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I have struggled with mental illness for my entire life. Writing has been an extremely helpful and important mode of self-expression for me, since I was little. But recently, I feel like my writi...
#3: Attribution notice added
by
System
·
2019-12-08T10:27:09Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/40956 License name: CC BY-SA 3.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision
by
weakdna says reinstate monica
·
2019-12-08T10:27:09Z (almost 5 years ago)
I have struggled with mental illness for my entire life. Writing has been an extremely helpful and important mode of self-expression for me, since I was little. But recently, I feel like my writing has reached a point where my stories are all iterations of each other, with similar characters, similar plot lines, and similar endings. I think this is because the majority of my characters are mentally ill. MC will be full of anger and sadness, with low self-esteem and distorted self-image, just as I feel about myself. When I write storylines about these characters overcoming exaggerated struggles like defeating a supernatural force or surviving an apocalypse, it's analogous to the struggle against my illnesses that I face. And I think that's okay, except I do it for _every_ single story. It's making me bored with my writing and discouraged with myself, because I feel like I can no longer write a character that is unique or layered. How can I stop forcing my characters into my mold, and create differentiated storylines that don't focus around a mentally ill MC?
#1: Imported from external source
by
System
·
2019-01-01T16:59:46Z (almost 6 years ago)
Original score: 20