Does anybody else feel this way when writing a more intense story?

[Pinkarray]

I have been in the new age where I'm writing more darker, intense stories and I don't usually write those kinds of stories. I usually write something more light-hearted and cheerful. I have written one book that was dark but it was just a short chapter book so I was okay. This time, I've been focusing on screenplays and teleplays that are more dramatic and they're a little more harder to write since I'm not used to writing that sort of stuff nor do I usually like to read or watch intense fiction. Writing them more often now can make me feel down and just not in the right state of mind to write anymore for a little while. Part of the reason is because I'm writing something different now. Does anybody else feel depressed when they write more intense/dark/dramatic fiction like this?

 

[cmhbob]

I do, especially lately. The primary antagonist in my current series is a guy who used to be a Stasi agent, then started working for a human trafficking ring. He's somewhat sociopathic, and it's...difficult to get into his head (writing third person). I have to decompress a bit when I'm done iwth his scenes (which may be why this current book is taking longer than I thought it would).

Sorry I don't have specific advice for you.

 

[Scythian]

Doesn't GRR Martin put off to the last moment writing the scenes that depress him?

Anyway, some people crave being "emotionally shattered" by "gut wrenching" books and film, and some--not so much.

A bit of humor here, a bit of cartoonishness there, can do wonders in defanging the emotional intensity of the scene for you the writer if you're not a gut-shatter enthusiast. Broadly speaking, when doing some fantasy stuff, if you go into deep mode ala Tanith Lee or Anne McCaffrey--prepare to be shaken and stirred. If, however, you pull back to a more surface-based and comic-book approach of say Rachel Aaron and Sherylin Kenyon, any chatharsis should be safely walled off.

The same planet adventure plot with the same cast, if written in the style of Gene Wolfe, can make one moody and depressed, while if it's written in the style of David Webber--not at all. Or, writing a post-apocalypse yarn in the Cormac McCarthy vein can drive one to drink and insomnia, while writing the exact same plot, but through a say Harry Harrison filter can be handled quite adequately through tea and biscuits. And so on. Delivery is important. Schindler's list is one thing, Inglorious Basterds is another, while The Eagle Has Landed or Where Eagles Dare or something else with Accipitridae in it is a third way to go.

Pulp it up and breathe a sigh of relief, say I. No need to "bleed on the typewriter" unless one is a once-a-generation genius who must burn up self in order to advance humanity and such. Or unless once is simply a bleeder-enthusiast. Some personalities are very suited for doing A, and some for doing B, and some for doing C. Figuring out where you stand is, IMO, an important step in organizing one's life along less torturous lines. Unless one is a torture enthusiast.

 

[FlyBird]

I do think what we write affect our daily mood. Because to write about something one has to think about it a lot, intensely, deeply. I've heard about one author who wrote about atrocities in war and later committed suicide. (I don't know if that's directly related, maybe coincidental, the point is something like this happened.) One who watches light comedies movies all day will probably have a different mindset afterwards than one who watches horror movies all day. On the other hand, I think the mechanics of writing less intense material verses intense material is the same, so writes who focus on technique may not care about what material they are writing.

 

[Harlequin]

Somewhat. I am very technique-focused in general, but last ms was centred around the topic of suicide, so I spent a fair amount of time immersing myself in that mindset (to the detriment of my own mental health).

 

[Pinkarray]

I do think what we write affect our daily mood. Because to write about something one has to think about it a lot, intensely, deeply. I've heard about one author who wrote about atrocities in war and later committed suicide. (I don't know if that's directly related, maybe coincidental, the point is something like this happened.) One who watches light comedies movies all day will probably have a different mindset afterwards than one who watches horror movies all day. On the other hand, I think the mechanics of writing less intense material verses intense material is the same, so writes who focus on technique may not care about what material they are writing.

Really, an author committed suicide? Dang, I didn't think that a story would drive someone to do that.O_O Maybe it was a non-fiction story or something that reminded him/her of trauma?

 

[FlyBird]

Really, an author committed suicide? Dang, I didn't think that a story would drive someone to do that.O_O Maybe it was a non-fiction story or something that reminded him/her of trauma?

You are right, it was non-fiction. And like in many suicides, no one really knows why. But the author was depressed, and I think there is speculation that the research/writing was one possible reason.

 

[Tocotin]

You are right, it was non-fiction. And like in many suicides, no one really knows why. But the author was depressed, and I think there is speculation that the research/writing was one possible reason.

If you are talking about Iris Chang, who wrote The Rape of Nanking, then well... I wouldn't be surprised if the writing/research subject did significantly contribute. This is one of those topics that make readers suicidal. (At least, this particular reader.)

On topic: I mostly write cheerful stuff, and only occasionally about violence, injustice, and oppression and other dark things, but my own writing doesn't make me depressed at all, because I'm in total control; I can tone the darkness down at will, I can put in some light, I can walk away. Research, on the other hand - yes, research can be depressing.

 

[Harlequin]

This is one reason why I can't read grimdark anymore; I just can't take it seriously.

I have yet to encounter a grimdark novel approaching anywhere close to the horrific darkness of the real world. Literary novels do better, but they tackle it on a smaller scale (individual or handful of people) and that's more manageable to accomplish within text.

I read a SFF novel recently, highly acclaimed, that supposedly portrayed a dark future where sexual violence is prolific and everything is miserable, but it was (imo) still far less grim than the industrial-scale sex trafficking which already takes place in developed nations. So I'm left cold, and wondering how sheltered the author must be.

And now I sound grumpy so will go get some coffee and stop whinging.

 

[Scythian]

The 2013 film Hard to be a God https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_to_Be_a_God_(2013_film) is an existential fantasy/planetary sci-fi epic masterpiece that makes Game of Thrones feel like a Hallmark film.

The 1960's book it's based on, is, surprisingly, no heavier than a Poul Anderson/Farmer adventure.

 

[indianroads]

IMO our writing reflects our life experiences. As one of my friends often says - if you're as old as I am and not pissed off, you've not been paying attention. I've also heard: the oldest and most dire curse that can be levied is, may you live an interesting life in interesting times.

My writing as always been dark - because that's been my experience of life. I also like to have some thought behind my story - the best books, like movies, are the ones where you can sit around with others who have read / seen it and discuss and argue over the story POV.

 

[Woollybear]

To the first question: Yes.

Writing is very draining. Can be therapeutic too.

 

[Scythian]

Sometimes what comes out with the least effort may be stuff that’s ‘dark’ and ‘draining’ for the reader, but is easy and jolly work for the writer. And vice versa—for some writers writing something lighthearted and uplifting may be absolute torture. The same counterintuitive logic may work for ‘complex’ vs ‘simple’—for some writers (or any other creative types)—complex stuff may pour out with absolute ease, on autopilot, but trying to go into simple mode is utterly draining.

All down to personality and innate skill inclinations. Some writers may prefer to read A and not B, but can only produce B with relative ease, and not A. So they write what they don’t read.

 

[Pinkarray]

Why would something simple, light-hearted, and uplifting be torture for the writer to write and why wouldn't they be affected by something dark and confusingly complex?

 

[Elle.]

Why would something simple, light-hearted, and uplifting be torture for the writer to write and why wouldn't they be affected by something dark and confusingly complex?

Something simple, light-hearted, and uplifting is torture for me because I don't know how to write that as Scythian mentioned it doesn't come to me naturally. Writing darker story just comes naturally to be so compared to the light stuff is it easy for me to write.

 

[Woollybear]

Writing jokes is impossible for me.

Lots of fun to read, though.

 

[CalRazor]

Writing on more serious topics can darken my mood, but I'll include random humor to liven up the writing even if I edit those bits out later.

 

[Chase]

I read Sylvia Plath's semi-autobiographical The Bell Jar in college and was saddened at such cosmic depression. Our professor, Dr. Susan Mathews, offered a possibility that Plath's writing may have indeed helped her cope rather than to cause her suicide at age 20 in 1963.
I do care deeply about what I read and write, but surviving real life has shown me how to try to keep a more even keel when immersed in fiction.
Writing keeps me afloat.

 

[Pinkarray]

Something simple, light-hearted, and uplifting is torture for me because I don't know how to write that as Scythian mentioned it doesn't come to me naturally. Writing darker story just comes naturally to be so compared to the light stuff is it easy for me to write.

I would be happy to teach you. I like simple, light-hearted, and uplifting kinds of fiction and I like writing them and I would love to teach anyone who's having trouble writing them.

Writing on more serious topics can darken my mood, but I'll include random humor to liven up the writing even if I edit those bits out later.

Yeah, I tend to include a lot of humor, even dark humor to lighten the mood.

 

[MaeZe]

Somewhat. I am very technique-focused in general, but last ms was centred around the topic of suicide, so I spent a fair amount of time immersing myself in that mindset (to the detriment of my own mental health).

I hope you've recovered. I really felt the emotions of your character in that section I read, you did a good job.

 

[Scythian]

I would be happy to teach you. I like simple, light-hearted, and uplifting kinds of fiction and I like writing them and I would love to teach anyone who's having trouble writing them.
/.../

This is generous, but don't be disappointed if it turns out people don't feel like experimenting or learning new things in the point of their life they're in. Or at least not in all directions.

For example, I personally may be just starting out expanding my abilities in sphere A, but quite OK with my limitations in spheres B, C, and D.

And anyway, it’s one thing to help someone learn and apply certain techniques *in spite* of their natural leanings, another thing to get them to shift their natural inclinations—that would mean a deep personality overhaul. That’s not something I personally would consider in order to say have my natural writing style change from X to Y, or even expand to include X+Y.

In other words, sometimes there’s no point in trying to get Terry Pratchett to change enough so that his natural style expands to include lyrical landscape descriptions, or to get Zadie Smith to change so that her natural style includes splatterpunk…

 

[Pinkarray]

This is generous, but don't be disappointed if it turns out people don't feel like experimenting or learning new things in the point of their life they're in. Or at least not in all directions.

For example, I personally may be just starting out expanding my abilities in sphere A, but quite OK with my limitations in spheres B, C, and D.

And anyway, it’s one thing to help someone learn and apply certain techniques *in spite* of their natural leanings, another thing to get them to shift their natural inclinations—that would mean a deep personality overhaul. That’s not something I personally would consider in order to say have my natural writing style change from X to Y, or even expand to include X+Y.

In other words, sometimes there’s no point in trying to get Terry Pratchett to change enough so that his natural style expands to include lyrical landscape descriptions, or to get Zadie Smith to change so that her natural style includes splatterpunk…

It's okay if it's not something you're good at. I'm not forcing you to write something that's not your forte. It's like being taught how to play violin but I'm not that good at violin. As long as the writing is good, then that's okay. Like me, I hate dramas and don't care much for romance, I can't even really write dramas or romance because I have a hard time understanding and connecting to emotions and cannot understand human complexity so that's why I write dark stories with black humor in them or even novels with a little romance in them but they're not the focus; the characters might break up or it might be kept for side characters. That's about as far as I can go. I try to make sure my characters and stories are developed and try to make them have the appropriate reaction at a certain situation but I still try to keep them simple and keep the story light by throwing in humor.

 

[thethinker42]

Writing them more often now can make me feel down and just not in the right state of mind to write anymore for a little while. Part of the reason is because I'm writing something different now. Does anybody else feel depressed when they write more intense/dark/dramatic fiction like this?

Oh, yes. If I'm writing something particularly dark, I usually have to have a fluffier side project for balance. So maybe 80% of my daily quota is focused on the darker WIP, and the last 20% is on the lighter one. At the very least, I have something fluffy lined up next in the schedule as a palate cleanser. Earlier this year, I wrote a really dark and twisted thriller based on the world of incels, and immediately followed it up with a silly nerdy romantic comedy. I have a dystopian novella in the works right now, and I can only write about 500 words at a time on it before I need to work on something else.

 

[autumnleaf]

See, I think that unrelenting grimness can be just as unrealistic as sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows. People have always used humor (including gallows humor) in the worst circumstances; they have always found pleasure in small things, even when their lives have otherwise been terrible. It's a survival mechanism.

I remember an interview with Andrea Levy about her book The Long Song, set in the 19th century Caribbean from the viewpoint of a slave woman. Very dark subject matter, and she didn't shy away from the worst aspects of it. But she gave her main character a dark sense of humor, not just because that would make the plot more bearable, but because it would be more real. As Levy put it, her ancestors (Levy is a British woman of Afro-Caribbean origin) would have needed a sense of humor to survive, and she felt she was being true to them by allowing her character some (admittedly fairly bitter) laughter.

 

[Elle.]

I would be happy to teach you. I like simple, light-hearted, and uplifting kinds of fiction and I like writing them and I would love to teach anyone who's having trouble writing them.

Thanks, however I have no interest in writing those kind of stories. It's nice that you like those kind of stories and like writing them but I don't. It would be like telling someone who write fantasy to stop and write crime stories instead. We all have different genres and different kind of stories we enjoy writing and there's nothing wrong with that.