Young Writers Society

I love to tourture my characters. I believe it brings a connection between the readers and the characters.

"I don't know why I am here. Maybe if there had not been any windows to the outside world I would not care. If there was no sun I would not crave to lie in its light and warmth. If there where no other colors besides there ones in my prison I would not mind the endless gray. If there was no life near me I would not know loneliness."

Its not about only torturing the body but also the mind. I love to write unhappy endings.
Like loosing the one you love or finally relising a the terrible truth. You know somethng sad.
The poor boy in my book. I prevented him from knowing what a real life is. Like what we have. Family, friends, pets, eating good food, roaming in an unconfined place. Being free, and having love. Smelling the flowers and hugging someone who cares for you. Laying in a warm bed and eating candy. You know stuff like that.


Well in conclution character touture is normal and shows feelings. So its a good thing!

Now that I think about it ever heard Kanye West's "Stronger".... I think that may be the motive, to develop the character and make him stronger or reach a breaking point.

I don't really know...

I don't think you should torture your characters too often, or make them picked on more than any others, because that seems kind of clichéd... but then again, it does make for an interesting story to torture your characters.

Hmm. Torture.

I think torture--be it emotional, mental or physical--is a means of letting your character grow. It is also a means of letting other characters develop. If my hero has been captured by the villain and the villain is torturing him, then both will grow in the reader's mind as a result. As for enjoying it, sure. I haven't done it myself but it's on my list of things to do (part of a plot I have going) and I can see myself enjoying it very much. I like making characters come to life, and making them struggle is just another way of doing this,

Now if we are just talking emotionally, then I think I am addicted to torture when it comes to romances. I don't write many, but I often imagine them up in my head and the poor characters are always going through a long, painful, drawn out struggle that eventually leads to hapiness...but not until they've suffered so much emotional turmoil they've forgotten why they liked each other in the first place. I don't think I've ever consciously realized I enjoyed it, but since I do it all the time methinks maybe I do. =P I must be a sucker for drama.

^_^ Keek!

All of my characters suffer. Some more distinctly than others but no one has a free ride.

I actually torture my characters... a lot. My friend has a book that is basically filled with her torturing her characters, because its necissary in her case. I torture my characters because the guy who tortures them in the book was a murderer. (I'm sorta glad I haven't posted that. I'm pretty sure it would be torn apart.)

For the people who don't torture your characters I would like to say this: You don't torture the characters, because they are part of you. So, when you hurt them, in a way your sorta hurting part of your personality.
yes, its normal. many authors do it, so your excused if you feel guilty.

I can't stand tourching my characters, but sometimes you have to. Now if I get tired of the character or something, ya I'll tourcher them, cause normally I drop that story. . But I get to attached to my character, unlike one of my friends, she seems to enjoy it. I don't know how. She said I should kill off my two main characters in my book just to make it better. I don't think so.

I don't torture my characters on purpose, they just get tortured anyway.

The story happens by itself, even when I don't want it to, but generally, yes, all my characters end up being a bit tortured and tragic. The conflict in your writing quite often needs to be there, so that often means making your characters at some point really suffer.

I write it, because it's simply the things that happen and if I changed it then it wouldn't come out right, but I cry a lot and feel terrible for them while I'm doing it.

I'm not looking forward to writing my next novel. My favourite character so far in it is going to die. And my POV character is going to be absolutely irrepairably heartbroken. I will probably be in tears while I'm writing it.

So I hate to do it, but I'm afraid that's simply what happens. If I wrote them a happy ever after ending it wouldn't be true, if that makes sense. Does it? Probably not, but it's like it's already something real that's happened, and if I wrote differently really I would know that wasn't what happened and it was just making it up.

Answer to question 1:
Because you're sadistic.
Answer to question 2:
No, I don't.

I'm just kidding about the sadistic thing. It's natural, I think. Anyway, don't torture a character for the heck of it. Like others have said, it doesn't always help the story. Besides, if your character gets tortured a lot, he'd get a darker outlook on life and a bunch of crap would happen. Just do what feels right.

As long as you don't delight in it, mate, it's okay. I've tortured many characters, but it was all essential to the story. In the end, though, they always come to terms with their tormenters, either by becoming partners or getting revenge. If I kill a villain, the one who suffered at their hands the most gets to do it.

I do think it's normal--again, only if you don't delight in it.

If you enjoy torturing them, then sit down and talk to them more. Shake hands with them, chat with them, yada-yada-yada. Usually, if you're so quick to torture a character, it's either because you don't like them or it's not real to you and therefore doesn't matter. The latter is not a good thing.

Well, some of my characters have been in a lot of pain, but I wouldn't call it torture

*runs to get her USB key to look up some older stuff*

How about, "characters torturing you?" It's been reversed, totally not in my favor either. The noose seems to be a popular motive in theatrics. I guess they think they'll scare me into dishing out servings of pie or something sweet.

Such violence. XD

I love torturing my characters! I don't know why maybe I'm a bad person but I just love it. Sometimes when I'm depressed and I torture a character I feel tortured. Like they've beomce a part of me. Like if they get a long nice piece of skin slashed off I feel like i can feel it too. Or if a fingernail pops off. Or even nails going across a chalkboard.....ew....

I enjoy torturing characters. I don't know why, but I don't. It's fun...in a weird way.

Especially with Elmore...>.< Horrible, yes, but it's so easy. He's so pathetic and I can't help it. It seems it's the only way I can get something out of my character's is by putting them in some sort of traumatic situation.

Elven druid partially inflicted with lycanthropy and enduring a constant inner battle?

Bladesinger who develops an immunity to magic due to extensive necromantic torture?

Torture can be used to build up, or knock down and then build up, characters.

Fitchivalry Farseer in robin Hobb's Farseer Trilogy getting beaten in Regal's Dungeon.
Harry Potter constantly getting cruciated (I mean seriously, it gets ridiculous)
Pug getting owned in the swamps as a slave on Kelewan (in the greatest novel of all time)

if you enjoy it, then there's a problem, if you enjoy the character development that grows out of it, then you're a writer.

Rubric