How to go crazy...

Seif · Apr 28, 2008

Dear all, thank you for taking the time to read this post.

I am at a crossroads with my WIP ( chapter 16/24) and require some advice relating to the development of my MC.

Genre: psychological/supernatural thriller

The novel is written in two parts. The first part is first person past (recollecting over past incidents in a journal) and the second part is in alternating first person past/present (attempting to uncover a sinister mystery that has been plaguing his mind for the better half of his adult life again in a journal starting from were he left of in the first part).

The MC is a quiet, demure man of 20 years of age. Since childhood he has been plagued by dreams, nightmares and certain acts of 'possessions' which he has failed to rationalise. There are many subplots including his relationship with his mother, his wife and his best friend. In short, a lot of tragic circumstance, betrayals and tears later he is visited by the tormentor in more dreams that intensify as he grows up, which he simply refers to as the dark Angel..

However, I am finding it mind numbingly difficult to create that distinction from relatively sane individual to someone who gradually so utterly and completely loses the plot and all sense of reality. During this time he is visited by the dark Angel thrice more who gives him three gifts which he must learn of his own accord, upon completion of his learning his true purpose and destiny will be revealed.

I have established certain characters with whom my MC interacts with and there are a lot of 'defining moments' to mark a significant shift in his character.

However, and this is what I wish to know most of all, are there any books that deal with similar issues? Are any of you writing anything of a similar nature? If so, I would appreciate whatever advice possible.

Yours Sincerely,

Seif

ishtar'sgate · Apr 28, 2008

I've not written anything of this nature but a few books on human psychology would likely come in handy. I've used psychology books in order to get an idea of symptoms for specific behaviour disorders I want to incorporate into a character. There are lots of online sources too.
Linnea

Seif · Apr 28, 2008

ishtar'sgate said:
I've not written anything of this nature but a few books on human psychology would likely come in handy. I've used psychology books in order to get an idea of symptoms for specific behaviour disorders I want to incorporate into a character. There are lots of online sources too.
Linnea

Hey thanks. I did some research on wikipedia and found out about sleep paralysis. It is a condition that some people suffer from (we still don't know how rare this is) but it can lead to an out of body experience or a sensation of being possessed. Freaky as this sounds I know some people who have have experienced this. Needless to say I shall be using this in my WIP.

windyrdg · Apr 28, 2008

From what I've read, sleep paralysis results from the need of the mind to paralize the body during sleep so you don't jump and start living your dreams. If yuo wake up in just the right state, you are slightly alert, still dreaming and paralized. They think this is where alien abduction stories originate.

Having experienced this twice, I can tell you that it is a terrifying experience. And, no, I have never been abducted by aliens.

loquax · Apr 28, 2008

Joyce's Turn of the Screw can be interpreted as the protagonist going from sane to insane. The trick is not to make the narrative vastly different (although you could adopt a Flowers for Algernon type thing), but to make the actions and thought processes of the protagonist seem slightly deranged. Keeping them level headed throughout this will make it all the more chilling.

All IMO, of course.

Danger Jane · Apr 28, 2008

Absolutely read The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath...in which the character loses her sanity. It's so subtle...amazing. And, well, deeply broaden your research from Wikipedia. Interviews with psychiatrists would probably help a lot.

StephanieFox · Apr 28, 2008

I've experienced sleep paralysis a couple of times, back when I was in college. It's very frightening. I can still remember the sensation 30+ years later.

I kept trying to wake up by sitting up, but I should have simply tried to move one finger. All you have to do to get out of it is to move one muscle. That breaks the 'spell'. (Pun free of charge.)

There are stories from knights of old who experienced this. The knights supposed that a female demon was trying to break their purity by having sex with them. They would make the sign of the cross with their tongue on the roof of their mouths.

Moving that one muscle stopped the sleep paralysis.

This is not terribly uncommon. I've heard statistics about it, but can't remember. This however is a purely physical problem. It's not psychological at all. Of course, that doesn't mean that someone wouldn't intrurpret this as 'going crazy'.

Garpy · Apr 29, 2008

For a sympathetic character who's utterly sociopathic, but endearing with it, you could do far worse then the Dexter series of books.

In a similar, but far less humorous vein, American Pycho

NeuroFizz · Apr 29, 2008

First of all, make his "insanity" seem sane (to make him a likeable character). This can be done by easing in the mental quirks so they don't seem any more severe than in the full range of human mental polymorphisms seen in "normal" society. In doing this, you can hint at more severe quirks, and gradually bring them in long after the reader likes the character. Also, the way you described it, the first part of the story is all backstory. I'd start with something he is experiencing right now and let the reader get small glimpses of that backstory as you go on in his dealing with the initial issue. Also, this can be done in a way to stretch out the real mental quirk triggering the "initial issue" thus creating the suspense to keep the readers in the story long enough to get that comfortable feel for you MC. Creating a character with mental quirks, particularly dealing with dark issues, is always a challenge in terms of making that character sympathetic to the reader, so keep that in mind from the start.

As a note, married at 20 years old, and with Mommie issues, is enough to challenge making him a sympathetic character (only partly a joke).

icerose · Apr 29, 2008

On the sleep paralysis note, I didn't even know there was a technical name for it. I experienced it when I was about fifteen, I had a dream I was in a car accident that left me paralyzed from the waist down. I woke up during that dream and I could not feel or move the bottom half of my body for about 30 minutes. It was frightening, and scary, and I didn't know if it was going to go away.

As for the insanity, I would strongly suggest reading books where the character goes insane. I know there are a few out there, even if the character goes through a temporary bought. I've noticed in my own observations of fictional characters is the total loss of control tends to really drive them over the edge. When you take them out of their comfort zone, strip them of all control, and put them in an extreme situation, even the most grounded characters can lose it.

I also think there are a lot of ways to portray it, it will be up to you to test the waters and try a few different ways to see what works for your characters. If you have a local college maybe see if you can get a meeting with a psychology professor and get their opinion on it and how they would handle it.

JimmyB27 · Apr 29, 2008

If I've learnt anything from Blackadder, it's that going insane means putting your underpants on your head, a pencil up each nostril and saying nothing but 'wibble'.

On a more serious note, I experienced the sleep paralysis thing once too. As a claustrophobe particularly affected by restriction of movement, it was terrifying. As I was also still half asleep, the clothes horse at the end of my bed (student days

) appearred to take on the shape of the traditional 'grey' alien. For about 10 seconds, I was convinced there was something there, then I woke up properly, the paralysis ended, and I figured it was all some weird dream.

I second the idea of reading books with protaganists going insane. The one that springs immediately to mind is The Shining.

Feathers · Apr 29, 2008

There's this one book that would really help, methinks. Trying to remember the name. At the beginning, you know the main character was in this strange accident and compensated with an enormous sum of money. Now he's dissatisfied with everything from his old life. Instead, he starts having these memories he can't place, I mean these super intricate memories, like this crack in the bathroom wall and the exact way it looked and everything. So then he starts duplicating these memories. First he just recreates the places, then he fills them with people, and he teaches them exactly how to act and what to say.

He starts asking for crazier and crazier things as his obsession grows - he wants the memories being enacted 24-7, he wants to rob a bank, etc. At the end he sends all his workers up in a plane to be blown up, himself with him. And you suddenly realize he's insane.

The one thing I did learn from that book was that the insanity was there from the beginning, but you forgave it at first because you just thought he was traumatized. As it grew, it was so subtle that your tolerance grew with it. Finally at the end the insanity was so outrageous, it just hit you that this guy had lost it. And you were a bit surprised.

-Feathers

Gray Rose · Apr 29, 2008

You could learn more about dreams and ASCs (alternative states of consciousness).

Do you want me to post a small cognitive psychological bibliography for dreaming states? Or PM me for it.

How to go crazy...

Seif

ishtar'sgate

living in the past

Seif

windyrdg

New kid, be gentle!

loquax

I verb nouns adverbly

Danger Jane

StephanieFox

Maybull the Bulldog

Garpy

keyboard monkey

NeuroFizz

The grad students did it

icerose

Lost in School Work

JimmyB27

Hoopy frood

Feathers

emerging from the writing cave

Gray Rose

Beware of the Thorns!