The main character for my psychological story is a girl and in the past when she was about 5, her father was killed in front of her AND in public, which greatly upset her. However she still tries to maintain a positive attitude and is kind. She is trying to figure out why her father was killed but along the way, she gets in situations that are really, REALLY messed up, like psychologically based. Can someone help me with these elements/situations?
People will most likely reply telling you that this is too vague and that you should come up with your own ideas. I love psychology. Your story sounds interesting. PM me, and I'll help.
Mallory is right. This is a very vague question and thus hard to answer. You as the writer have to come up with these "situations." I would recommend trying to come up with your own ideas. But if you can't, then a quick google search on traumatic incidents (or something similar) should provide you with the inspiration you need.
Trauamatic incidents: rape, betrayal by close friend, death of someone else, making a huge mistake and feeling horrible about it (especially if it causes her to lose a friend's trust or something like that). Hope that helped any. But really, it depends on the context of the story.
As Mallory and thirdwind said, no one can really help you with this. Not only is the question vague, what you are seeking is the very essence of writing a character-centered story. Research is important. I'm assuming you don't have much knowledge on a personal level with child victims/witnesses of violence. To write about this subject you need to know a good deal about the psychological effects of, and recovery from, that kind of trauma. There's a limit to how much of that research you can accomplish online. Getting to know people who nave such experiences will make a huge difference in the depth of the character you create. Due to confidentiality considerations, you may have a very hard time speaking with victims/witnesses, but you may be able to get some time with child psychologists who have worked with them to understand the trauma, behavior, and recovery of those young victims.
I agree with previous speakers, but since it doesn't cost me anything, here are some ideas: While looking for an answer, she finds out some really messed-up things about her father. Maybe he had a second family that the MC and her mother didn't know about. Maybe he had a secret life as a dominator in an S/M club. Maybe he was a pedophile. Maybe he'd been in prison for murder. Maybe the MC had an older sibling she doesn't know about, who mysteriously died/disappeared. Maybe the MC isn't really their child, but someone they kidnapped to cover up the death of their real child.
As I agree with Islander, heres something that I think could of happened: Maybe her memory got mixed up and though she did see her father die, all evidence convinces her that she did it. (In the end it wasn't her at all)
I personally enjoy the idea of having a broken character lead. The find the thought that you can't understand, nor trust, what the character is actually thinking to be exciting.
I love psychological stories, and this sounds very interesting--I'd be happy to give you some help with this, AC (feel free to PM me). But like everyone else said, we'll need to know more about this before we can give you assistance.
