Complete Escapism

[happyshep]

Here is a point that I made in our first discussion:

I think some of you said that you would imagine a character's reactions within your own reality, feeling their pain and joy instead of your own. Tokidokidoll called this an "extra step of detatchment" -- complete escapism. ...How many of you agree with this? (Edit: I should add that within roleplaying communities you are likely to meet individuals who choose to adopt their character's identity in reality as well as fantasy, so a crude link can be made here)

Can you relate to this statement or does this only apply to a minority?

[happyshep]

I'd just like to bump this topic.

Remember that you can view all of our discussions as a list by clicking on the "Discussion" category on the main menu rather than just the most recently updated topic.

[mpbrennan]

Oookay. Escapism. Thinking cap on.

I alluded a little to this in an earlier post (Why is it addicting possibly?), but, like many of us, I do often picture how a character would react to events in my life. Frequently, this is nothing more than a source of internal comic relief. Sometimes, I feel like I get a little revenge on a person who's annoying me by imagining how Miss Parker or Kara Thrace would rip them apart if only she were here. I have seen people take it too far; a friend I met on a forum once confessed that she was miserable during her high school years. As a coping mechanism, she tried to emulate almost every aspect of her favorite "Pretender" character . . . and that particular character was not a good role model in the slightest.

As far as the "extra step of detachment," for me that seems to relate more to taking an uncomfortable element from my reality and integrating it into my character's arc. It's not always a literal translation--my feelings regarding a painful breakup might provide the emotional source material for a character death, for instance. By recreating my own emotions in the "safe" environment of fanfic, I get a chance to work through them without having to deal with my own pain directly. Then, when the story is complete and I have successfully brought the characters through their issues, I feel empowered. I tell myself "if Character X can deal with Situation Y, then surely I can get through this measly little drama."

As a very personal example, not long ago I was in the very uncomfortable situation of having to end a relationship because it had become toxic for the other person. In the process of dealing with guilt, I wrote certain elements of this into my ongoing Pretender fic "Flight of Memory"--situations where characters had to hurt and betray someone they cared about because it was the only way to protect him. What started as a simple suspence fic for my own entertainment became a metaphor for what I was going through.

[supernoodle]

I would think all writers use their own feelings and emotions in their work. You have to write what you know. And using your feelings and working through them in a story with your charcters (or a TV show's characters) can be very theraputic.

I'm not much of a sharer, and neither is Dean Winchester, but when I think about how Dean might feel in a certain situation in a story, I can also work through my own thoughts and feelings. It helps me see that there is a process to our emotions - In a tag story to an episode I can explore why would Dean feel a certain way? What has happened in the past to make him act that way? And in an original story, I need to use the same process in reverse - if this happens, how will Dean feel? What will he do and why?

For a story to be readable, you have to try to draw the reader in - to make them identify with what you are writing. I know that on the show Supernatural, the writers use psychologists to try and push every fan-girl button there is, and I'm guessing that what with my obsession and all, they have done this quite sucessfully. So I don't think it's complete escapism at all - I think the more realistic a story is, the more the reader enjoys it.

The actual process of writing is always going to be escapism though - all writers like the opportunity to dissapear of into the world inside their heads for a while...

[happyshep]

This seems to be a difficult question to answer. If it were directed at me I don't think I could even begin to address it, so thank you very much to mpbrennan and supernoodle for succeeding here.

"As a coping mechanism, she tried to emulate almost every aspect of her favorite "Pretender" character . . . and that particular character was not a good role model in the slightest." -- mpbrennan, I once met a similar case and the memory of this person has haunted me ever since. She seemed to think as though she were a samurai sword-fighter and her adopted code of ethics caused her to behave in vivid outbursts of violence and brooding silence. She was painful to look upon.

"What started as a simple suspence fic for my own entertainment became a metaphor for what I was going through." - mpbrennan
"I would think all writers use their own feelings and emotions in their work." - supernoodle
-- You've both led me to realize that most often this isn't mere escapism, it is something present in all texts. We understand our world through experience and memory, and these things are often shaped by our emotive reactions. When we describe or invent something it is very likely to reflect either our current or past state of mind.
I thank you two for your very helpful responses.

[listyfox]

This is a difficult question to answer, but I want to start by saying that I am an extremely imaginative person who has always lived in her head, but I do know perfectly well what is fantasy and what is reality, even though I don't always like it, and don't always act or speak that way. Writing stories is a way for me to channel this excessive imagination and keep me from becoming too lost in my head.

That being said, I definitely imagine characters interacting with the real world around me. I think it is just a habit of my childhood, which was populated by imaginary friends (I grew up way out in the country with just a sister for a playmate, who joined me in a lot of imaginary play). It often happens when I'm bored and there is nothing else to occupy my brain, like when waiting in line or (especially) driving long distances in my car. But the notion can strike anytime, especially if I see something that reminds me sharply of the characters.

I have written fic directly about it, in private journal form, but I usually consider it (read: rationalize it as) more of an exercise in characterization, reactions I perceive or interactions with the setting can be used later in a completely unrelated fiction.

I don't normally share any of this with friends or family, though I have one real-life friend who does this too, and from time to time we will go from talking about them in my latest story to what they are doing presently. All in fun, of course.

[happyshep]

I'm going to close this topic to channel a bit of traffic into the new ones.