Why Do Writer Keep Falling Into This Trap?

@JWZagst J.W. Zagst
Sun, 15 Nov 2020 10:15:11 +0000

@JWZagst wrote:

I had a story I was working on a few years back that was something similar to this, where the main character was abused as a boy by his father in an attempt to make him the perfect warrior. The father would say stuff like, "Yes boy, I was hard on you. But it made you tough. Look at you now, a war hero and a remarkable fighter. You became a legend because of me, show some gratitude!" True, he would not have become so strong without the abuse, but the trade-off was inner turmoil and unresolved trauma, which eventually lead to anger management issues later in life. I never finished this story, but my plot outline had the son eventually becoming addicted to multiple substances and then, in a rage-fueled encounter where his father challenges him to a duel, he goes too far and kills him. Then he has to wrestle with the conflicting feelings of missing his father, guilt and regret that he killed him, and relief that the man cannot abuse him ever again.

Beyond that, I never planned an ending and have not touched that story in some time.