to do it and you end up with stories like that. You either have the option to know when to stop and keep it minimal so the reader doesn't overthink it or go the whole way and figure it out (which can be longer and more difficult but can pay off in the end). This is why we're able to read a lot of stories about situations that involve a lot of suffering but because it's simplistic enough, you can enjoy it. I think the key to find a good balance between a complex story and a light hearted fantasy is not to overthink serious topics.

diamondactor 2021-06-23 22:39:28 UTC #7

So my main character has a lot and I mean a lot of baggage. We meet him when he's worked though some of it, but it comes up every so often throughout the series (spoilers FYI since the comic and novel are just starting to come out).

He has serious insecurities and used to use drags, alcohol, girls, and violence to cope. When presented with a difficult situation his first thought is always to clean their clock, but he has to constantly remind himself to hold back and try to talk it out (internal dialogue), but sometimes he still loses his cool. There's also a few times he's presented with the opportunity to score his old life back and his old drug. In the internal dialogue he struggles with the choice and one point ends up back in his old ways and having to restart. While falling in love he isn't sure how to really feel because he used sex to cope and isn't sure what a healthy relationship is. He's terrified he's not in love and he'll just become a user of people again. There are ample opportunities to have him grow with good explanations/internal dialogue.

Tapas:

Webtoons:

Pop Comic:

Novel (Tapas):

mariannightblade 2021-07-01 08:08:41 UTC #8

I agree highly with this post. Even if you just make the character have a certain tick or habit they do inline with their emotional or physical trauma that they must recognize or overcome slowly. Not matter how small it is still something that can be used when the character goes into another body like in isekai novels.

Oto_Kouda 2021-07-01 08:38:40 UTC #9

Literally all of my characters have some type of emotional wound, and I feel what you're talking about. It always feels so weird when you read a story where a character was abused, in literal slavery, or they're emotionally closed off due to trauma when suddenly the MC says:

"Hey. Don't be sad! Smile!"

Broken Character: "Wow! No one's ever told me that before! For some reason, your airheadedness and positive sentiment has caused all of the negative feelings I've held in for years to disappear!"

Ha! NO. I'll give an example using one of my characters. To quickly sum up my story, it's a psychological take on a reverse harem.

Take the villainess of my novel, Nari. She comes from a well-off family, and so does the boy she fell for. Her reason for falling in love with him had to do with the emotional neglect she felt from her family after her younger brother was born. Once she goes through her character arc, it's not like all of that pain will magically disappear or anything. Instead, she'll start the healing process.

She'll get better and better, but she'll still slip and have her ups and downs. Y'know what? That kind of thing is okay.

Also! If you want the most painful yet realistic depiction of a character simultaneously going through growth and regression, I'd recommend Bojack Horseman. It may seem silly at first, but once you get pulled into Bojack's character, it just...hurts in a way that a show filled with animals shouldn't.

monotone_ink 2021-07-01 14:18:47 UTC #10

If you want a good story about how traumatic events - big or small - contribute to psychological pathologies, you should really have a close look at Goodnight Punpun.

(I warn you though: it's a story you should be emotionally prepared for, and I mean with this all seriousness. Make sure you're in a good place if you decide to read it.)

It's not extremely dramatic or fantastical (no one gets thrown into slavery or tortured to near-death), but it's a good example of how even small, seemingly insignificant events can emotionally wound people for a long time.

And on the note of this quote:

...Punpun explores how someone who's gone through abuse of any sort can often self-sabotage their paths to psychological recovery. They'll be given a medicine or some show of kindness, and they'll go out of their way to render it useless, or even detrimental to themselves.

There's a good deal of growth for a lot of the characters, but they often go back and forth and it's a real struggle for them. Definitely check it out .

If you want another story about someone that's tied themselves in a psychological tangle, have a look at Dostoevsky's 'Notes from the Underground.' It's a short read, but it's very good.