by Pyjaks » Thu Jun 08, 2017 5:23 am
How would you go about writing about a sensitive topic (mental health, some kind of trauma, etc)? Would you be starkly honest or upfront, or do you feel you'd hint at the subject in a way that lets the reader know what's happening, without going in to detail?
This is hardddd. I've always struggled with putting serious situations into my writing. Certain topics, such as mental illness, abusive situations, etc have been a breeze for me because I have personal connections to those topics and feel like I can do them "justice" (that doesn't feel like the right term but you know what I mean). Others, like addiction, trauma and whatnot I've always been a lot more cautious about. It's something that I think I need more experience and education with before I try and incorporate it into my writing. I'm always very scared of misrepresenting someone/something.
Do you feel you have any writing quirks? If you've ever read Wintergirls, for example, the author uses strikes, repeated words, capitalisation of some things and imagery for some things. I really love that kind of writing and I've found myself working it into some of my pieces - not all, it just doesn't work with some stories. If you do feel you have some, what are they? What do you think influenced them and how do you feel they help further your story?
I use too many semicolons -_-
They came from Harry Potter, lol. JK Rowling doesn't overuse them like I do, but she uses them quite a bit during descriptions and lengthy thought processes. I discovered the semi colon when I was pretty young and I've been addicted ever since. Sometimes they really lend a special sentence structure to the piece and help it flow well...other times I realize I've used twelve of them in the past five paragraphs. oops.
Do you like "classic" books? Why or why not?
Hate hate hate them. I still read them because I'm thinking about going into a literature concentrated major, and I can appreciate that many classic books are founders of themes and writing styles we use today...but I can't stand them. They all feel stiff and weird and uncomfortable. I've always struggled with my hatred of classics and even felt a bit guilty about it but meh. I don't even like older books in general. It's very rare that I can find a book I enjoy that's written before, say, 1950.
What's a story that has changed your mind about something?
It's silly, but Mass Effect taught me soooo much about xenophobia. It's something that I've really educated myself on since I played those games. I used to look at xenophobia and think it was a nonissue (probably because it doesn't effect me), but ME opened my eyes. Additionally, in my country's current political climate, it's an important issue to be educated and have a stance on.
Similarly, the video game The Last of Us made me realize "woah a main character doesn't HAVE to be all nice and gallivant and morally good to be interesting". Most of the characters in the game lie on a very diverse spectrum as far as their morals, motivations, etc go, the main character especially. I feel like that game taught me how important it is to flesh out your characters and just, go farther with them, if that makes any sense.