Tips for writing a really sad scene

[Acezhere]

My MC has a really depressing backstory, please help.

 

[Nihilism]

My MC has a really depressing backstory, please help.

Make your characters suffering very bad! Then grow them from those experiences!

For example, I tortured my Protagonist.

 

[Paul_Tromba]

You could do what I did with Scott Langston.where you saw how bad the character was but as you got to know the character, things made more and more sense. Why they had certain tendencies and what emotions caused them. Over time their entire system for reasoning makes sense. Why they drink, why they're self-loathing, why they continue on despite all the bad that has happened.

 

[vaurwyn]

Focus on the atmosphere and inner thoughts of the character rather than the actual actions. For example, instead of describing in detail how a character was abused, you can say focus on how he felt he was never good enough, how it was somehow always his fault, how desperate he was to please his abuser, and how he felt his failure of a life was not worth living. A sad scene is about emotions, and not facts, and it is natural for reality to be exaggerated and wrapped by a depressed mind. (as the author, you still need to know the facts and make sure they make sense, but you don't have to write them that way.) Sometimes, a cloudy sky is sadder than knowing that on average two people die every second.

A very important thing in a tragic backstory is to give it a sense of scale. Show that it was not just one particularly sad day, but an entire existence of misery that has had a lifelong impact. Misery is all encompassing, muddling the past and observing the future, making the present moment of pain last eternally. Time itself becomes blurry, instant lasting for hours and hours becoming instantaneous.

Introduce repetitions, show emotions that still affect your character to this day, either because he still cannot escape or because he is doing everything he can to become its antithesis. You don't have to point anything out directl, but the past character should be a twisted version of his current self, recognisable but only a pained shadow of who they are now.

Lastly, give him something to hold on to, something to explain why he has not given up and ended his life. A single beacon of light, to which he desperately clings onto. He hates the world, he hates himself, but that thing is perfect, and he cannot abandon it. It can be anything, a wish for revenge, a childhood friend, a cute little girl he has no contact with except seeing her play around the neighborhood, or some ideal or goal. It doesn't even have to be a good thing. Going back to my example, perhaps he is so enthralled by his abuser he does not dare off himself, as that would be a cowardly betrayal. Tying the source of misery and beacon of light together ensures that there's almost nothing they can do to get out of this situation without some heavy outside help.

Also, make sure to lead into a sad scene. Depression is not something that comes and goes, it is a persistent curse that takes enormous effort to break free from. Slow the pace of your story, calm everything down, so that emotions can flow. A really sad scene is never standalone, it is always built up from the emotional attachment we have with the character. Don't go in detail on the tragic backstory of a side character that we met a chapter ago, because we probably won't feel anything (except if the backstory itself gives you the time to grow to care for him.) Just allude to it and save it for later when we had had time to grow attached to him.

 

[K5Rakitan]

Put yourself in the protagonist's shoes and work through their emotions with them.

 

[Deleted member 57675]

Put yourself in the protagonist's shoes and work through their emotions with them.

This. 1st point of view. Self-insert into your character. How would you feel if you go through the experiences your character goes through? How would you react.

 

[Acezhere]

This. 1st point of view. Self-insert into your character. How would you feel if you go through the experiences your character goes through? How would you react.

I would NOT want to be my MC... he's been tortured and abused.

 

[Nihilism]

I would NOT want to be my MC... he's been tortured and abused.

But! It would be more realistic imaging it!

 

[Acezhere]

But! It would be more realistic imaging it!

I'll try

 

[Plantorsomething]

My MC has a really depressing backstory, please help.

Build up, show the results of said backstory on their psyche now, make it so delving into the backstory serves to move the plot forward in some way or even provide character and/or relationship growth. Or maybe show the backstory before they do something shitty or have an outburst, or have them use the backstory to somehow give inspiration to another character, like opening up to a friend to help them through something of their own. Basically anything that makes the backstory not pointless exposition on a character sheet, and actually important. If you’ve done that, then the ‘how‘ you make the scene really depends on all the context, there’s a bunch of different ways. Which ever way you pick, looking up how people do it in real life and in other novels might help you.

 

[CarburetorThompson]

Just watch a bunch of movies or reread books that make you tear up. I’m talking the Futurama dog scene, Gundam 0080 ending, stuff like that always gets to me, and gets me into the mood to better understand how to write like that.

 

[NitroxDarks]

Don't over explain the people's feelings and reactions, not too much at the very least. Everything else depends on how heavily you smack the table with your dick. Out of chad-ism of course.

 

[BlackKnightX]

Watch the scene play out in your head and get in the mood. Just let it flow; you can always change and fix things later. For now, all you want is just raw emotions. Pour all of it onto the page.

 

[PancakesWitch]

listen to sad music (really)
make the character's sad backstory relatable to the injustices we face each day, this makes things usually more beliavable, which is the path towards people feeling bad for your character's sad story (example: racism, being discriminated for being poor, the suffering of being poor, family drama, death, the hardships of losing loved ones)

 

[Deleted member 57675]

I would NOT want to be my MC... he's been tortured and abused.

agreed. and this is why i do Not want to self-insert into my MCs either...