Well, okay, I have two questions, but first let me tell you where I'm coming from with them. I've for awhile had an idea of a story that begins with a kid committing suicide. The rest of the story is about how the suicide affects a small town, specifically two kids who are in a similar situation(extremely suicidal, but for different reasons.) Over the course of the plot, both will attempt, but neither succeeds. Other characters include a teacher questioning her role in it, and the parents of the two aformentated children. Now, here are my questions. 1. I'm sure there are many books like this. I would like examples though, to compare and stuff. 2. Does this sound realistic so far? I know, very few details, however one has to start somewhere.
I don't know off the top of my head whether it is based on a book, but look into the movie Ordinary People.
High level question: Have you gone through something like this before? Personally, I would find it very difficult to structure an entire book on a subject I was not intimately familiar with the emotion of. When tragedy strikes, people surprise us with their actions. I'm not saying the book would be impossible to write, but your first step should probably be to find the real life material to draw from. Check through Netflix and see if there are any documentaries about a suicide changing a town from the inside. Murder is a bit easier to predict because the anger can be channeled at a particular individual. With suicide, you end up a cocktail of sadness at the loss and rage at the decision (amidst a flurry of other feelings.) Just my thoughts. Sounds interesting! -m,
Me? No. However... I think I can write this story, BUT, I'm going to be careful. Although, I do know a lot about apathy, don't know if that'll help here, but it might. One of the things I want to make sure is that I don't judge the suicidal characters. This isn't going to be preachy, at least not about suicide. If anything I may end up defending it, but I hope to avoid that too. I want to write a story that is impartial to that issue, presenting it in a more balanced way hopefully. So, please help me with that.
Well, I'd spend a lot of time trying to find instances where suicide would make sense to me. It's dark and will test your constitution, but it might help you get into the head space of the characters better. We don't have to agree with a character's decisions, but we must understand them. I'd multiply the difficulty of everything I just said if the characters in your novel are teenagers.
I have done that actually, and have done so for these characters. I don't know if it will work out, but I'll try. Exactly, I want the reader to understand the characters. Perhaps not agree with them, but that's part of why it's so key that I'm not judgmental in any way.
Powerful themes require (and promote) powerful writing. If you think you can write this story, then you probably can. Go for it!
In terms of a community coming to terms with a major loss, one good place to start (imo) is with the book/movie "The Sweet Hereafter" by Russell Banks (movie by Atom Egoyan). I found this very powerful - the emotions of the town with a tragic loss. Survivors guilt. All that "good" stuff. Just a thought....
