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 |   A month-long novel-planning challenge with prizes galore. |
| Actually, I'm not really sure how I'm going to write this year's Nano novel. Or even if I am able to write it. I've had no idea what to write prior to starting the prep yesterday. Now, the idea I have (the only idea I have) has a protagonist who is doing bad things, and that is what the story is about. So, she is also an antagonist because she is doing these bad things. And the antagonist is really an illness, not a person or any kind of sentient being. So I'm not sure how I will write the backstory. I know it's a way off, but I'm worrying already. Any suggestions on how to characterise an illness would be welcome. Just thought I'd share some of the things going around in my head right now. It's quite loud in there, lol, so I wanted to get it out. Do you dare enter the arena? Is your dragon ready to do battle? Then, check this out: "WDC Dragon Vale "  Dragon Vale Insignia |
| So, the protag is afflicted by an illness that makes them do bad things? If so, how does the illness do this - does it tap into a subconscious thing in the afflicted person, or is it an entity of its own, like some sort of bacterium? And writing a story from the PoV of a villain can be so much fun... |
| That sounds interesting. If it's a mental illness there are a few ways you could work things into the story. Research will be helpful and I bet there are a couple of days later in the month that will aid on that side. I don't know exactly how to write that but there is that Joker movie coming out soon, which might be a good reference. I do think a protagonist can be the antagonist that gets in the way of what they want. You could even do a regular story for the protagonist profile and maybe with the antagonist one write a story if there are hints or manifestations of the illness when the character was younger. Depends on the illness and how it develops. |
| Perhaps making it a schizophrenic kinda thing, two personalities? or a dream personality who is bugging the MC? Hello Be careful out there! |
| I think your idea is quite interesting. Hmmmm! I was thinking of a backstory;;; is your protagonist a Doctor? Maybe employed by Doctors Without Borders? Maybe she/he was in some wayoff country to do surgeries and encountered some sort of mist or fog before returning to the US? Just a couple of thoughts. I know that organization has many doners but I thought this one, Odysseys Unlimited, sounded good for your story. Chrys |
| This is a FANTASTIC idea - very timely. Society is working hard (and loudly) to destigmatize mental illness, and I also see parallels to some political issues. Off the top of my head: - what if mental illness were normalized too far, such that society identified mental illness as a character trait rather than how it is currently considered (a disease) - what if doctors stopped treating mental illness entirely - (or) what if we normalized having the choice to treat our mental illness vs having it forced upon us by society/law enforcement/doctors/politicians (parallels to abortion rights?) - (or) what if it went the other way, and mental illness was treated as a crime / made illegal (parallels to criminalization of homosexuality in some cultures?) What would your character need to do to stay out of jail / off the execution block? Would there be secret organizations supporting people with mental illness? Docs who treat mental illness on the DL, also occasionally getting in trouble for it? Since your character keeps doing Bad Things, seems likely they will get caught... Cheers, Michelle Battywyn |
 1,000 GPs were sent to Dawn Embers  with this post.Cheers, Michelle Battywyn |
1,000 GPs were sent to WakeUpAndLive~doingNaNo'24  with this post.Cheers, Michelle Battywyn |
5,000 GPs were sent to Chrys O'Shea  with this post.Cheers, Michelle Image #1958063 over display limit. -?- |
Thanks for all these ideas. I'm feeling a lot more positive about this now. I love the idea of writing my protagonist backstory as one side of the character and the antagonist as another. I've seen advertisements for the new Joker movie a lot lately, and I've thought it looks really good. So I think using it as research is a good excuse to buy it on Sky Store when it's out  Do you dare enter the arena? Is your dragon ready to do battle? Then, check this out: "WDC Dragon Vale " Dragon Vale Insignia |
| As someone in the mental health sector, I'd just like to point out that schizophrenia isn't the same as multiple personalities. I know it's portrayed that way in Hollywood, but it's not. Schizophrenia tends to have hallucinations and delusions, usually paranoid delusions, as primary symptoms. It's usually very hard to treat, partly because the people don't trust others, so they don't trust the meds. Since the meds take away the hallucinations and paranoid delusions, they often reason that their ability to discern reality is being blunted, so they won't take their meds so they can see the truth. Also, if they are able to realize those beliefs really weren't true, for some reason, they often think they don't need theor meds anymore because they're now fine. They get off them, the parania comes back, and it's super hard to get them back on again. There is no cure for schizophrenia. They must remain medicated to remain stable. They often don't live productive lives because they often don't stay on medication. Multiple personality disorder, now called dissociative identity disorder, doesn't tend to have either paranoia or hallucinations, though I suppose one could argue that the person is under the delusion that they are different people. However, in severe cases, 1 personality can have positive pregnancy tests while another doesn't or 1 will need glasses while another doesn't, so it can be a wild medical situation. To mt knowledge, there is no medicine to cure MPD/DID. One of the common treatments is to get to know the personalities and introduce them to the original one (I forgot the term for the original person) and help them become integrated. They also have to face the trauma that caused the splitting of personalities. They can, eventually, with a lot of therapy, approach something that seems like a cure and they can live productive lives. Another difference is that doctors agree, and have for a VERY long time, that schizophrenia exists. However, there are still many professionals who question or downright disagree with the idea of DID being a "real" disorder. Additionally, schizophrenia has a genetic component, while DID does not...that we've discovered. A commonality is that both are born out of trauma. DiD requires severe childhood trauma, causing parts of the original identity to split, generally resulting in a protector as well as other personalities. Schizophrenia can be triggered at an older age, though usually not beyond the 20's. It's a complete breakdown of the person's ability to cope more than it is an actual coping mechanism like DID is. Sorry for such a long response. A lot of folks get the 2 confused. I like to try to set things straight when I can. Lol |
| My stepson is diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder (which basically means he has both schizophrenia and bipolar symptoms). I remember the first really weird thing he said to me and his dad. He told us he was eating dinner with his mom at a restaurant, but he had to get out of there because the people at the next table kept staring and talking about him. So he left, but when he stopped for gas, the person pumping gas next to him was staring at him because those people from the restaurant had told that guy whatever it was they were saying about him, so he had to get out of there, too. After a couple stints in the behavioral hospital, he's been medicated and was doing well at his job for about two years, then he stopped going to work, and we discovered he hadn't taken his meds in awhile. We used to monitor his meds but he'd been doing well so we let him take over, which was obviously a mistake. By the time we realized how long he'd been off the meds (it was at least a month, maybe two), he almost lost his job, and he moved out of our house and in with his mom (he's 26), because he wasn't comfortable living with us anymore. He thought I hated him and wanted him to be put in jail or rendered no longer alive.  With his mom's help, he got back on his meds and started working again. At that point he had requested medical leave and therefore lost his supervisor promotion but not his employment overall. He's been back at work and doing okay. But to your point, he has to be monitored constantly. And to your other point, he doesn't have split personalities; just severe paranoid delusions. |
Oh, wow! That's so hard! I'm so sorry to hear that! Unfortunately, it does sound typical. I'm glad he's got support and with that, is able to stay on medication. For most people with schizophrenia, they absolutely can live normal lives WITH MEDICATION. The problem is simply keeping them on it. A lot of people who are homeless have mental health disorders, including schizophrenia and it's just such a challenge. He's lucky to have you all supporting him!  Unfortunately, not everyone does, either because they alienated the people and the people weren't educated enough about how to help and that medication can "fix" things if they can get them to stay on, or the people who should be their support system are not able to be supportive, either due to their own issues or just the type of people they are. Thank you for sharing! You're even more awesome than I realized! |
500 GPs were sent to Schnujo's Doing NaNoWriMo?  with this post. |
| Yay! Good luck! I love that idea...since I'm considering similar ideas. lol Run with it! |
| You can totally do this. You might need to be flexible with the prompts but they're here to help, not to hinder, so work them to benefit your story and don't worry about being to the letter on things. The important thing, as I understand it, is spending your 15 minutes a day minimum on planning. |
| I really appreciate all of your comments, and the things you've shared on here. I've probably spent about four hours over the last couple of days, just writing about my main character and getting to know her really well. I feel for her. She does (will do, at least) bad things, but I completely understand why she does them. She doesn't have schizophrenia or DID, although she is kind of having a psychotic break. She has spent time in a psychiatric hospital in the past, but for the last seven or eight years, she's been well. But now, the trigger has, well, triggered her. Do you dare enter the arena? Is your dragon ready to do battle? Then, check this out: "WDC Dragon Vale " Dragon Vale Insignia |
1,000 GPs were sent to š» thankful pwheeler nano  with this post.Cheers, Michelle Image #1958063 over display limit. -?- |
1,000 GPs were sent to s  with this post.Oooh - a mind altering bacteria. I totally like this take. Interesting. There are bacteria that migrate to the brain, cross that blood/brain barrier. So it is conceivable someone could alter some and use them as weapons? Queen NormaJean Image #2291665 over display limit. -?- . Image #2291664 over display limit. -?- . Image #2273455 over display limit. -?- . Image #2273457 over display limit. -?- Preferred Author |
| From the sounds of it you've got a good grasp on your main character. There was this guy called Byron who invented a protagonist who was imperfect or did bad things. It used to be called a Byronic hero. More recently, the term Anti-hero has been used. So you go! Have fun developing your anti-hero and her story!  |
| 2,500 GPs were sent to Schnujo's Doing NaNoWriMo? with this post. Woooo, Schnujo's Doing NaNoWriMo? ! That was helpful! You've been awarded by a Cheerleading Gift Point Fairy! My Sig |
2,500 GPs were sent to Brandiwynš¶  with this post.Woooo, Brandiwynš¶ ! That was helpful! You've been awarded by a Cheerleading Gift Point Fairy! My Sig |
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