State-Of-Mind Writing grief

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Feb 21, 2022
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Putting myself in the mood to write grief scenes. Is it strange that my favorite stories are the ones that portray grief so well that, not only am I upset about the inciting incident, but also I grieve with the characters?

Someone told me years ago the reason people are drawn to solo piano music is because the loneliness of the piece helps people to feel not alone. Like, something else is also alone, and we aren't alone in our loneliness (does that make sense?).

I think grief is the same way. To live with a person through a book and grieve and slowly begin to heal helps us heal from our grief. At least, those are my thoughts.

And finally, I give you this song that never fails to make me grieve and process.

 
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Putting myself in the mood to write grief scenes. Is it strange that my favorite stories are the ones that portray grief so well that, not only am I upset about the inciting incident, but also I grieve with the characters?

Someone told me years ago the reason people are drawn to solo piano music is because the loneliness of the piece helps people to feel not alone. Like, something else is also alone, and we aren't alone in our loneliness (does that make sense?).

I think grief is the same way. To live with a person through a book and grieve and slowly begin to heal helps us heal from our grief. At least, those are my thoughts.

And finally, I give you this song that never fails to make me grieve and process.


You want your readers to grieve with your characters. Don't you still cry when watching Bambi?
 
I agree that it should be the goal, but often I read books where the writers perhaps just expect us to grieve from the incident itself. That rarely happens for me. The way the revelation of grief is what draws me in.

Also. The Lion King.
 
This video is the most accurate depiction of despair that I've ever come across. They say god is in the details, and god is in the snot coming out of her nose. And the way she falls. But heavy suicide theme, so don't watch if you don't want to see that.

 
Whatever you do, please avoid this, or a variation on it: She touched her cheek - it was wet. She realised she was crying.

I have seen that so many times, in unpublished stories and it grinds my gears! Tears sting! You realise you are crying when you feel that stinging sensation and then, if you don't fight to suppress it, the tears come.

Rant over.
 
This video is the most accurate depiction of despair that I've ever come across. They say god is in the details, and god is in the snot coming out of her nose. And the way she falls. But heavy suicide theme, so don't watch if you don't want to see that.


I've learnt that snot coming out of your nose is because not all your tears come out. Some fall inwards and your tear ducts empty into your nose. Anyone who's pretending to cry - their nose doesn't run.

I always thought the devil was in the details.
 
Whatever you do, please avoid this, or a variation on it: She touched her cheek - it was wet. She realised she was crying.

I have seen that so many times, in unpublished stories and it grinds my gears! Tears sting! You realise you are crying when you feel that stinging sensation and then, if you don't fight to suppress it, the tears come.

Rant over.
But a couple of times I've woken and touched my cheek - it was wet. The pillow was wet. I realised I'd been crying in my sleep.
 
There's one thing guaranteed to make me cry, and that's Attilla the Stockbroker's poem, The Long Goodbye, that he wrote for his mother.

When I've seen him perform it live, I just can't hold back.
 
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