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Still Crying Over Fictional Characters
Oct. 8th, 2020 12:47 pmCompleted Story Grief
https://kedreeva.tumblr.com/post/631319071369166848/janetm74-kedreeva-you-know-what-doesnt-get
On top of just the empty feeling, there follows that bittersweet sense of understanding that this thing which has for so long been your companion is no longer just your companion, and that you have in some ways severed the ties with it, because you will not be writing it anymore. You might write other stories related to it. You might write stories in the same world. Or stories with the same characters. But THAT story is finished. That story has been taken out of you and put where it can be a part of everyone that reads it. That is unimaginably happy and sad at the same time.
Wow this post spoke to me.
The OP does an excellent job of explaining something I've never been able to put into words, which is why it always takes me a few months to go from one big writing project to another: I need time to grieve and move on. This is true for fiction, because of course it is, but it's also true for nonfiction as well.
On top of that, for me especially, there's also the added grief of, "This didn't get a response I feel was commensurate to the love I put into it. I poured my heart into this, and no one cared." So on top of the grief of losing a friend, there's also the grief of something akin to a romantic breakup. I know this is relative, because I've seen writers on AO3 with thousands of kudos and comments and bookmarks express the same disappointment. I think that relativity actually speaks to the fact that this type of grief is probably more common than many people would like to acknowledge.
What can I say, writing is hard. Storytelling is hard. Creating an entire world from nothing is hard. It's fun, but also, it's hard.
https://kedreeva.tumblr.com/post/631319071369166848/janetm74-kedreeva-you-know-what-doesnt-get
On top of just the empty feeling, there follows that bittersweet sense of understanding that this thing which has for so long been your companion is no longer just your companion, and that you have in some ways severed the ties with it, because you will not be writing it anymore. You might write other stories related to it. You might write stories in the same world. Or stories with the same characters. But THAT story is finished. That story has been taken out of you and put where it can be a part of everyone that reads it. That is unimaginably happy and sad at the same time.
Wow this post spoke to me.
The OP does an excellent job of explaining something I've never been able to put into words, which is why it always takes me a few months to go from one big writing project to another: I need time to grieve and move on. This is true for fiction, because of course it is, but it's also true for nonfiction as well.
On top of that, for me especially, there's also the added grief of, "This didn't get a response I feel was commensurate to the love I put into it. I poured my heart into this, and no one cared." So on top of the grief of losing a friend, there's also the grief of something akin to a romantic breakup. I know this is relative, because I've seen writers on AO3 with thousands of kudos and comments and bookmarks express the same disappointment. I think that relativity actually speaks to the fact that this type of grief is probably more common than many people would like to acknowledge.
What can I say, writing is hard. Storytelling is hard. Creating an entire world from nothing is hard. It's fun, but also, it's hard.
