Why Do Writer Keep Falling Into This Trap?

@alexlcuri07 Alex L. Curi
Sun, 15 Nov 2020 05:37:14 +0000

@alexlcuri07 wrote:

I think a lot of the problem is that very few stories actually have the character experience the abuse in the story or interact with the aftermath of the abuse. They create a character that is so far removed from what they experienced, or they want to rush to the positive outcome so bad, that the writer neglects to properly have the character interact with what makes abuse so terrible: the lingering, internalized effects.

In writing its easy to "fast forward" through the nuances of change because we set the timeline. But with abuse in particular, this allows the readers to correlate the cause as the abuse and the effect as happiness. It leaves out all the actual work that the victims had to do in order to reach where they are. Its an assumption on the writers end that their readers will somehow know, without it being stated, that abuse is bad and that the character had to struggle to get to the positive out look that they now have.

In my opinion, it just shows a lack of understanding and research of abuse and its short term and long term effects. Its also kind of a lazy writing technique and doesn't build character like authors think it does because it doesn't show the build, only the finished product.