tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7514182676527520719.post1585095536326834952..comments2023-10-31T05:08:39.383-04:00Comments on Yapping About YA: I think my main character is crazy.Yapping About YAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11249807348733979046noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7514182676527520719.post-2641172532725006022008-06-12T17:17:00.000-04:002008-06-12T17:17:00.000-04:00I'm running into the same issue with a new story. ...I'm running into the same issue with a new story. I'm pretty certain one of my MCs has depersonalization disorder...just because it's the one that serves the story best. Maybe there's a little paranoid-delusional in there, too.<BR/><BR/>My solution? Appropriate vagueness. It's hard to pull off with a case like Hannah's, with bulimia, but with something like paranoia like Nero has, vagueness is totally acceptable. My character, Eva, is gonna be obviously "off", with pills, a therapist, and scheduled meditation practices, but I'm never going to label her as depersonalized, obsessive-compulsive, paranoid, or anything else. Let the readers guess, mwahahaha.<BR/><BR/>I don't know if everyone's read it, but in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, by Jonathan Safran Foer, the MC is pretty idiosyncratic. A little too much so to be "normal"--for instance, he only wears white clothes. He probably has a disorder like Asperger's or OCD, but no one ever mentions a diagnosis. He simply is how he is. Good reasearch for someone in a situation like yours, Hap.Vanessa Concannonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04635599300208678468noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7514182676527520719.post-52953261891996948262008-06-12T11:41:00.000-04:002008-06-12T11:41:00.000-04:00I think you can do whatever you want to your chara...I think you can do whatever you want to your character and inflict whatever malady you want upon him (including made-up ones) as long as it's consistent to the CHARACTER. Just like in a fantasy setting, where there are certain rules that govern what can/might happen so the reader can comfortably know the boundaries of possibility and properly anticipate the likelihood of certain things happening in the story, your characters have "rules" and "boundaries" that dictate what's possible for them.<BR/><BR/>I think Nero can be whatever he wants to be as long as it remains consistent, like, no new neuroses popping up a thousand words from the climax because that neuroses will help him there. <BR/><BR/>Also I don't think you have to follow a checklist of symptoms when making him clinically "crazy," but perhaps knowing what sort of symptoms are likely and choosing the ones that work for you (and adding your own) can make his mental problems more real. Then readers can identify with him and still recognize him as a unique character.<BR/><BR/>That was really rambling. Sorry. I have been having this same problem with my pedophile character. It's taken a lot of (really icky) soul searching to get it right.Jordanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00850682345777206863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7514182676527520719.post-74314070286578354942008-06-12T01:44:00.000-04:002008-06-12T01:44:00.000-04:00I find it odd that people can generalise about men...I find it odd that people can generalise about mental illness that way.<BR/><BR/>Sure, they may be certain specifics that are across the board, but mental illness comes in so many shapes and varieties and combinations... just...yeah *boggles*<BR/><BR/>It's the same thing as people saying "Oh a girl wouldn't do that" or "no boy would say that."<BR/><BR/>Wrong wrong wrong, please to be taking your generalizations and shoving them up your arse.Cat Hellisenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17381589504923205892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7514182676527520719.post-14442300016474934982008-06-11T16:18:00.000-04:002008-06-11T16:18:00.000-04:00"I'm almost smelling a double standard. The charac..."I'm almost smelling a double standard. The character must be themselves, and yet, if the character has any sort of mental illness the mental illness must be researched thoroughly."<BR/><BR/>This is completely a problem I've had. I had a character who had (surprise!) an eating disorder that manifested as a sort of atypical bulimia. I had several people tell me, "Nope, this isn't characteristic of bulimia." Um, I KNOW. It's characteristic of DMITRI. He's a character, not a disorder, and this is what he does. I don't care if it doesn't fit perfectly into a definition.hannah moskowitzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02347576280638165266noreply@blogger.com