Why add unnecessary suffering, especially when it is not needed and over the top?

[ElijahRyne]

Before I start let me clarify some things. This is not an attack on anyone but an actual question. Is it just failed attempts at drama? Is it something going over my head? Why is it so common in the adventure genera, that it feels like 70% of these stories have it? Also, I understand that some stories, like tragedies, are all about suffering, but I am not talking about those. I am talking about when said suffering is unneeded, unexpected, and, oftentimes, the story would barely change if the scene(s) was replaced with something more benign. I am also not talking about those edgy stories we wrote as kids when rebelling while saying things like ‘morality is nothing more than the chains that tie us down and keep us weak’. I am asking why add unneeded random suffering in something like a romcom?

Often times whenI am reading some action/adventure story, it randomly becomes some sort of suffering or torture porn. Justifying it by saying it is the proof that you can not be nice, but the amount of pain they create at that point is absurdly unrealistic in that situation. It is like killing someone because they stuttered in a typical romcom. It just feels unwanted, cheap, and edgy to me.

It also isn’t always physical pain, but also sometimes emotional pain. Too often a character will randomly betray someone because the protagonists life needs to start as a tragedy, or there will be a arbitrary 50 page disagreement over something so esoteric that the conflict feels as if it is just put there for conflicts sake. I understand that this is now often meme’d on in the young master/lady trope, but I am not talking about that. I am talking about your typical fantasy story where a party is randomly torn apart because LotR did it, or a romance where the partners misunderstand eachother, and now look for someone else while everyone is unhappy until the very end of the story, and yet the situation could be fixed with two or three sentences. Seriously, what is the point to that suffering?

 

[ForestDweller]

Because a story where everything goes hunky dory is boring.

 

[Gryphon]

So basically melodrama? The reason its a thing is twofold.

A: The author isn't the well experienced in writing actual drama

B: Melodrama is really good for cheap and easy conflict

Thats why a lot of netflix RomComs are filled with melodrama. The writer just wants there to be conflict to justify it being a story, without putting in the effort to make the drama feel real or advance the story in any meaningful way. Like, why include a character being tortured if they forget all about it the very next day. And why are they arguing about who took a shit first?

 

[ElijahRyne]

Because a story where everything goes hunky dory is boring.

Yes, but that doesn’t mean that John the Smith needs to fear getting his eyes pulled out for making a below average weapon.

So basically melodrama? The reason its a thing is twofold.

A: The author isn't the well experienced in writing actual drama

B: Melodrama is really good for cheap and easy conflict

Thats why a lot of netflix RomComs are filled with melodrama. The writer just wants there to be conflict to justify it being a story, without putting in the effort to make the drama feel real or advance the story in any meaningful way. Like, why include a character being tortured if they forget all about it the very next day. And why are they arguing about who took a shit first?

Thank you, I forgot that that was called melodrama...

 

[TotallyHuman]

that doesn’t mean that John the Smith needs to fear getting his eyes pulled out for making a below average weapon.

but he does? How dare that bastard blunder like that? That should teach him a lesson...

 

[LilTV1155]

Machosadism?

 

[georgelee5786]

I havent seen over the top suffering often, but I imagine the reason for it is just to provoke a reaction from the reader.

 

[hijauKuning]

1.) The dramas are pretty much already developed by many writers. At the expense of being accused as uncreative, the dramas which you refer in 3rd paragraph are an easy way to continue their story. As much as people love unique and creative storylines, many people actually don't mind to consume same plots/cliches for a long time. So authors write these unnecessary dramas to pander those people, readers like OP, they don't care.

2.) Because most of the times, stories you find in internet are not as much edited as published 'finished' ones. Here the storyline usually follows author's whims and emotions. It's not as if author deliberately wrote unnecessary sufferings for the sake of it, it's just their way to channel their emotions. They care readers' enjoyment as much as their characters' happiness: which is nill.

3.) The author doesn't have any more idea to continue their story.

 

[ElijahRyne]

1.) The dramas are pretty much already developed by many writers. At the expense of being accused of uncreative, the dramas which you refer in 3rd paragraph are easy way to continue their story. As much as people love unique and creative storylines, many people actually don't mind to consume same plots for a long time. So authors write these unnecessary dramas to pander those people, readers like OP, they don't care.

2.) Because most of the times, stories you find in internet are not as much edited as published 'finished' ones. Here the storyline usually follows author's whims and emotions. It's not as if author deliberately wrote unnecessary sufferings for the sake of it, it's just their way to channel their emotions. They care readers' enjoyment as much as their characters' happiness: which is nill.

3.) The author doesn't have any more idea to continue their story.

Thank you, though for your point your 2, I wasn’t only talking about webnovels, but stories more generally.

 

[hijauKuning]

Thank you, though for your point your 2, I wasn’t only talking about webnovels, but stories more generally.

If it's stories in general, I call it a convoluted story. It's no longer just fillers. Those authors have clear idea how to start and also how the story finish, yet they somehow couldn't find the right conflict to bridge them. So here the unnecessary dramas come in. It's similar like many misunderstanding stories. A true infuriating read experience.

 

[melchi]

but he does? How dare that bastard blunder like that? That should teach him a lesson...

This actually happened to a clockmaker about 600 years ago. Well not with a smith but a clockmaker. Is it still over the top if there are very similar real world examples?

https://www.private-prague-guide.com/article/astronomical-clock-orloj/

 

[K5Rakitan]

The author might be working through their own trauma or trying to make sense of trauma that people close to them have gone through.

 

[Anon2024]

I honestly don't mind suffering in a story, what I don't like is when the character causes their own suffering through stupid decisions and I as the reader have to go through it.

It's one thing if it's an evil villain who causes the suffering and I want to see them take revenge, it's another when it's their own self doing. I deal with too many self-saboteurs in real life to ever want to read it in fiction.

Edit: And to answer the topic. I don't mind something crazy and random happening if it's in the beginning or if there are trails of breadcrumbs showing the betrayal etc... if there is no trail and it's completely out of nowhere then it basically becomes a story that I feel the author is pulling literal shit out of his/her/their ass and pasting it on the paper.

As far as over the top suffering, sometimes it's just a cheap way to make the reader hate the person doing it to the main character. That also brings in some investment in seeing the bad guy suffer.

 

[CupcakeNinja]

Because a story where everything goes hunky dory is boring.

And I just like my MCs to suffer

 

[doravg]

Before I start let me clarify some things. This is not an attack on anyone but an actual question. Is it just failed attempts at drama? Is it something going over my head? Why is it so common in the adventure genera, that it feels like 70% of these stories have it? Also, I understand that some stories, like tragedies, are all about suffering, but I am not talking about those. I am talking about when said suffering is unneeded, unexpected, and, oftentimes, the story would barely change if the scene(s) was replaced with something more benign. I am also not talking about those edgy stories we wrote as kids when rebelling while saying things like ‘morality is nothing more than the chains that tie us down and keep us weak’. I am asking why add unneeded random suffering in something like a romcom?

Often times whenI am reading some action/adventure story, it randomly becomes some sort of suffering or torture porn. Justifying it by saying it is the proof that you can not be nice, but the amount of pain they create at that point is absurdly unrealistic in that situation. It is like killing someone because they stuttered in a typical romcom. It just feels unwanted, cheap, and edgy to me.

It also isn’t always physical pain, but also sometimes emotional pain. Too often a character will randomly betray someone because the protagonists life needs to start as a tragedy, or there will be a arbitrary 50 page disagreement over something so esoteric that the conflict feels as if it is just put there for conflicts sake. I understand that this is now often meme’d on in the young master/lady trope, but I am not talking about that. I am talking about your typical fantasy story where a party is randomly torn apart because LotR did it, or a romance where the partners misunderstand eachother, and now look for someone else while everyone is unhappy until the very end of the story, and yet the situation could be fixed with two or three sentences. Seriously, what is the point to that suffering?

As someone who wrote more than one story without suffering, I can tell you that it is needed. Not to the point where the MC ends up crippled, deaf, and mute. But a bump in the road helps the story progress.

 

[Jemini]

It's just a sad and misguided belief that the suffering of the MC or cast makes the story better.

They look at truly legendary series like Re: Zero or Ascendance of a Bookworm and attribute their popularity to the fact that the characters suffer in the series, ignoring the rich characterization and worldbuilding along side the incredible plot that are the true reasons where the suffering is just a byproduct of the writer not being afraid to expose their characters to the natural consequences of the harsh world they've been placed in.

(Ok, actually, the writer of Re: Zero actually was intentionally pushing Subaru to suffer quite a bit, and going a bit beyond what was necessary.)

It's similar to how people misattributed the success of Mushoku Tensei to having an OP character who gets the harem placed in a world with an adventurer guild system that has a good analogue to the guilds in MMO-RPGs, similarly ignoring all of the other aspects of excellent writing. Or, Game of Thrones and killing off characters.

Basically, it's bad writers taking all the wrong lessons from excellent works and copying only the most superficial aspects of them.

 

[Daitengu]

It's a way to get something out of nothing.

Like Scooby Doo or SpongeBob, some people just learned to tell stories in an episodic manner. It's a very American TV show thing to do.


It's ok, but the characters have to be on point, otherwise people drop off.

The whole litrpg thing tends to falls into this trap till the characters level enough for the next story arc. Same with shounen anime. Fight, train, explore, repeat.
These cycles have gotten to be a really old trope for me. Followin dat formula hoping for success.

Anyone remember the show House? The cyclical story about House's leg got hella old and I just dropped it.

 

[Ararara]

Mine has a lot of it, but the point is to hammer in the idea that the isekaied world is crap, and that the people there really suck ass. And also to make for a bigger contrast between that and the light-hearted / funny / sunny moments in the story. I think I overdid it though.

But yeah, always throwing trouble and suffering at the MC is also a way to cliffhang the ends of your chapters (if you have no soul, like me).

It can be surprising, too. Like, the chapter I'm writing right now ends with the MC finding a trolling [Goat] peeing all over his tent. Now he has to either sleep through that stink or build himself a new shelter, etc. I don't want to let him spend all his time doing what he wants.

 

[TheEldritchGod]

This is not an attack on anyone

I know you are talking about me. And I'll torture my MC all I want. He has it coming. YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT BASTARD DID!

 

[Sabruness]

usually it's authors trying to add things that, in small quantities at the right times, are beneficial to a story but badly misjudge the amount, timing and circumstances and end up going ham overboard. it happens with webnovels but it also happens to experience, published authors as well.

on rare occasions, it's just the author being a sadist and/or a troll. but quite often, especially with webnovels, it's a lazy way to drag out the story. just look at the majority of CN female!protag stories. they tend to be laden with melodrama to pad out the gaps between the few good bits.

. Like, the chapter I'm writing right now ends with the MC finding a trolling [Goat] peeing all over his tent.

now that is funny. brings back Goat Simulator vibes