So I'm working on this book and am about to subject my character to hell, but I keep putting it off. Turns out I actually like this character, and the idea of tearing everything good from her life seems shitty. I guess I'm having a Stranger Than Fiction moment or something. perhaps I'm just putting it off because I would then have to delve into the sadder part of the story, and maybe I'm in to good of a mood to do that. Any thoughts or anybody deal with the same thing?
You could skip this section and return when you're in a mood more suited to dealing with this. Or you could try writing it in layers, start with little hurts and work up to the pain. If going through hell is going to bring your MC benefits later in the book, maybe you could convince yourself that this is a necessary evil.
I generally try to write according to my mood. I do the fighty bits when I'm angry or agitated. The sad bits when I'm feeling a bit flat...you get the gist! For those times when my mood doesn't suit my writing I turn to music. Movie soundtracks are excellent for this.
Maybe writing out this kind of pain is cathartic. Maybe it's good for you, as a human and as a writer.
If there's a part of you that wants to write it, then write it. You can always scrap it later if you feel like it turns the story in the wrong direction. The important thing is that you get it down on paper in the first place.
Suffering-is-beauty: I recently finished up a story about a brother and a sister, The brother is the main character in the story, and i dragged him kicking and screaming through his own private hell that lasts 11 years and i made sure to make the character stood up to it very well, no matter how bad things got for him, he kept going and at the end of this hellish journey i finally broke him emotionally then i rebuilt him. Consider doing the same thing for your character put them through hell but make sure that the keep their spirits up then at the end of the hell your putting them through break their spirit, but after they have been broken make sure to rebuild them so that the character says something like this "I'm glad i went through that because i am a better person because of the terrible experience that i went through".
Sometimes its better to push yourself through the painful moments as long you keep the fact that the ending will be good for her. Making the pain worth it
Good thought! Maybe this scene requires you to be livid/sad to write it? I don't think I could realistically write a sad scene if I'm about to break into a happy dance of joy. (Unless, of course, I was feeling sadistic at the time, and the character in question was a character I loathed...) To get sad quick, find all the gut-wrentching pictures of the internet, listen to distressing music, and read all the hopeless stories until you feel miserable about life and want to break into tears. Then go. Make sure to have a bunch of happy, heartwarming stuff waiting for you so you'll feel all better after that scene is done.
First of all, what's the reason for this really shitty, putting-the-character-through-hell moment? Is it justified in the storyline? Does it drive the story to its logical and desired conclusion? Then it's necessary. Helz, I've killed off characters that I really liked ... REALLY liked. (Apparently, so did my daughter. She stopped talking to me for three months - THREE MONTHS - except to occasionally snarl "murderer" at me when we passed. (Blissful silence!)) But, it was the necessary conclusion to their part of the storyline. It had to be done. Did I regret having to do it? On some levels, absolutely. Did I accept that it had to be done? Most certainly. Did it accomplish what it needed to? Sure did. Would I do it again? Yup! If I had to. Would I like it? Well, about like running a marathon. Hurts like hell but it feels SO satisfying to complete it. But I understand your angst over having to do something like that to someone you like. I would suggest, as I believe someone else already alluded to, write something. It doesn't have to be a perfect, finished product. Just make some notes and a rough draft if you cannot bring yourself to completing a particular passage. For my "killing" I had almost completed the entire novel before I realized what had to become of this particular character and, after agonizing over his disposition for the project, I finally accepted what had to be done with him and killed him off. The scene made almost a full chapter - 18 or 20 pages - but it made the book, too. Just remember, even in the 'real' world, bad things happen to good people. We lose people we love. We suffer horrible circumstances from time to time. But, for the most part, we persevere. Do you have a concept of the outcome of this hell you are about to subject your character to? Do you know where it will lead? Go there! When she comes through to the other side of this hell at least some part of her will be stronger. Maybe not immediately, maybe not clearly apparent on the surface, but, in all of us, every experience builds us into the person we will be tomorrow. It will color the way we view the world around us and respond to future experiences. If you are true to this character, this hell of hers will help her to grow too. (Think of it as some sort of massive vaccination for a five year old. The kids screams and cries but you force them to do it because you know, whether the kid does or not, that this is necessary and, in the end, is the right thing to do.) (Ew! That turned really maudlin and sappy and philosophical, didn't it?)
I used my girlfriend as a muse, for my female character. She insists I kill her to make the story a tragedy! "Tragedies sell!" but I just can't do it. Maybe I'll kill the horse.
The second chapter i wrote when i started my latest novel was a reminiscence chapter that will be somewhere between the 17th and the 20th chapter, and in which my MC goes through so much blood, agony and tears that leaves him scarred for life(or at least so far). Why? Because one day i was listening to my girlfriend go on and on about how bad her day was and whining about her friend's insensitivity that i thought "nothing can be worse than this", and i wrote everything down. Just skip it for now if you find it too hard to write and come back for it later.
Maybe its time for you to find the compassion of ruthlessness. You already know your character can handle it. The harsh impact of life can be very beautiful.
Lots of good advice here, thanks. I wrote a little synapsis of the scene I was having trouble with, and now her hell has begun. And for Thewordsmith- liked the advice, and yes I know I spelled that wrong, but I do that which is why my girlfriend edits my work and not me. I write stories, the grammar and spelling are not my strong suit, but it works I guess because people like my books. I'm majoring in English so hopefully you won't have to put up with misspellings to awful much.
