Well, I like torturing my Elf character Roa, but... It needs to be done otherwise the story wont work. I get the feeling that he's beginning to really hate me though.
~ Shadowsun
Before you judge someone, walk a mile in their shoes... Then who cares? You're a mile away and you've got their shoes.
I have a very old novel tucked away somewhere where my character was literally chained to a wall for a year. He got rescued eventually, but his mind was kind of destroyed. Oh well, at least when his brain healed itself it stumbled upon the human's hidden power to alter time. So it all worked out in the end lol.
I confess, I love torturing my poor characters. I tell them that it's necessary, but I dont think they agree XD Most of my torture tends to be emotional abuse, because I have this thing for turning traditional heroism on its head (dont ask...). Plus, I like my stories to be character-driven, so there has to be conflict somewhere XD.
I think I'm a little strange though. My favourite books/stories are those that have powerfully sad (yet somehow right) endings, like Amber Spyglass or Gone With the Wind and so on.
I cant decide if I'm a romantic, or just sadistic LMAO.
Hmm...I very rarely torture more than one character. I do it mostly to help the reader connect more with the MC, to feel their pain, feel sorry for them and want them to be freed. I also torture them if it is necessary to the storyline. For instance, I'm writing a story in which the MC is going to be tortured for a rape he is falsely accused of committing. The torture changes him forever and turns him from a shy, soft-spoken person to a cold, silent and depressed person, which destroys a few of his relationships. It's necessary for the storyline.
Mental anguish, angst, sharp pointy objects, shinny things, tying them up and laughing, killing friends/lovers/etc., and then throwing them to the wolves!
er.. maybe I go overboard? That would explain a lot, actually...
But really, characters should be tortured. Be it by means of confusion, death or actual physical harm (though that's not nearly as much fun as mental anguish. Oh dear. I sound rather nuts, don't I? ah well. I'm not called Meshugenah for nothing!)
The best reason to torture characters? It creates tension! I lovely device that helps prod plots along.
***Under the Responsibility of S.P.E.W.*** (Sadistic Perplexion of Everyone's Wits)
Medieval Lit! Come here to find out who Chaucer plagiarized and translated - and why and how it worked in the late 1300s.
I based a whole NaNo on the torturing of a character. Basically as soon as I couldn't think of what would happen next, I'd think "so what's the worst thing that could happen to them at this moment in time?" and then just running with it until I ran out of ideas and did it again. She didn't actually end up resolving many of her issues before she was confronted by the next one, so the poor girl was in a bit of a mess and was quite happy when 50k rolled around and I stopped hurting her.
It was very fun.
So I guess that's a yes from me.
Oh, you're angry! Click your pen.
--Music and Lyrics
I'unno if I'd call it "torture," but I do love harassing my characters. Very few things in writing give me as much glee as harassing Savior. He's a bastard and he deserves it, so character abuse is fun, especially out-of-game, where the usual rules don't apply.
Oh, jeez, darling you're not alone! I don't like torturing all of my characters....wait......I don't like tortruring most of my characters. But it's not just you, trust me. My problem is that three of my main characters in three of my stories (Danteel in In Thrall--that one's basically just a torture epic--, Tannar in Gypsie Eyes, and K'ratcha in and unamed story) are slaves of one sort or another. Torture kinda comes with the territory.
"In a sort of ghastly simplicity we remove the organ and demand the function...We laugh at honour and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate and bid the geldings be fruitful." ~C.S. Lewis
Now you mention it, I hate my main character. I mean, I created her, so it makes no sense, but I really don't like my main character Tamia. I feel like giving her a slapping, at times.
And... torture? I have my plans..... *evil laugh*
But face it, torture makes for an interesting read, and it's defiantly interesting to write about. I recently put in a whipping scene in Tamia's quest, and it was one of my more interesting chapters to write. And, as I said before, I have my plans on the whole torture thing.
It's not easy having a good time. Even smiling makes my face ache.
I think it's a bit funner to torture a character who will fight back and try to overcome the situation than one who's just going to sit down and have a bit of a sulk. Unless you can convince them to stop sulking and make an effort, anyway.
Oh, you're angry! Click your pen.
--Music and Lyrics
Ha, ha. At first when I began writing I liked to torture them, but now after about a year writing I do it to add deep and contribute to the plot.
Proud Venezuelan.
Harry Potter, Avatar, Death Note, The Legend of Zelda and Sweeney Todd fan.
"There are two infinite things: The Universe and human stupidity"- Albert Einstein
Poor Marc. She is tortured until the very end of my book, both physically and emotionally. But someone's trying to kill her, so I have a reason. But no, I can't say I like torturing her physically. It's some seriously painful stuff. *Shivers*
However, torturing her emotionally is a little bit more fun, (sorry Marc!) just because she's such a hard, cold person at the begining and it gradually weakens her tough shell. The emotional pain she goes through teaches her to let go and love. *Sigh* So everything's good.
And at the end she takes her revenge on her would-be killers, so I made it up to her.
“We’re still here,” he says, his voice cold, his hands shaking. “We know how to be invisible, how to play dead. But at the end of the day, we are still here.” ~Dax
Teacher: "What do we do with adjectives in Spanish?"
S: "We eat them!"
So it all worked out in the end lol.
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