Feeling bad for your character?

[BlueMenace]

I'm currently having this problem as I'm trying to write some stories that I start to feel extremely bad towards the ENF or ENM. I think this really harms the final product as I'm endlesly trying to make to characters do things that are out of the character to justify the humilation they are about to receive. Do you guys have this same problem or am I alone with this. Thanks in advance.

[edithdick]

I agree. You shouldn’t make the character do things that are out of character for them. You really have two choices with this, first is change the character so they would make that choice, or second, the one I prefer, let the character remain who she is but make all other options much worse than the decision you want her to make.

I also find it easier if the circumstances that led to the dilemma were her own fault. That way she is responsible for her own humiliation.

[Executionus]

I'm currently having this problem as I'm trying to write some stories that I start to feel extremely bad towards the ENF or ENM. I think this really harms the final product as I'm endlesly trying to make to characters do things that are out of the character to justify the humilation they are about to receive. Do you guys have this same problem or am I alone with this. Thanks in advance.

There is a balance to a proper ENP victim. Most of the time it's sexier if the victim is pure and innocent, but then you start to feel sorry for them for going through such humiliation at all. This makes things feel unbalanced and wrong.

One of the tricks that I began using to adjust the balance in the other direction was to often put together a form of resolution at the end (usually some way that the ENP benefitted or advanced forward the life of the victim) so that the story ends on a positive note. For example, my most recent posting was my contest entry for Summer Slam, and in the end the victim Michelle's forced humiliation led to her getting closer to the boy she was crushing on.
That said boy was also going to avenge Michelle by doing something even worse to her sister/tormentor. This resolved much of the bad side of the event, making the story end with Michelle happy.

[Girlspns]

My go to for these situations is the classic "they secretly enjoy it", yes a lot of cruel things are happening to them, but it seems the victim actually enjoys it but is afraid to say so because of whatever reason they might have, either it be fear of escalation, personal conflict of emotions, or simply not wanting to get into trouble for doing things like that.

This can work even in stories that don't really involve or mention that, I've gotten very adept at telling myself this is alright because the person cannot believe how much this is turning them on and how it actually eats away at their will to resist, and then never bringing it up in the story.

Another way I like to use is that this is just a daydream/fantasizing session the character is having, the entire thing plays out, then they get dragged back to reality by whatever is actually happening, that can even work during a more mild predicament, where the character, say, is forced to streak around the school naked, and halfway through the vivid image of them getting caught, getting photographed by their peers, getting expelled or god forbid, something worse happens in their head, and then they pull themselves together and continue on a more mild adventure.

The fun bit is that this works much like what Executionus described, since you presented a far worse fate in the character's head, like getting caught by a teacher and expelled, if the situation escalates but still remains milder than the worst case scenario, like say, they get caught by a random student before they run away, or getting forced to masturbate to earn their clothes back by their bully, the impact is lessened and you can effectively get away with something you may feel bad about, but you still think "this could have gone much worse".

Maybe it's the neurotic in me, but I rarely feel bad because I can always imagine it being much, much worse for my characters.

[edithdick]

I don't know that I've ever felt bad for any of my characters, but after writing a couple of very intense and cruel stories, it did take me a couple of days to emotionally recover. As a result, I've been staying away from writing those sorts of cruel stories.

I can relate to this. I feel like writing Extreme Therapy broke something in me. It isn’t that I felt bad for Annie. Mentally and emotionally I was Annie while this played out in my head. Having her brain start to unravel was traumatizing to me, and I don’t think that I’ve fully recovered from that yet. Since then I’ve not mistreated any characters that way, and if I do, I’ll make sure that they deserve it.

[CaughtOfLore]

There is a balance to a proper ENP victim. Most of the time it's sexier if the victim is pure and innocent, but then you start to feel sorry for them for going through such humiliation at all. This makes things feel unbalanced and wrong.

One of the tricks that I began using to adjust the balance in the other direction was to often put together a form of resolution at the end (usually some way that the ENP benefitted or advanced forward the life of the victim) so that the story ends on a positive note. For example, my most recent posting was my contest entry for Summer Slam, and in the end the victim Michelle's forced humiliation led to her getting closer to the boy she was crushing on.
That said boy was also going to avenge Michelle by doing something even worse to her sister/tormentor. This resolved much of the bad side of the event, making the story end with Michelle happy.

This.

It can really help that mindset while writing if you yourself know that the character will come out of it all okay (and preferably better for the experience). When I write a story, I usually have specifics in mind that the character doesn’t have the foresight to know while in the midst of the story, but that I as a writer know will eventuate. Often writing with that closure in mind will help you push through feeling bad for the character, and builds good tension followed by catharsis for the reader once they get to the end.

[Nikolai]

There is a balance to a proper ENP victim. Most of the time it's sexier if the victim is pure and innocent, but then you start to feel sorry for them for going through such humiliation at all. This makes things feel unbalanced and wrong.

One of the tricks that I began using to adjust the balance in the other direction was to often put together a form of resolution at the end (usually some way that the ENP benefitted or advanced forward the life of the victim) so that the story ends on a positive note. For example, my most recent posting was my contest entry for Summer Slam, and in the end the victim Michelle's forced humiliation led to her getting closer to the boy she was crushing on.
That said boy was also going to avenge Michelle by doing something even worse to her sister/tormentor. This resolved much of the bad side of the event, making the story end with Michelle happy.

This.

It can really help that mindset while writing if you yourself know that the character will come out of it all okay (and preferably better for the experience). When I write a story, I usually have specifics in mind that the character doesn’t have the foresight to know while in the midst of the story, but that I as a writer know will eventuate. Often writing with that closure in mind will help you push through feeling bad for the character, and builds good tension followed by catharsis for the reader once they get to the end.

Not alot of happy endings or any endings for me as of late, but I agree completely; when writing after school brawl, i felt terrible to my character and everything she went through, even her friend getting involved, in the end they fell for eachother or something,

[Mariax]

Not a problem I have. The sweeter the character the more unfair and depraved situations I like to force them into.

The more unfair and humiliating, the better. I don't feel bad for the characters because in my head it's happening to me. Living vicariously through them is great.

[edithdick]

Not a problem I have. The sweeter the character the more unfair and depraved situations I like to force them into.

The more unfair and humiliating, the better. I don't feel bad for the characters because in my head it's happening to me. Living vicariously through them is great.

This is a great answer. I think I'll try that. The next time I have a character that is going through a humiliating and depraved situation, I'll try to imagine its happening to you instead.

[QuietCustom]

I do not enjoy writing (or reading) stories that are overly cruel to their characters. I understand the genre but there is definitely a line for me. One of the reasons I started writing was because many of the stories I read went too far, and I realized if I wanted something more vanilla I would have to write it myself. I imagine there are those who will find my stories too tame to enjoy, but I am my own audience and I know what I like.

Many of my protagonists are exhibitionists for this reason. Whether eager or shy or circumstantial, they secretly enjoy their predicament, or come to by the end. But they also tend to bite off more than they can chew, and a little bit of mischief turns into a long ordeal. Some of my characters are more reluctant, but at the end of the day they are merely embarrassed. Their lives aren't ruined and tomorrow they'll be fine.