For examples of "Life Unraveling" stories, look for Stockholm Syndrome stories, and Psychological Thrillers, but this type of conflict is also commonly used in Horror stories.
Where would you suggest I look for some general information on sociopathy/psychopathy for characterization? I'd rather it be for a general reader, meaning hopefully not loaded with occupation-based terms that I would then need to spend an extra period of time searching definitions for. But if it can't find anything of that nature, I'll take what you can give? Sites preferably. I doubt I'll go and purchase books I'll just refund or donate to a used book store a week later.For examples of "Life Unraveling" stories, look for Stockholm Syndrome stories, and Psychological Thrillers, but this type of conflict is also commonly used in Horror stories.
For good examples of this conflict being used as the central conflict of the story (in the US), look no further than the older Psychological Thriller movies.
The most famous is Gaslight (1944). They even used this movie's title to name a whole set of psychological issues. Ever heard the term: Gaslighting? It comes directly from this one movie.
The second most famous is the story; Turn of the Screw (1898), which became a slew of movies. The most famous of which is The Innocents (1961). There are several remakes, but none are quite as creepy as the The Innocents -- in my opinion.
Movies that use "Life Unraveling" as their core conflict:
-- Rebecca (1940), Suspicion (1941), Gaslight (1944), Rear Window (1954), The Innocents (1961) based on the 1898 novella; Turn of the Screw, The Changeling (1980), Requiem for a Dream (2000), Room (2015), Memento (2000), Girl from Plainville (2022), Machination (2022), to name a few.
As for manga and anime, this tends to show up in Mature stories (seinan?), and most of them are labelled: Horror.
MONSTER being the first one that comes to mind, and it IS labelled Horror.
-- MONSTER (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoki Urasawa (1994-2001). There was an anime too, (2004). The story revolves around Kenzo Tenma, a Japanese surgeon living in Düsseldorf, Germany whose life enters turmoil after he gets himself involved with Johan Liebert, one of his former patients, who is revealed to be a psychopathic serial killer.
This type of conflict is Difficult to Write -- mainly because it can very easily fall into the Horror genre, and frequently Does, but also because it takes a lot of Research into just how twisted people can be.
Just to start with, the writer must be willing to torture the main characters, even if it's only mentally and emotionally. To accomplish this, the writer needs to know an incredible amount about psychology; psychopathy and sociopathy in particular. The research into how these people think: why they do what they do, and just how many of them are out there Among Us-- is nightmare fuel alone.
However, what makes this type of conflict so hard to write, is that the writer needs to go very deeply into how the main characters Feel and React about what's happening to them, (7 stages of Grief,) AND just as deeply into the Mind of the one torturing them this way: how the main Antagonist (psychopath) Thinks.
This can be a very heavy emotional burden on the mind of the writer.
In my opinion, those that love to write Horror are the most likely to get this type of conflict Right -- with fewer psychological scars.
Yo, this thread is already dead.For examples of "Life Unraveling" stories, look for Stockholm Syndrome stories, and Psychological Thrillers, but this type of conflict is also commonly used in Horror stories.
For good examples of this conflict being used as the central conflict of the story (in the US), look no further than the older Psychological Thriller movies.
The most famous is Gaslight (1944). They even used this movie's title to name a whole set of psychological issues. Ever heard the term: Gaslighting? It comes directly from this one movie.
The second most famous is the story; Turn of the Screw (1898), which became a slew of movies. The most famous of which is The Innocents (1961). There are several remakes, but none are quite as creepy as the The Innocents -- in my opinion.
Movies that use "Life Unraveling" as their core conflict:
-- Rebecca (1940), Suspicion (1941), Gaslight (1944), Rear Window (1954), The Innocents (1961) based on the 1898 novella; Turn of the Screw, The Changeling (1980), Requiem for a Dream (2000), Room (2015), Memento (2000), Girl from Plainville (2022), Machination (2022), to name a few.
As for manga and anime, this tends to show up in Mature stories (seinan?), and most of them are labelled: Horror.
MONSTER being the first one that comes to mind, and it IS labelled Horror.
-- MONSTER (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoki Urasawa (1994-2001). There was an anime too, (2004). The story revolves around Kenzo Tenma, a Japanese surgeon living in Düsseldorf, Germany whose life enters turmoil after he gets himself involved with Johan Liebert, one of his former patients, who is revealed to be a psychopathic serial killer.
This type of conflict is Difficult to Write -- mainly because it can very easily fall into the Horror genre, and frequently Does, but also because it takes a lot of Research into just how twisted people can be.
Just to start with, the writer must be willing to torture the main characters, even if it's only mentally and emotionally. To accomplish this, the writer needs to know an incredible amount about psychology; psychopathy and sociopathy in particular. The research into how these people think: why they do what they do, and just how many of them are out there Among Us-- is nightmare fuel alone.
However, what makes this type of conflict so hard to write, is that the writer needs to go very deeply into how the main characters Feel and React about what's happening to them, (7 stages of Grief,) AND just as deeply into the Mind of the one torturing them this way: how the main Antagonist (psychopath) Thinks.
This can be a very heavy emotional burden on the mind of the writer.
In my opinion, those that love to write Horror are the most likely to get this type of conflict Right -- with fewer psychological scars.
So what?
Here's the original list of traits:
What if I did an episode on it?
Yeah sure. I could see that being real helpful.What if I did an episode on it?
Wait, you were in RAOSR? Huh, I didn't expect to hear that today.
Who were you then? Regardless, I'm fairly certain I'm who you think I am then, as I often acted as I do now, even back then. Just a less "matured" version.
Cuz Tutorials are Different.
