Writing Emotional Subject Matter -- discuss.

[verasteine]

blue_fjords, I blame you.

Okay, open discussion for anyone who feels like wandering in. I'm working, by request, on a meta on how to write emotional or difficult subject matter.

For the writers among you: how do you deal with emotional subject matter in your stories? Do you think about how to construct the fic, do you think specifically about how the

Comments

[rm]

I write as an actor. The emotions must proceed from the "given circumstances" which include the scenario, the character, and that character's past history with related issues, stress, etc. It may seem Mary Sue-ish to say, but it is important not to write an imitation of the characters. Rather what would you do in circumstance a if you were a 26-year-old guy who tends to be tightly wound but when he freaks out, really freaks out, is involved with his boss, and has a hard time having any public identity as he works for a secret organization, is distanced from his family and is still trying to get his head around sleeping with a bloke.

It's never "what would a given character do?" it's "what would I do if I were that character?"

But I'm not sure this works or even makes sense for someone who isn't an actor or doesn't at least have a background in this sort of stuff. BUT, I really believe acting exercises and training is a huge asset to writers (I actually do a workshop on this sort of thing from time to time).

[verasteine]

No, I think it makes sense, because in essence, I do the same thing, except that I try and apply it to my life or people I know. I have no drama training whatsoever, so for me it's more about, "what facet of that character do I connect with", and taking that facet and developing it after presenting the character with a given set of circumstances.

And now I don't know if that makes sense to anyone but me :).

[rm]

Oh sure, that's another good access point. Like, when I write Jack, my access points are that I'm not what people think (I pass for over a decade younger than I am; I don't look like my racial and ethnic makeup; I have the behaviors of a wealthy person, but aren't) and also that I'm very gregarious, but also, fundamentally deal with myself as a loner. When I write Ianto, it's all about trying too hard to be fastidious and disciplined and wanting to serve but being too greedy to be fundamentally natural at any of it.... and so forth.

[verasteine]

And that's probably why people have their "own versions" of characters.

Can I ask you, though, if you ever consciously think about the emotional side of a plot, especially if it's not something you have personal experience with? Like say, Jack and his memory loss?

[ganamor13]

I love reading fanfic and the way emotions are portrayed means a lot. I've read some authors that write so well that I can even hear the voice of the character. When a fiction gets weird or down right silly when it's supposed to be a serious subject can cause me to drop the story right there. I've found with the authors I read frequently that I keep coming back to stories they write and am very rarely disappointed in their writing and no, I don't expect to like every story but I find my favorite authors usually write what I like to read.

[verasteine]

Can I ask if you've ever felt that an author who wrote well failed to write a particular subject well? Like they treat it seriously, but they seem to lack fundamental knowledge?

[ganamor13]

Absolutely, I've started stories that sounded interesting at the start and fell apart almost immediately. I just stop reading at that point because I've found the story never gets any better.

[fmanalyst]

I sometimes feel that of writers who seem to be too young or inexperienced for the stories they're trying to tell, that the knowledge they lack is the emotional weight of the story rather than the plot.

[amand_r]

Okay. I write a lot of shit that is emotionally complicated, because in a lot of ways, my life is fuckety fucked in that respect. when I write, I go to that place. In fact, I think it might be safe to say that I use fanfic as a medium to express that. Since my husband died, I haven't been able to get into any fandom without writing the required suicide fic. I know there are lots of emotionally charged and delicate subjects out there to handle, but for me, that is the only one I can speak to with any bit of resonance. So as a reader, in that respect, what I need to see, to make that realistic, is an unfolding of character that leads me there, and that's not easy to do, because sometimes it comes out of nowhere

[verasteine]

Hey, don't worry about it! I think "write what you know" and self insertion in fic is something all authors do. I think it's the only way, really. And I, too, sometimes, find outlets for things through my art.

I'm not only talking about rape, death, etc., although those are on my mind. I'm also thinking about depression, divorce, etc. Because, yeah, writers who can't write noncon without sensitivity are bad, but there's a lot of stuff out there that thinks that depression is just having an off-day, or that self-harm is just a fun way to get Jack and Ianto together.

Glad you didn't delete, btw.

[amand_r]

Okay, you know, that's a better starting point then for me. I do a lot of self insertion, even in canon characters. I really identify with Ianto in a lot of ways, and Jack and Owen (though less with the girls, I wonder why.). Anyway, aside from the emotional identity thing, I don't think I've ever had to research something for emotions, like depression or cutting or miscarriage or whatever. I think that it comes naturally in a lot of ways. I mean, Jesus, you experience one loss, a big loss, and it's like, game over. You have your comparison for the rest of your life. You have the dark place forever. Then when considering how someone would feel to lose, like, oh say, Lisa, I think, "okay, if that had been my husband, how would that have played out?" And it's easy to go there (everyone would be pumped full of holes, BTW). But even if he was still alive, I can still sympathize with Ianto

[verasteine]

I mean, Jesus, you experience one loss, a big loss, and it's like, game over. You have your comparison for the rest of your life. You have the dark place forever.

This. Oh, yes. Absolutely true.

[verasteine]

Okay, questions:

Ever read a fic, very emotional stuff, but you just weren't buying the emotions with that particular plot? They went overboard, or you were decidedly underwhelmed?

And also, graphic descriptions... do you mean like kink, or is this a personal squick?

[blue_fjords]

Okay, so why I originally suggested this was b/c of your anger management story. I'm not sure if you would refer to it as thus, but that's what I call it in my head. I think we are surrounded by hundreds of bad examples of how to deal w/ anger, my society tends to fetishize violence, and there's no real system in place to teach coping w/ anger. What I liked about your fic was that it took this thing, that we don't usually discuss, and showed how it impacted Ianto in a very believable way and how Jack and Gwen help him learn to cope. So I thought a meta on how to do something like this, in a believable but also non-preachy way would be a good thing, and since you do it well

[verasteine]

I would not have called it the 'anger management story', but that is because for me, it's the 'Ianto as a divorce survivor' story. We each take away from it what's important to us.

And now that I see what you're looking for in the meta, I'll try to focus on that. So, you know, come back and ask more!

[blue_fjords]

I would not have called it the 'anger management story', but that is because for me, it's the 'Ianto as a divorce survivor' story. We each take away from it what's important to us.

That is, indeed, very interesting. B/c he does talk about his parents' divorce in that, but what I immediately connected to was the controlling nature of his anger. My dad has his own issues w/ anger, but he's mellowed as he got older. Most of it was due to getting out of a very high-stressful situation and finding something new he felt he could dedicate his life to.

What is it about the way a fic handles emotional subjects or difficult subjects that makes you go, Yes!, and what makes you go, No!, very loudly?It's if I can see it playing out before me. This is why MPREG fails a lot for me. It's so often written as a feminized version of Jack is pregnant as opposed to the Jack we all know and love is pregnant. Actually, I've never read a believable Jack is pregnant story. I've seen two believable Ianto is pregnant stories, and that's b/c Ianto was

[verasteine]

You're very useful to me, organising my thoughts and everything. I'm definitely getting a sense of where I should be going with this meta :).