Narrative as Therapy and Joseph Heller's Catch-22

[EroticCupcake]

One of my favorite moments in literature was near the end of Catch-22, when we learn that a zany comedic relief character isn't actually comedic relief, and that their wacky actions are the result of very specific trauma. This wasn't really a twist, but just additional context that forces the audience to reinterpret the comedy as tragedy. In Catch-22, it hit me super hard.

I feel like Scrubs could pulled this off at times. I'm positive MASH pulled this off with Klinger, but I haven't watched enough to see it.

I find myself writing about a person who acts in a very specific, odd way. The behavior is somewhat based on a person I knew earlier in life. Much like me, the main character doesn't understand the root of this behavior. Also much like me, he gives up trying to understand and just accepts it for what it is.

As the story developed, the narrator connects her odd behavior to other unrelated trauma, and that caused me (the writer) to see her behavior not as whacky, but tragic. I didn't plan this going in to the story. Because the behavior was inspired by a real person, there is some possibility the tragic lens applies to her as well (or some version of it).

I feel like I Joseph Heller'd myself. I spent a half day sorting through tough emotions because I was trying to construct a story. I don't know that I would have treated the real life person much differently if I had put this together sooner (it's also possible I am reading the situation wrong), but it's been a strange ride.

This is such an odd and specific experience, I can't begin to explain "what I am thinking." If anyone could understand this feeling and may have experienced something similar, it would be this group.

 

[AwkwardMD]

I use my writing as therapy. I am constantly putting things into my characters that I am 6 months away from realizing about myself, if not more. It's humbling to look back at old stories of mine that predicted things that had not yet come to pass, and see how blind I was.

 

[onehitwanda]

It's called serendipity. Sometimes the characters will tell you who they are. Learn to embrace it and see where it goes.

 

[madelinemasoch]

On a related note, I've been pondering this lately: Part of what my own writing is, is processing the emotions enmeshed within myself from real events with real people in my life. I didn't seek out to do this deliberately, but that's what I'm doing regardless. I have not a soul to talk about these things with, so I write it out... It's a bit strange, but that's me.

 

[Lifestyle66]

One of my favorite moments in literature was near the end of Catch-22, when we learn that a zany comedic relief character isn't actually comedic relief, and that their wacky actions are the result of very specific trauma. ...

...

This is such an odd and specific experience, I can't begin to explain "what I am thinking." If anyone could understand this feeling and may have experienced something similar, it would be this group.

The characters I write are based on real people who have experienced trauma. That's what makes for a decent story: that it can connect with someone else who experienced something similar.

Then we get the shitheads nay-saying our stories saying, "You need to write the characters to be REAL!" or "People don't act that way." or "Who would do such a thing?" or "Why would she do THAT?"

So, as much as we might try to write characters who have been through some trauma, those shitheads can't possibly imagine the character's story and who they are. So, we write to a subset of our readers. And the more traumatic your character's past, the fewer readers will appreciate it.

Most people live in their very small worlds in their very narrow minds. And they won't change. So, if you have such an odd talent as to write such stories, it shows you have more empathy than the vast majority of people.

 

[EroticCupcake]

The characters I write are based on real people who have experienced trauma. That's what makes for a decent story: that it can connect with someone else who experienced something similar.

Then we get the shitheads nay-saying our stories saying, "You need to write the characters to be REAL!" or "People don't act that way." or "Who would do such a thing?" or "Why would she do THAT?"

So, as much as we might try to write characters who have been through some trauma, those shitheads can't possibly imagine the character's story and who they are. So, we write to a subset of our readers. And the more traumatic your character's past, the fewer readers will appreciate it.

Most people live in their very small worlds in their very narrow minds. And they won't change. So, if you have such an odd talent as to write such stories, it shows you have more empathy than the vast majority of people.

My theory was that this community would get it. Theory confirmed.

 

[EroticCupcake]

Writing is much cheaper than therapy.

So, yeah, a lot of my stories have some level of self reflection in it. One that's releasing tomorrow for the a karaoke event managed to get to like 63k words, largely around trauma processing. It's dark, bleak, hopeless, and I love it.

This is impressive and also insane. 63k words is basically a novel.

I submitted 3.8k words for the Karaoke Contest. Mine was inspired by a moment where I went 7 weeks without speaking English (which basically means not speaking), where I was so lonely I almost died. The truest part of the story was hearing Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" at the wrong place and wrong time, which set off something like a panic attack that forced me to take control of my life.

 

[Lifestyle66]

My theory was that this community would get it. Theory confirmed.

And my experience is that not all in this community get it. Some still live in their very narrow minds.

So, don't be surprised if they pop up here.

 

[burgwad]

"The most powerful therapeutic process I know is to contribute to rich story development." -- Michael White, creator of narrative therapy

 

[EroticCupcake]

In the spirit of characters who tell the writer what they want to do.

I've been continuing the story mentioned in OP. I had outlined that FMC was going to coerce MMC into a specific sex act. He would be guilty / resentful, and it would advance the plot.

I wrote the scene. it hit the kink checkbox I was aiming for, but it felt wrong. FMC is sexually aggressive, but not cruel. The story is supposed to be about people who love each other, but have poor boundaries that disrupt their lives. This scene was making it something else.

So I scrapped it. I started over. FMC tried to coerce MMC and he found his backbone for the first time. Not only that, he knew her well enough to show her why said specific sex act was not necessary. None of this was planned. It felt like MMC was making an argument that I wouldn't have thought of. This has been a wild ride.