Recently I noticed that my writing seems to be getting darker and darker without me trying. Is that bad? It feels weird because I don't try. I think of scenes that would be interesting emotions that would be intense, it just seems that dark is attracted to that for some reason. Am I weird? Should I not stress this? Should I be ashamed of myself? Feeling randomly uncertain with myself.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TrueArtIsAngsty I post that link in both ways. (Art as a whole would be nowhere without its capacity to explore darkness, and on the other hand, there is plenty of art worth appreciating that celebrates joy.) Either way, at least being aware of the pattern of art exploring darkness -- and the good and bad sides of this pattern -- will help you put your own thoughts into perspective. Me? My favorite works of fiction almost invariably combine darkness with joy, which seems to be evidence that each side of the human experience is meaningless without the other side. Most importantly, the natural desire to explore darkness is never a reason to think you are "weird". In fact, people who have no morbid curiosity are the weird people.
lol at the weird ones being the ones with no morbid curiosity. It reminds me of a friend, see we were watching a movie and this guy rips a guys arms off and starts drinking his blood. Me I am like "I am done, no thanks" cuz well it was so meaningless and dark and I got no joy from watching that. My friend was like "yes! MORE!" So I thought as a writer I would be on the more bunny and butterflies side of things. But apparently I am not. Like in a current WIP a womans is forced to watch her son burned alive. That is pretty freaking dark right? Yet I get no pause from writing it like I do from the other dark scene? I wonder why? I actually wrote part of that scene earlier today. I cried a little bit while doing it. Is that weird?
I guess it would just depend on what flavor of darkness you like. Some like over-the-top physical grotesqueness, while others prefer the more 'emotional' sort of darkness. My favorite is the emotional/psychological. It forces the reader (and the writer) to get a closer look at a particular character with little to no arm-ripping or blood drinking. There's a lot more freedom to it, I think. There's only so many ways you can write someone on the receiving end of a violent no-holds-barred beatdown, but lots and lots of ways to use emotional/psychological aspects to turn a character into something...different.
Watching X-Factor (and you thought you were weird!) and the frequency of the comment "You could have put in more light and shade." My point being that art (in general) needs a balance between the two extemes...you could have it all grey, but I doubt that anybody would want to read about it.
If you were writing it gratuitously, like, you actually drew sadistic pleasure from writing someone being burned alive, yes, I think you'd be weird and you might also need some help. If you write it 'cause you want to say something, portray human suffering, for therapy, for the sake of realism.... I think that's a good thing.
I gain the implication from this that you think either of the two extremes alone would be bad. Meaning darkness is needed? No nothing like that. I mean I like the scene, not for pleasure from her pain. I feel empathy. Like I said I cried a little writing the scene(Is that weird?) I wonder if I could have endured it like she did. If I could have faired any better? This is what I think of. I sit and try to imagine just how it must have felt to be her. The intensity of the emotion is what I find interesting. Does that make sense?
I guess that's what I'd consider a portrayal of human suffering. I wouldn't worry about being weird, not in a bad way anyway.
nope, i mean one of scenes in the series i am writing has a suicide scene, its dark as hell, with the emotions portrayed by the characters, what is going on and everything else, as well as the thoughts that were going through the character's mind at that point. suffice to say i cried at the scene i wrote as well. don't be too alarmed, it is human nature to see dark and light in such instances. but we are the fortunate ones who only have it come to light through our artistic creations
Some darkness...at least something darker than brilliant sunshine. If you look at anything by Caravaggio, it's usually dark, but with the important features within a small area of (comparatively) brilliant light. It's the contrast that makes it work.
I never planned to have a whole section of my story where a creature contemplates the numerous torturous ways it could kill my main character, including ripping his stomach out, slitting his throat and cooking him. It just sort of happened. And as I went on and I saw that a few more similarly dark sections occurred I realised that I was totally fine with it and that it actually seemed to add something. In fact, I'd say that it's better that than actually going out of your way to have darkness and it makes for a better story overall.
Every time I create a character I find myself thinking about the circumstances in which I am going to kill him/her off. Are they going to just vanish from the pages with a quiet whimper; will they be noble in death or will the beg, plead and betray others in return for their life? The problem is, I don't think about this in terms of developing the character, I am literally wondering how I am going to kill them off. Only later do I think that some of them should really survive and perhaps even find contentment at the end of the piece.
Darkness is a part of life. Only thing is, does the particular darkness you're adding have a purpose in the story? What kind of mood are you wanting to set, and does that darkness help make that mood or does it change it?Basically, does adding darkness help to create the story you want to tell?
I think it helps. I just having that moment when I think if I show someone they are going to go; "Oh my god your sick!!!!!" It isn't random like my gore example. It has purpose, it is more like the keystone of my work. I know I think I am having that wake up call, where I am realizing I am not as much of a "Bunnies, Butterflies and rainbows" as I thought I was.
There is beauty in the darkness for those who know how to see, the iridescent shades of a creature seemingly clad in soberest black. All it requires is the smallest touch of light to ignite the truth. Don't fear it, embrace it. It is a voice, a truth of the world. Life is fragile, extraordinary resilient at times, surviving in the face of brutal odds. It strengthens, lends courage in the darkest hour, and forces one to face their deepest fears and regrets. War, plague, famine, torture, these are all products of human design, but as they arise, so to do those, who would see them brought down. Darkness is the catalyst to the light or right, as the case maybe. History and literature are rife with brilliant folk, who have risen from darkness and ashes to usher in golden eras. Darkness is a great teacher, and an even greater failing, but without it, could we have learned?
That's an idealistic and overly poetic way to look at it. Those who would see no death penalty condone the bombing of innocent people's homes in the middle-east, those who eat the most pity the starving, those who are horrified of torture fund the accepted organizations who exact torture. Man is born a hypocrite and fool, there is no "rainbows and unicorns", only facades Man has created around him to shield himself from the Truth. When you step out in to the street, chances are out of the thousand people you meet while going to buy something at a shop, one of them is a pedophile. Another is a murderer. Darkness is all around, there is no light. Besides, who in history do you look up to as having "risen from darkness"?
I don't understand those who live with chronic pessimism. They are entitled to their opinions and view points and I hope some day they find even one small thing that actually matters. And the quote was history and literature, not just history. And a few more things found in darkness, Aurora Borealis, the stars, the moon, fireflies, and bioluminescence of marine life. -Darkkin, the Tedious
Actually it isn't, his mother died of tuberculosis. There are no official records that are known to survive of Poe's death outside of police statements and Griswald's statement.
THe world has no better aspects. You live, are given knowledge, work until you die to fuel capitalism.
