Let Death Touch Your Characters – Writing Grief
“There was a roaring in my ears and I lost track of what they were saying. I believe it was the physical manifestation of unbearable grief.” Barbara Kingsolver. D. Wallace Peach writes a great and moving post about letting death touch your characters.
All my three novels (2 and 3 are works-in-progress) deal in part with the shocking finality of death and what it does to our psyches…no matter who we are and what we believe, death stuns us – I’m talking about “normal” folks here, not the sociopath or psychopath. We can allow it to make us bitter or better. I choose better…..now please do read on…
Originally posted on Myths of the Mirror:
The first book I read that dealt with death was Charlotte’s Web. I cried at the little spider’s demise and reread the book a week later, so I could cry again.
When I grew up, I became a grief counselor and hospice volunteer. I ran grief groups for children and families. The resiliency of children, their ability to find joy in the midst of deep sorrow and uncertainty, led me to a career in early childhood mental health.
I did all this before death balled up a fist and punched me in the face.
On July 3, 2003, my youngest brother, Dan, was shot in the head. Twelve years later, his murder remains officially unsolved.
As you might imagine, my experience has led me to be somewhat discerning about the presence of grief in the books I read. In fact, a psychologically “normal” character’s complete lack of any grief response to the death of…
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