Avoiding Overdramatic Angst

[sibilant]

Basically, the title! 

From all the angst that I've read, the best angst always relies on symbolism, which makes sense as angst is all about complex, raw emotions that we can't really process without some sort of recognizable equivalence, like a symbol. My problem is, often when I write angsty fics, my symbolism is way too overdone and ends up taking over the fic, or it's too obvious. For symbolism to work properly, it must be subtle--which is much easier said than done. 

So, for those who of you have either read or written a ton of angst, how did you pull it off? Am I completely off the target here w/ symbolism? Other ways to write great angst? I would love to hear your thoughts! 

[toomanycurls]

I've written a lot of angst but haven't really thought of it as symbolism. Maybe I'm doing it wrong.  

I do try to have the angst in my fics just a part of someone's regular life so that the emotion becomes part of the narrative instead of the entire narrative. For instance, I always write Remus as having quite a bit of angst about his lycanthropy. It's a lifelong issue he copes with and it sets him back in my areas of life. But he copes with that intense, raw, angsty thing through the other aspects of himself. Remus is level-headed so his angst won't come out as erratic decisions or rash choices (that's how Sirius deals with his angst). Any huge emotion you're trying to get through in a story will have to go through the complex and shifting rules of your world, the characters' personalities, their society, culture, etc. in order to produce something that feels real. 

I'd really like to get more deets on what you mean with angst and symbolism. 

[Aphoride]

I gotta admit that I've written a bit of angst in my time #killyourdarlings2k17 

I think symbolism can help with angst, but it shouldn't be solely symbolism, otherwise it can get a bit heavy - things like atmospheric rain or foreshadowing or a symbolic colour/gesture/etc. are most effective, I think, when used sparingly, so they have an impact. (Though please bear in mind I've never actually studied creative writing or been taught it so I'm sort of kinda making it up as I go along :P) Like Rose, I think a certain amount of angst is finding things which are 'normal' or daily things which, for some reason, have a certain weight to them or a significance. Too many big things - deaths, etc. - can be overwhelming, and often the more simple something is the more powerful it can be. (AbraxanUnicorn has a beautiful story about George, called Erasure, which does this super well.) 

Personally, I tend to use description a bit more with angst stories - description of feelings, memories, places and objects which have some kind of significance, etc. - because it helps, I think, with showing the emotions, rather than simply saying 'Remus was sad' or whatever Emotion, like Rose says, is definitely key - imo, it's the most important part of an angst story for it to make the reader feel, through whatever means, something of what the character is feeling. For me, this is often where I use description (though, like, I often use description everywhere, so it's not saying much :P), but other people do it in different ways. 

Symbolism works best, imo, when it's subtle: atmospheric rain is one thing or dramatically standing on a cliff-side, but a continual use of tropes or dramatic gestures or things can be overbearing. If you take a symbolic thing, it needs to matter in some way to the story - especially if it's something big or dramatic (obviously, like, rain doesn't need to matter, yk, and stuff like that) - and something which is big and dramatic needs to be matched with other, quieter, more understated things to allow that big thing to pop, yk? Otherwise, the big dramatic thing gets overshadowed and the emotion is kinda lost underneath the drama, because everything is dramatic. Things like grief or sadness or melancholy are not necessarily dramatic; drama is itself a tool to show emotion/character growth/plot points/etc., but in angst, the emotion itself is the story and the backbone/heart/whatever of what you're doing so that needs to be the priority - if that makes any sense

I've rambled a lot, but I hope some of this makes some kind of sense, at least! 

[sibilant]

5 hours ago, toomanycurls said:

I've written a lot of angst but haven't really thought of it as symbolism. Maybe I'm doing it wrong.  

I do try to have the angst in my fics just a part of someone's regular life so that the emotion becomes part of the narrative instead of the entire narrative. For instance, I always write Remus as having quite a bit of angst about his lycanthropy. It's a lifelong issue he copes with and it sets him back in my areas of life. But he copes with that intense, raw, angsty thing through the other aspects of himself. Remus is level-headed so his angst won't come out as erratic decisions or rash choices (that's how Sirius deals with his angst). Any huge emotion you're trying to get through in a story will have to go through the complex and shifting rules of your world, the characters' personalities, their society, culture, etc. in order to produce something that feels real. 

I'd really like to get more deets on what you mean with angst and symbolism. 

Oh no, you're not doing it wrong at all; I read a bunch of your work and I can definitely saying that some of them are very angsty. Like, make sure to have some tissues nearby, angsty. 

I never actually gave much thought to that sort of "carrying it with you" angst. Now that I think about it, I have seen a lot of great fics that incorporate that big huge complex emotion as something that's part of a daily struggle, which I think is a really cool strategy. 

What I mean by angst through symbols is sort of what Aphoride is talking about. A lot of great angsty fics that I've read, at least, use a recurring motif of a symbol which is either something that connects to the source of the character's angst or something that seems to represent the character's angst. I'm actually struggling to come up with a good example of this; I will hunt through the fics I've read and come back with an example of a fic that does this well. Either way, the symbol is sort of woven through the entire fic; as they come to terms with the source of their angst, or if it becomes deeper, usually the symbol grows and changes too. (Maybe symbol isn't the right term to use. Perhaps metaphor would be better? or imagery? Not sure!). Either way, this adds a different level of description. 

I can think of a sort of vague example. In a fic I was writing a while ago, Regulus felt choked by his responsibilities, so I used the motif/symbol of a rope; I incorporated other symbols within that like the rope appearing serpentine to allude to Voldemort, and throughout the fic, the rope started to squeeze him tighter, and not just his body but his heart and binding him. This fic was centered around Voldemort's request that Regulus sacrifice Kreacher and Regulus's feelings about that, which was why I felt the symbol of a rope would be a good way to sort of represent all the layers of Regulus's feelings: his feeling of helpless, obligation to Voldemort, the choking guilt, etc. I think that by trying to transfer these emotions to one or two objects, they become easier to explain. But that might just be me! 

Actually, if there's one book that does this really well, it's Moby Dick. I can elaborate more on this if you like  

18 minutes ago, Aphoride said:

I gotta admit that I've written a bit of angst in my time #killyourdarlings2k17 

I think symbolism can help with angst, but it shouldn't be solely symbolism, otherwise it can get a bit heavy - things like atmospheric rain or foreshadowing or a symbolic colour/gesture/etc. are most effective, I think, when used sparingly, so they have an impact. (Though please bear in mind I've never actually studied creative writing or been taught it so I'm sort of kinda making it up as I go along :P) Like Rose, I think a certain amount of angst is finding things which are 'normal' or daily things which, for some reason, have a certain weight to them or a significance. Too many big things - deaths, etc. - can be overwhelming, and often the more simple something is the more powerful it can be. (AbraxanUnicorn has a beautiful story about George, called Erasure, which does this super well.) 

Personally, I tend to use description a bit more with angst stories - description of feelings, memories, places and objects which have some kind of significance, etc. - because it helps, I think, with showing the emotions, rather than simply saying 'Remus was sad' or whatever Emotion, like Rose says, is definitely key - imo, it's the most important part of an angst story for it to make the reader feel, through whatever means, something of what the character is feeling. For me, this is often where I use description (though, like, I often use description everywhere, so it's not saying much :P), but other people do it in different ways. 

Symbolism works best, imo, when it's subtle: atmospheric rain is one thing or dramatically standing on a cliff-side, but a continual use of tropes or dramatic gestures or things can be overbearing. If you take a symbolic thing, it needs to matter in some way to the story - especially if it's something big or dramatic (obviously, like, rain doesn't need to matter, yk, and stuff like that) - and something which is big and dramatic needs to be matched with other, quieter, more understated things to allow that big thing to pop, yk? Otherwise, the big dramatic thing gets overshadowed and the emotion is kinda lost underneath the drama, because everything is dramatic. Things like grief or sadness or melancholy are not necessarily dramatic; drama is itself a tool to show emotion/character growth/plot points/etc., but in angst, the emotion itself is the story and the backbone/heart/whatever of what you're doing so that needs to be the priority - if that makes any sense

I've rambled a lot, but I hope some of this makes some kind of sense, at least! 

Having read a few of your fics, I totally understand the part about using description  I see that sometimes you also use description to give abstract emotions a sort of physical manifestation; for example, I read a fic of yours with the Peverell brothers where Cadmus was a priest and felt the weight of his robes--which is a great symbol  So I think you sort of inadvertently use symbols too, as symbolism & description go hand-in-hand. 

The only part I'm a little confused about is this: "drama is itself a tool to show emotion/character growth/plot points/etc., but in angst, the emotion itself is the story and the backbone/heart/whatever of what you're doing so that needs to be the priority." If drama is a tool to show emotion, wouldn't it make sense to use drama to convey the depth of the emotion, etc.?

Thank you to both of you for your help so far; it's already helping me with my writing

[Aphoride]

1 hour ago, forever_dreaming said:

The only part I'm a little confused about is this: "drama is itself a tool to show emotion/character growth/plot points/etc., but in angst, the emotion itself is the story and the backbone/heart/whatever of what you're doing so that needs to be the priority." If drama is a tool to show emotion, wouldn't it make sense to use drama to convey the depth of the emotion, etc.?

Thank you to both of you for your help so far; it's already helping me with my writing

I wondered if that wasn't clear, haha Oops, sorry! But what I meant is, like, drama is a way to convey emotion - something which is dramatic is big and explosive and it grabs attention onto itself. Emotions are generated by dramatic things as much as they go into them: like an argument - people come out of it feeling drained, angry, resentful, etc. as much as they go into it feeling annoyed, irritated, and so on. But in angst fic, the point of the fic is the emotion - the sadness, melancholy, etc. - that the character is feeling. That's kinda the story, plot points and character growth aside; that kinda is the spoke around which all other things turn. So adding in dramatic things can detract from that because they're big and exciting and emotional, particularly if they're not really connected to the angst itself. It's about, I think, a question of focus: in humour stories, the focus is the wittiness, the humour, the crazy/silly/hilarious things going on; in angst stories, the focus is the internal reflection, the internal turmoil and feelings, and so on. Drama can shift that focus, because it's dramatic - you use dramatic things to get a focus, at the end of a scene/chapter/story, yk? So it can damage or overpower angst stories and it kinda need to be used sparingly and carefully to make sure that it doesn't take away from the emotion in an angst story. 

Also, I think it's worth saying that drama doesn't necessarily convey depth of emotion - and that emotions in dramatic things are often fleeting: like arguments, you know, the kind of anger you feel in an argument fades and for most people fairly rapidly - nor does action, and emotion can often work best in subtler ways, especially with things like sadness, etc. 

It's kinda like, to me, a fic where character A discovers character B cheating on them with character C wouldn't to me feel very angsty if it's set in the moment and focuses on the screaming argument which follows, etc.; but a fic which is set two weeks after and deals with the aftermath, seeing their stuff everywhere, boxing it up, thinking back over memories, etc. would feel angsty. If that makes sense?

[Margaret]

I don't really do symbolism, at least not intentionally. I have used a character's dreams to say what they couldn't, for example having them dreaming of deaths whe  they were worrying a friend's life was in danger.

I'm always afraid of overdoing it too and one thing I try to remember is that everybody is the protagonist of tbeir own story. In other words, my main character may be deeply depressed by a family member's death or being abused or whatever but everybody else in the story will have their own concerns and while they may be worried about the main character, they generally aren't going to act like his or her problems are the worst thing ever (unless theh really are that bad, but my characters' usually aren't.

I've also placed limits on myself - I can have one character in this story with a major trauma. This may be personal preference but I've read some stories where one character was abused and another had their little sister die tragically and another is being stalked by a violent ex and so on and so forth and it can reach a point where for one thing, there isn't time to focus properly on anybody's reaction and the events seem less significant due to being so common. I've dubbed this "The Clinic style" after an Irish drama series that only ran for a few weeks each year - our TV companies lack the budgets of British and American ones - and tried to get a year's worth of storylines into each 10 or 12 episode series. My mum and I ended up laughing about "who's life will they ruin tonight? Let's think. Who hasn't yet had a major trauma this series?" Which isn't exactly the reaction one wants.

I also try to avoid extremes in general. I've written about abuse that was mostly emotional, but with the threat of physical for example. Not that extremes can't be done well, but I find it easier to get into the mind of somebody whose experiences are among the more common traumas rather than the sort that would make national news.

[abhorsen.]

I've written a fair amount of angst, but it's virtually always based largely on conflict and confusion within one's self - that's often triggered by external events, but I tend to gravitate toward the emotional fallout from the trauma rather than the trauma itself, if that makes sense. For me, part of that is really that I prefer to write stories where I can twist what I'm most comfortable with into a narrative; I'm most comfortable talking about anxiety and depression and insomnia and questionable decisions in general, so that's what I gravitate toward. I think that people can absolutely tackle angst that deals with issues they aren't as intimately connected to, but for me, the best way to make it realistic (I hope! :P) and avoid being overdramatic is to keep it rooted in something I know, if that makes sense at all?

[sibilant]

10 hours ago, Aphoride said:

It's kinda like, to me, a fic where character A discovers character B cheating on them with character C wouldn't to me feel very angsty if it's set in the moment and focuses on the screaming argument which follows, etc.; but a fic which is set two weeks after and deals with the aftermath, seeing their stuff everywhere, boxing it up, thinking back over memories, etc. would feel angsty. If that makes sense?

Ahhh okay this makes a lot more sense now! I understand now. 

 

9 hours ago, Margaret said:

I don't really do symbolism, at least not intentionally. I have used a character's dreams to say what they couldn't, for example having them dreaming of deaths whe  they were worrying a friend's life was in danger.

I'm always afraid of overdoing it too and one thing I try to remember is that everybody is the protagonist of tbeir own story. In other words, my main character may be deeply depressed by a family member's death or being abused or whatever but everybody else in the story will have their own concerns and while they may be worried about the main character, they generally aren't going to act like his or her problems are the worst thing ever (unless theh really are that bad, but my characters' usually aren't.

I've also placed limits on myself - I can have one character in this story with a major trauma. This may be personal preference but I've read some stories where one character was abused and another had their little sister die tragically and another is being stalked by a violent ex and so on and so forth and it can reach a point where for one thing, there isn't time to focus properly on anybody's reaction and the events seem less significant due to being so common. I've dubbed this "The Clinic style" after an Irish drama series that only ran for a few weeks each year - our TV companies lack the budgets of British and American ones - and tried to get a year's worth of storylines into each 10 or 12 episode series. My mum and I ended up laughing about "who's life will they ruin tonight? Let's think. Who hasn't yet had a major trauma this series?" Which isn't exactly the reaction one wants.

I also try to avoid extremes in general. I've written about abuse that was mostly emotional, but with the threat of physical for example. Not that extremes can't be done well, but I find it easier to get into the mind of somebody whose experiences are among the more common traumas rather than the sort that would make national news.

Oh, you brought up some interesting points. You're right, there needs to be a balance in events otherwise it's like... how much tragedy can there be in one fic haha. 

 

34 minutes ago, abhorsen. said:

I've written a fair amount of angst, but it's virtually always based largely on conflict and confusion within one's self - that's often triggered by external events, but I tend to gravitate toward the emotional fallout from the trauma rather than the trauma itself, if that makes sense. For me, part of that is really that I prefer to write stories where I can twist what I'm most comfortable with into a narrative; I'm most comfortable talking about anxiety and depression and insomnia and questionable decisions in general, so that's what I gravitate toward. I think that people can absolutely tackle angst that deals with issues they aren't as intimately connected to, but for me, the best way to make it realistic (I hope! :P) and avoid being overdramatic is to keep it rooted in something I know, if that makes sense at all?

Okay, so you mean basically write what you know? I think that's always good advice! 

Thank you for the advice everyone--this was really really helpful!  

[mydearfoxy]

Oh goodness, I think I need lessons on this!  My problem is I tend to write my own thoughts into angst stories, since I have depression, and it can be cathartic to just dump all the words out of me and into the story. So I relate a lot to what Branwen said about preferring emotions I know well. But I often worry if I overdo it, as a result. I definitely agree with Aph that the events themselves do not create angst. You have to get into the reactions. I also agree that description can be a little more intensive in angst, which is one of my favorite things about this genre. 

14 hours ago, forever_dreaming said:

A lot of great angsty fics that I've read, at least, use a recurring motif of a symbol which is either something that connects to the source of the character's angst or something that seems to represent the character's angst. I'm actually struggling to come up with a good example of this; I will hunt through the fics I've read and come back with an example of a fic that does this well.

^I have a story called The Clock that definitely functions this way - and without any subtlety haha! (I'm not sure if I've moved it to HPFT yet, though.)

I often think about honestly in writing, and telling the truth about emotions and not trying to hold things back because they're "too angsty." Because of course, people might act like they don't feel these things, but most people do and so I think it's okay to be a little intense about it sometimes. I think people find it easier to connect to characters in this way.

[sibilant]

9 minutes ago, MuggleMaybe said:

^I have a story called The Clock that definitely functions this way - and without any subtlety haha! (I'm not sure if I've moved it to HPFT yet, though.)

 

That's cool! Was this fic easy to write? I know that whenever I start to write angst, I always jump to finding a larger metaphor to construct with a symbol, because that sort of allows me to craft the story around that. (But then I run into the issues described earlier where the metaphor takes over and the story itself isn't told). 

Quote

I often think about honestly in writing, and telling the truth about emotions and not trying to hold things back because they're "too angsty." Because of course, people might act like they don't feel these things, but most people do and so I think it's okay to be a little intense about it sometimes. I think people find it easier to connect to characters in this way.

Thank you for mentioning this! I think that that's something I struggle with, knowing the "limits" of emotions. I think this made me realize that emotions shouldn't really have a limit in fic, right? I guess my question is then how to make sure that your descriptions aren't overboard and dramatic and too intense that they start losing their effect (sort of the same way that people become acclimatized to descriptions of graphic violence after seeing enough). As emotions get more intense, the descriptions should naturally become more intense, right? (Or maybe I shouldn't be making that one-to-one connection, even though it makes logical sense in my head!) 

[WriteYourHeartOut]

I may not be too great a source these days, seeing as I posted my first bit of writing in over a year and a half just a few days ago, but... it was for a super angsty story, so... I don't know? Maybe take me with a grain or two of salt. :')

Also, real quick: this tactic usually works best with chaptered stories, and also, I may be really bad at explaining what I mean, so... let me apologize ahead of time if you get through this entire response and are just like... what? at the end. Heh.

Anyway...

Something I didn't notice anyone mention yet, but that I like to play around with, is almost underplaying a moment that your audience will know - without having to be told descriptively - is devastating for your character. It's a less common tool for angst because it requires planning and set-up and slow-build, but if done right, it's so worth it, because what you end up with is a more unique, powerful, and poignant scene. Your character's suffering is so clear to the audience, that rather than needing to harp on about how the character feels (because they'll already know), you can shift focus in a way that amplifies a reader's experience. What I mean is, rather than telling your audience how your character is feeling about whatever has just happened, you can torture them with a different brand of angst: denial. Watching a character who has just been crushed try to act like they are totally fine is, like... all the angst without any of the explanation. Denial and angst are such a fun combination for both writer and reader. It requires getting your audience to a place where they know your character well enough to understand how they feel without having to be told, though, as well as for the writer to let go of enough control to put trust in their readers.

So, for example, let's say I was writing a character who has always felt forgettable while desperately wishing to be memorable. I would build that knowledge up in my audience so that they'd already know how upsetting something like being forgotten would be to the character. Then, I would put that character into a situation where somebody they already know and really care about or respect or idolize, etc., approaches and is all like... "Nice to meet you." And now your readers are like, oh my god crushing blow!!! But here's the thing: instead of writing something like, "My heart plummets with the words, deepest insecurity exposed and raw. He smiles at me like he has not just shattered my soul to pieces. Angst, angst, angst!" and instead have the character push that devastation down and just... smile through it. Brush it off. Make it seem like anything but what it actually is to them. That juxtaposition can be really effective.

This is clearly a much more specific example of a way to use angst, and I hope I explained it okay, cause it's one of my favorites! And depending on the story you're trying to write, it can really come in handy to just gut-punch your audience in the feels. (And who doesn't love doing that?)

Oh! Random additional thought: I also very much enjoy sort of reverse-symbolism with angst. So, like... for example: I have a story whose first chapters opens up with a funeral on a beautiful sunny day, and it's like... why is the freaking sun out!?? This is bullshit! Can be a fun dynamic to explore, having something typically associated with joy and positivity lead to bitterness and (of course) angst.

Hope this is helpful and not just gibberish! #2amposting #notrecommended

[RoxiMalfoy]

I agree completely with what @abhorsen. said about gravitating towards the emotional side. For me personally, with the angst story that I am writing, I also chose to write more from personal experience. And I’ll be the first to admit that the original draft, which I posted to HPFF back in 2008-2009, was all over the place and very dramatic, lol!! But I have recently been re-writing the whole story, and I have found in my re-writing process that I’ve been toning back on the angst a lot more. Rather than making him sound like a whiny child, I’ve really been drawing more on emotion, and using some symbolism to get his feelings across. I tend to lean very heavily on dialogue in my writing though, and I lean on his conversations with others to convey what’s going on. I have been trying to get out of this habit as I go back through it though, and use some internal monologues as well. I think it just depends on your own personal writing style though. You have to find what works best for you personally, that way it doesn’t feel forced or overly dramatic.

 

I also have written from my own personal experiences before too. For example; my novel Love, Not War sprang from a personal conflict that I was having with forgiving my own father. I needed a way to sort my feelings with him out, so I kind of used Draco and his conflicts with Lucius to express all of that. I figured, if Draco could get over everything that Lucius had put him through, then maybe I too could set aside my own differences with my dad and one day to the same… I used my feelings and emotion to draw from a lot when I was writing that story, and in a way; writing it really did help me to get over my anger and resentment towards my father. And I was finally able to forgive him eventually; not just because I wrote a story about a character that found forgiveness; but I won’t say the whole writing process didn’t help me heal during that time in my life. The end result turned out pretty angsty and emotional in some chapters though, and even now I have a difficult time going back and reading some parts of it because it was very real for me at the time.

 

But yeah… I would say that writing from personal experience definitely helps to avoid over dramatizations and makes the angst feel more real to the reader. When the writer knows the subject matter, and can relate to the story their telling on a more personal level, I feel like they can tell it in a lot more detail, as they will have a much better understanding of what they’re trying to write about. For example; I have never been stabbed before. However, the scene I am working on writing right now involves a stabbing incident. But all I can do is research stab wounds and go off of other people’s feelings and experiences to write this scene. And then afterwards, when my character experiences fear and angst during their recovery, again it may not be on the same level because I personally do not know how it feels to be attacked like that, and then be left to wonder if your attacker is still out there and whether or not they will come after you again... So when it comes to things like that, in which I am more unfamiliar with, I just do a lot of research and try to feed off of the emotions and experiences of others a bit more, since I cannot draw from my own.... I hope that all makes sense. I didn't mean to go off on such a long rant like that, haha!!! 

[sibilant]

15 hours ago, WriteYourHeartOut said:

So, for example, let's say I was writing a character who has always felt forgettable while desperately wishing to be memorable. I would build that knowledge up in my audience so that they'd already know how upsetting something like being forgotten would be to the character. Then, I would put that character into a situation where somebody they already know and really care about or respect or idolize, etc., approaches and is all like... "Nice to meet you." And now your readers are like, oh my god crushing blow!!! But here's the thing: instead of writing something like, "My heart plummets with the words, deepest insecurity exposed and raw. He smiles at me like he has not just shattered my soul to pieces. Angst, angst, angst!" and instead have the character push that devastation down and just... smile through it. Brush it off. Make it seem like anything but what it actually is to them. That juxtaposition can be really effective.

This is clearly a much more specific example of a way to use angst, and I hope I explained it okay, cause it's one of my favorites! And depending on the story you're trying to write, it can really come in handy to just gut-punch your audience in the feels. (And who doesn't love doing that?)

This example was sooo helpful. Now that I think about, a lot of great fics that I've read have used this sort of technique (and then left me in tears hahaha). 

Quote

Oh! Random additional thought: I also very much enjoy sort of reverse-symbolism with angst. So, like... for example: I have a story whose first chapters opens up with a funeral on a beautiful sunny day, and it's like... why is the freaking sun out!?? This is bullshit! Can be a fun dynamic to explore, having something typically associated with joy and positivity lead to bitterness and (of course) angst.

Ooh, this is a cool idea. You could be very ironic with this too!  (Also, don't worry, your advice was extremely helpful--thank you!) 

9 hours ago, RoxiMalfoy said:

 But yeah… I would say that writing from personal experience definitely helps to avoid over dramatizations and makes the angst feel more real to the reader. When the writer knows the subject matter, and can relate to the story their telling on a more personal level, I feel like they can tell it in a lot more detail, as they will have a much better understanding of what they’re trying to write about. For example; I have never been stabbed before. However, the scene I am working on writing right now involves a stabbing incident. But all I can do is research stab wounds and go off of other people’s feelings and experiences to write this scene. And then afterwards, when my character experiences fear and angst during their recovery, again it may not be on the same level because I personally do not know how it feels to be attacked like that, and then be left to wonder if your attacker is still out there and whether or not they will come after you again... So when it comes to things like that, in which I am more unfamiliar with, I just do a lot of research and try to feed off of the emotions and experiences of others a bit more, since I cannot draw from my own.... I hope that all makes sense. I didn't mean to go off on such a long rant like that, haha!!! 

Thank you!!! I always try to draw from my own feelings and experiences but sometimes, the situations I'm exploring that cause angst are really foreign to me; I don't have experience with depression or PTSD or anything like that, fortunately. The problem is sometimes research can lead to a fic that isn't really sincere. Do you have any advice for situations like that? 

[RoxiMalfoy]

2 minutes ago, forever_dreaming said:

Thank you!!! I always try to draw from my own feelings and experiences but sometimes, the situations I'm exploring that cause angst are really foreign to me; I don't have experience with depression or PTSD or anything like that, fortunately. The problem is sometimes research can lead to a fic that isn't really sincere. Do you have any advice for situations like that? 

I would suggest that perhaps you take your research even further than other fics?? Draw from real life experiences; news articles, interviews from people who have been in similar situations as your character. There are lots of books and articles on PTSD and depression, so I'm sure you can find a real-life situation that is sincere enough to draw from. If you cannot find anything online, perhaps go to your local library and checkout a book on the subject? Hermione style, haha!!

[Margaret]

12 hours ago, forever_dreaming said:

Thank you!!! I always try to draw from my own feelings and experiences but sometimes, the situations I'm exploring that cause angst are really foreign to me; I don't have experience with depression or PTSD or anything like that, fortunately. The problem is sometimes research can lead to a fic that isn't really sincere. Do you have any advice for situations like that? 

I don't have any experience with depression or PTSD or anything either, but I have written characters who meet the criteria for those conditions. 

I generally don't begin by thinking, "I'm going to write a character with depression." My way of writing angst is a bit like abhorsen's. I often start after the event that has caused that has caused trauma and just think how would the particular character I have created would react to that event. In a lot of cases, I don't give the character a diagnosis and allow the reader to either read it as say social anxiety or just severe shyness or to read it as depression or just grief/unhappiness.

I have also done a good deal of research and have also spoken to people with mental illnesses, though obviously only if they are comfortable talking to me about it. I would never ask somebody, "hey, you had depression. Can you tell me what it was like for a story I'm writing?" But I do know some writers who have experienced things like depression or PTSD or anxiety and are happy to talk about it in the interests of seeing it portrayed more accurately. One thing you could do is start a thread on this site, asking for advice on a specific condition you are thinking of writing about. That way, people are free to share their experiences or not as they like. When I was writing about a character with anxiety and PTSD, I got a LOT of help from a thread on HPFF that discussed things like panic attacks.

Another thing I have found helpful is the online tests to see if you have a particular mental illness. Now, you do want to be careful as obviously some are made up by people with no experience in the field and are just for fun, but the NHS (the British health service) has one for depression and anxiety and a bit of googling can give you the titles of some of those actually used by psychologists. I answer them as my characters and it gives me a reasonable sense of what they might be diagnosed as or whether they do fit the criteria for the condition they are supposed to have. This test has appeared to give fairly accurate results for my characters too. M3 test (Teen).

[LunaStellaCat]

I have been told to write what you know in fiction and nonfiction.  Because you cant base writing off what you don't know.  Why?  There is no connection to your piece, it lacks voice and certainly lacks you as a writer.   My favorite writing professor told me that.   Don't mirror your boring life just write what you know.  It doesn't matter if you only reach one person.  

 

To me, the category of angst that I have read is whiny, overdramatized teenage diary entries.  There has to be enough.  You cant be Meredith Grey where "There is no enough."  Rhimes makes a point of that.  

 

There has to be a stopping point or a point to your writing. There has to be a point where Ron Weasley stops whining about the teddy bear with unless adjectives and rhe old "Why me" or "Poor me" attitude.  Why?  Because the reader, your audience, won't connect.  You have to make that human connection.  

 

If you dont know dont be afraid to revise or rewrite because that is essentially what writing is. Read your pieces aloud to hear and see it.  Do not fall in the clutch of cheap blah, blah writing because it's easy.

 

If you don't feel drained, connected, as a writer, you ain't doing it right.   Do not be afraid.  That's my advice.  Read. Write. Revise. Rewrite.  Don't marry yourself to your words.  That's my advice.