What is the best way to simulate grief?
I am new to the art of writing and have been wondering if there is a way to introduce the grief of loss(character dies) in my story, inturn while making the reader feel the grief. Is there a good method to go about doing this (Making the reader feel the grief a character feels)?
style reader-engagement
asked 1 hour ago
XilpexXilpex
1136
New contributor
Xilpex is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
I am new to the art of writing and have been wondering if there is a way to introduce the grief of loss(character dies) in my story, inturn while making the reader feel the grief. Is there a good method to go about doing this (Making the reader feel the grief a character feels)?
style reader-engagement
asked 1 hour ago
XilpexXilpex
1136
New contributor
Xilpex is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
I am new to the art of writing and have been wondering if there is a way to introduce the grief of loss(character dies) in my story, inturn while making the reader feel the grief. Is there a good method to go about doing this (Making the reader feel the grief a character feels)?
style reader-engagement
asked 1 hour ago
XilpexXilpex
1136
New contributor
Xilpex is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
I am new to the art of writing and have been wondering if there is a way to introduce the grief of loss(character dies) in my story, inturn while making the reader feel the grief. Is there a good method to go about doing this (Making the reader feel the grief a character feels)?
style reader-engagement
style reader-engagement
asked 1 hour ago
XilpexXilpex
1136
New contributor
Xilpex is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 1 hour ago
XilpexXilpex
1136
New contributor
Xilpex is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
edited 49 mins ago
Xilpex
asked 1 hour ago
XilpexXilpex
1136
New contributor
Xilpex is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 1 hour ago
XilpexXilpex
1136
asked 1 hour ago
XilpexXilpex
1136
1136
New contributor
Xilpex is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
Xilpex is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Xilpex is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
add a comment |
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
It is more engendering grief in the reader than simulating it, but one must be careful lest the beloved character you killed off be the only one the reader cares about. It is one thing for the reader to put the book down for a few minutes and think about the loss, quite another for them to put it down and never pick it up again.
What you need to inspire in the reader is genuine sorrow that said character died balanced with caring how the others will cope without him/her. Will their quest fail without this character or will this loss galvanize them further.
When Katherine Kurtz killed the gentle healer Rhys, it shocked me. She had another character psychically linked with him at the time of his death so that he was not alone. This other character cared deeply for Rhys and his anguish seemed real. It made the death matter.
Killing off a good and interesting character must be important or the reader feels they wasted time investing more in the character than the author did.
answered 32 mins ago
RasdashanRasdashan
6,0271040
Thank you! I never thought of it in this way! Thanks a lot!
– Xilpex
31 mins ago
add a comment |
The best way I know of is to make the reader feel the grief too. By this I mean you build the character so well, make them so loved, that when they die it hurts. Then the reader doesn't just imagine what the other characters are feeling.
answered 1 hour ago
bruglescobruglesco
1,184326
add a comment |
Your Answer
StackExchange.ready(function() {
var channelOptions = {
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "166"
};
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
createEditor();
});
}
else {
createEditor();
}
});
function createEditor() {
StackExchange.prepareEditor({
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader: {
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
},
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
});
}
});
Xilpex is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fwriting.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f42884%2fwhat-is-the-best-way-to-simulate-grief%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
It is more engendering grief in the reader than simulating it, but one must be careful lest the beloved character you killed off be the only one the reader cares about. It is one thing for the reader to put the book down for a few minutes and think about the loss, quite another for them to put it down and never pick it up again.
What you need to inspire in the reader is genuine sorrow that said character died balanced with caring how the others will cope without him/her. Will their quest fail without this character or will this loss galvanize them further.
When Katherine Kurtz killed the gentle healer Rhys, it shocked me. She had another character psychically linked with him at the time of his death so that he was not alone. This other character cared deeply for Rhys and his anguish seemed real. It made the death matter.
Killing off a good and interesting character must be important or the reader feels they wasted time investing more in the character than the author did.
answered 32 mins ago
RasdashanRasdashan
6,0271040
Thank you! I never thought of it in this way! Thanks a lot!
– Xilpex
31 mins ago
add a comment |
It is more engendering grief in the reader than simulating it, but one must be careful lest the beloved character you killed off be the only one the reader cares about. It is one thing for the reader to put the book down for a few minutes and think about the loss, quite another for them to put it down and never pick it up again.
What you need to inspire in the reader is genuine sorrow that said character died balanced with caring how the others will cope without him/her. Will their quest fail without this character or will this loss galvanize them further.
When Katherine Kurtz killed the gentle healer Rhys, it shocked me. She had another character psychically linked with him at the time of his death so that he was not alone. This other character cared deeply for Rhys and his anguish seemed real. It made the death matter.
Killing off a good and interesting character must be important or the reader feels they wasted time investing more in the character than the author did.
answered 32 mins ago
RasdashanRasdashan
6,0271040
Thank you! I never thought of it in this way! Thanks a lot!
– Xilpex
31 mins ago
add a comment |
It is more engendering grief in the reader than simulating it, but one must be careful lest the beloved character you killed off be the only one the reader cares about. It is one thing for the reader to put the book down for a few minutes and think about the loss, quite another for them to put it down and never pick it up again.
What you need to inspire in the reader is genuine sorrow that said character died balanced with caring how the others will cope without him/her. Will their quest fail without this character or will this loss galvanize them further.
When Katherine Kurtz killed the gentle healer Rhys, it shocked me. She had another character psychically linked with him at the time of his death so that he was not alone. This other character cared deeply for Rhys and his anguish seemed real. It made the death matter.
Killing off a good and interesting character must be important or the reader feels they wasted time investing more in the character than the author did.
answered 32 mins ago
RasdashanRasdashan
6,0271040
It is more engendering grief in the reader than simulating it, but one must be careful lest the beloved character you killed off be the only one the reader cares about. It is one thing for the reader to put the book down for a few minutes and think about the loss, quite another for them to put it down and never pick it up again.
What you need to inspire in the reader is genuine sorrow that said character died balanced with caring how the others will cope without him/her. Will their quest fail without this character or will this loss galvanize them further.
When Katherine Kurtz killed the gentle healer Rhys, it shocked me. She had another character psychically linked with him at the time of his death so that he was not alone. This other character cared deeply for Rhys and his anguish seemed real. It made the death matter.
Killing off a good and interesting character must be important or the reader feels they wasted time investing more in the character than the author did.
answered 32 mins ago
RasdashanRasdashan
6,0271040
answered 32 mins ago
RasdashanRasdashan
6,0271040
answered 32 mins ago
RasdashanRasdashan
6,0271040
answered 32 mins ago
RasdashanRasdashan
6,0271040
6,0271040
Thank you! I never thought of it in this way! Thanks a lot!
– Xilpex
31 mins ago
add a comment |
Thank you! I never thought of it in this way! Thanks a lot!
– Xilpex
31 mins ago
Thank you! I never thought of it in this way! Thanks a lot!
– Xilpex
31 mins ago
Thank you! I never thought of it in this way! Thanks a lot!
– Xilpex
31 mins ago
add a comment |
The best way I know of is to make the reader feel the grief too. By this I mean you build the character so well, make them so loved, that when they die it hurts. Then the reader doesn't just imagine what the other characters are feeling.
answered 1 hour ago
bruglescobruglesco
1,184326
add a comment |
The best way I know of is to make the reader feel the grief too. By this I mean you build the character so well, make them so loved, that when they die it hurts. Then the reader doesn't just imagine what the other characters are feeling.
answered 1 hour ago
bruglescobruglesco
1,184326
add a comment |
The best way I know of is to make the reader feel the grief too. By this I mean you build the character so well, make them so loved, that when they die it hurts. Then the reader doesn't just imagine what the other characters are feeling.
answered 1 hour ago
bruglescobruglesco
1,184326
The best way I know of is to make the reader feel the grief too. By this I mean you build the character so well, make them so loved, that when they die it hurts. Then the reader doesn't just imagine what the other characters are feeling.
answered 1 hour ago
bruglescobruglesco
1,184326
answered 1 hour ago
bruglescobruglesco
1,184326
answered 1 hour ago
bruglescobruglesco
1,184326
answered 1 hour ago
bruglescobruglesco
1,184326
1,184326
add a comment |
add a comment |
Xilpex is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Xilpex is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Xilpex is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Xilpex is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Thanks for contributing an answer to Writing Stack Exchange!
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fwriting.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f42884%2fwhat-is-the-best-way-to-simulate-grief%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
