1. Hasanah H

    Hasanah H New Member

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    Being stabbed in the throat

    Discussion in 'New Member Introductions' started by Hasanah H, Dec 1, 2021.

    Hey, I'm at the end of a story where my character is fighting consciousness after being lost in the forest for a week with limited food and water and finally commits suicide when caught by her captor via stabbing herself in the throat with whatever strength she has left.

    Was wondering what the step by step description of this would be like and what would happen bit by bit, plz help
     
  2. Hasanah H

    Hasanah H New Member

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    As in, how long would it take for them to fully die, would they spasm, choke blood etc and in which steps
     
  3. evild4ve

    evild4ve Critique is stranger than fiction Supporter Contributor

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    Welcome to the forum! Writers used to be very murderous back in the day, what with all the absinthe and syphilis, but fortunately most of us are no longer necessarily needing to sharpen quills etc with potentially-hazardous implements. Could she perhaps batter herself to death with a typewriter instead?

    If that's not appropriate for the piece, I'd suggest there is a lot of artistic leeway in this matter - since most of the readers won't have slit anyone's throat before either. The exact sensations and the order they occur in might be very varied depending what exactly/medically she does to herself. If the OP wants a baroque description drawn out over several pages, maybe the character not being able to see under her own chin very well could cause her to botch the incision. On the other hand, if it's to be graceful and romantic as would suit contemporary vampire romances, I'm sure she could black out with an em-dash halfway through the most poignant word in her last line of internal monologue.

    There will be first-hand accounts by people who have survived having their throat slit (albeit not fatally) so I'd suggest that as a productive -and lawful- avenue for research.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/7822079/Survivor-tells-of-throat-being-slit
    https://allthatsinteresting.com/alison-botha < this one describes the sound which is interesting, I guess it would be surprisingly loud that close to the ears
     
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  4. Xoic

    Xoic Prognosticator of Arcana Ridiculosum Contributor Blogerator

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    Running out of water would be a big problem, but running out of food really wouldn't. I've fasted for very near a week before (while drinking plenty of water every day). Yes you do feel a little weaker, but it doesn't keep getting worse or anything. The worst part is the first few days, but somewhere on day 3 your body goes into a state called Ketosis and becomes a very efficient machine for breaking down stored body fat and using it for fuel. Even a very slender person carries plenty of stored fat to live on for months, and when that's gone starvation begins, which is when vital tissues begin to be consumed. That can go on for months as well before death is immanent, but a person does get progressively weaker once starvation begins.

    Of course, most people don't know anything about it, they believe the standard line that you must eat every day or begin to starve immediately. Even many doctors believe it, but it simply isn't true. If your'e interested I can link some resources where you can learn the facts about it. But of course, the general reading public believes it too, so you should be fine keeping it in if you want to.

    Sorry, I know nothing about the effects of being stabbed (or stabbing oneself) in the neck.
     
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  5. Xoic

    Xoic Prognosticator of Arcana Ridiculosum Contributor Blogerator

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    ... And I think you mean fighting unconsciousness, not consciousness. :p (Sorry, I'm sure it's just a typo).
     
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  6. CoyoteKing

    CoyoteKing Good Boi Contributor

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    I agree with EvilD4ve. The reader isn’t going to know what a person getting stabbed in the throat is like, so you have artistic leeway here.

    She will have to actually hit a vein or artery to kill herself, probably. You can survive a wound to the neck. But if she hits a big vein or artery, she will bleed out very quickly. Online research says “within minutes.” So she won’t instantly die, she will hemorrhage for a minute and then slowly pass out and then die.
     
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  7. Xoic

    Xoic Prognosticator of Arcana Ridiculosum Contributor Blogerator

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    I should add that if she keeps eating a little each day she won't drop into keto as fast, or probably at all until she stops eating entirely. It happens when you're not eating anything at all. But if you eat a bit each day you'll become extremely hungry and probably start getting weaker each day, because it would prevent ketosis from occurring.
     
  8. Hasanah H

    Hasanah H New Member

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    Yeah I remembered that too after I'd written it since we fast a lot too so I had to change it
     
  9. Hasanah H

    Hasanah H New Member

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    That's a really good point actually. I doubt many people can explain how it feels directly since they'd probably be dead
     
  10. Hasanah H

    Hasanah H New Member

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    Haha I think the circumstances are a little too specific in this case. He's carrying her out of the forest back to the captive situation she was in. She's weak at this point, and used the small amount of strength to sneak the knife from his belt and end it before he keeps her captive again. So it's time limited too.

    Also damn that story is crazy, the human body can be ridiculously resilient at times
     
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  11. Hasanah H

    Hasanah H New Member

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    Thank you for your help, I really appreciate it
     
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  12. Que

    Que Active Member

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    Wow, interesting plot. Just watched a movie last night in which the author killed the main character. Her readers were so angry they demanded that she rewrite the story. During an interview, the host asked her why she risked the anger of her readers. The author stood up and put her face into the camera and shouted, "I'm the author. I can do anything I want. Kill him with poison, cut him up into little pieces or have sharks eat him alive!" As it turned out, she did rewrite the story. Conjured up a twin brother of the main character so she could have him killed instead. Ha!
     
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  13. Hasanah H

    Hasanah H New Member

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    Haha that's cool. I remember writing another story where I had already made my mind up about the main character being killed as part of a blood sacrifice at the end, but i got wayyy too attached to him and I couldn't do it. It literally felt like he was an extra voice in my head talking to me at times. I think writers are generally sadistic with their characters from what I can see
     
  14. Que

    Que Active Member

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    I tend to kill my darlings but not my main character. But you're right. Characters can become as alive as real people. I swear, sometimes, they tell me what they want to happen, and more often than not, my story doesn't work well if I don't do as they say!
     
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  15. Xoic

    Xoic Prognosticator of Arcana Ridiculosum Contributor Blogerator

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    Maybe Kathy Bates broke her legs and forced to to resurrect the character? :superagree:
     
  16. Hasanah H

    Hasanah H New Member

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    I kinda love that about writing such convincing characters. When they jump out of the page and into your heart, that's when you know you're doing it right in my opinion
     

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