WaterFish
Active member
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2023
- Messages
- 85
- Points
- 33
I have a story in mind but I’m not sure which audience to cater to or how.
I get battle junkies into Xianxia like constant dunking on the main character overcomes his obstacles (at least in a loop every ten chapters or so), and Shoujo lovers like literally anything so long as it’s adding drama to the situation.
The next part of this will go off in a tangent so either bear with the text wall or simply click off.
If you’re still here four paragraphs in then you’ll probably be patient enough to hear me out.
So I’ll stop stalling and get to what I want to say.
Anyway, I want to write a novel in order to combat my nihilism… but I can’t think of a work or video essay on an Anime that can help me think a plot both intriguing and true to its roots.
I expressed existentialism in the sequel I planned before this story through RPG classes and the constant battle between doing what you’re good at versus your passion. Do you do what you want or what you feel? Is the sequel’s ‘theme’.
The ongoing question answered through story.
But I’m unsure how to express nihilism.
I feel my own nihilism but can’t succinctly put into words what it’s like besides ‘nothing matters’ along with apathy. Basically what that guy in My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU in his early days before he matured later in the story.
The feeling of being alone in the world even when surrounded by the people you love.
How do you put that into a story without being so on the nose about it? Relatively speaking.
The earlier example is more blink and you’ll miss it about existentialist themes being expressed in how RPG classes are defining humans in a fantasy setting. Something intangible but can be fought against through anarchy and positivity.
But I’m unsure how to combat nihilism instead of ignoring it. Pretending ‘nothing matters, everything good’ is just a lie used to keep people afloat. It makes one feel as if they have the answer even though that’s just being sensible.
If nothing matters and we are slaves to our fate then why not be smiling throughout life, right?
Maybe a younger version of me would’ve agreed.
But now I’m old enough to know sadness isn’t an enemy that needs to be taken down at all costs. Those who suffer from not having enough despair in their lives ironically feel sadder in life.
The starving don’t complain about not getting the tastier meals. Those who have never been loved aren’t picky about the type of love they receive. And those who say ‘nothing matters’ are those who can’t accept the many things that matter to them.
It’s different from existentialism.
There’s no feeling of smallness against the vast universe, but a lack of drive and motivation that fuels their apathetic view on the world. Which makes it harder for me to instil into my story using themes.
I’m not sure what kind of plot device could help me achieve what I’m looking for. To contemplate the topic without actually talking about it. I can’t think of any works that really explore nihilism.
And don’t some of you a-holes mention Rick and Morty because that’s a different can of worms.
I want to write a story that combats nihilismnot revels in the futility of life and death.
I want the reader to feel like that there is more to life than what they perceive on the surface or in the present tense. That the future is worth fighting for even if the results are uncertain.
Sounds cheesy I know but that’s what I want to write, so that’s what I will.
The sequel is a hundred times more campy but I digress. I just need to figure out how to turn fighting nihilism into a theme by turning it into a plot device somehow. Regardless of what it is.
Hopefully someone can dispel my confusion.
I get battle junkies into Xianxia like constant dunking on the main character overcomes his obstacles (at least in a loop every ten chapters or so), and Shoujo lovers like literally anything so long as it’s adding drama to the situation.
The next part of this will go off in a tangent so either bear with the text wall or simply click off.
If you’re still here four paragraphs in then you’ll probably be patient enough to hear me out.
So I’ll stop stalling and get to what I want to say.
Anyway, I want to write a novel in order to combat my nihilism… but I can’t think of a work or video essay on an Anime that can help me think a plot both intriguing and true to its roots.
I expressed existentialism in the sequel I planned before this story through RPG classes and the constant battle between doing what you’re good at versus your passion. Do you do what you want or what you feel? Is the sequel’s ‘theme’.
The ongoing question answered through story.
But I’m unsure how to express nihilism.
I feel my own nihilism but can’t succinctly put into words what it’s like besides ‘nothing matters’ along with apathy. Basically what that guy in My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU in his early days before he matured later in the story.
The feeling of being alone in the world even when surrounded by the people you love.
How do you put that into a story without being so on the nose about it? Relatively speaking.
The earlier example is more blink and you’ll miss it about existentialist themes being expressed in how RPG classes are defining humans in a fantasy setting. Something intangible but can be fought against through anarchy and positivity.
But I’m unsure how to combat nihilism instead of ignoring it. Pretending ‘nothing matters, everything good’ is just a lie used to keep people afloat. It makes one feel as if they have the answer even though that’s just being sensible.
If nothing matters and we are slaves to our fate then why not be smiling throughout life, right?
Maybe a younger version of me would’ve agreed.
But now I’m old enough to know sadness isn’t an enemy that needs to be taken down at all costs. Those who suffer from not having enough despair in their lives ironically feel sadder in life.
The starving don’t complain about not getting the tastier meals. Those who have never been loved aren’t picky about the type of love they receive. And those who say ‘nothing matters’ are those who can’t accept the many things that matter to them.
It’s different from existentialism.
There’s no feeling of smallness against the vast universe, but a lack of drive and motivation that fuels their apathetic view on the world. Which makes it harder for me to instil into my story using themes.
I’m not sure what kind of plot device could help me achieve what I’m looking for. To contemplate the topic without actually talking about it. I can’t think of any works that really explore nihilism.
And don’t some of you a-holes mention Rick and Morty because that’s a different can of worms.
I want to write a story that combats nihilismnot revels in the futility of life and death.
I want the reader to feel like that there is more to life than what they perceive on the surface or in the present tense. That the future is worth fighting for even if the results are uncertain.
Sounds cheesy I know but that’s what I want to write, so that’s what I will.
The sequel is a hundred times more campy but I digress. I just need to figure out how to turn fighting nihilism into a theme by turning it into a plot device somehow. Regardless of what it is.
Hopefully someone can dispel my confusion.