I've been working on a new story, and in it one of the main characters has been abused almost her entire life. She and her twin sister were taken from their homes when they were babies, and raised by the bad guys.
When she's about 18, she becomes pregnant, and runs away because she doesn't want the baby to become like his father.
The whole point of this is that she later joins up with a group of some more characters of mine, and she learns to put her hope in God from them.

The story would start right after she ran away, so I wouldn't have to go into the really dark stuff.

Do you guys think that this would make an interesting basis for a story? The only thing I was worried about is that her history is rather dark, and I was a little unsure about that. The rest of the story is about the other group of characters, and that part is like normal: lots of traveling, battles, and elves.

What do you guys think?

I really like the idea myself. I think it's perfectly fine for a character to have a dark past. Life isn't always happy.

We live in a fallen world. People complain about dark themes in a book, but I think that that is wrong. We are not of this world, but we do have to live here for the time being, and that means that we will need to deal with sin.

As long as you handle evil as evil, and don't go into gory details etc (and I'm sure you wouldn't.) I think it is very appropriate to write about more serious matters. Especially if there is the theme of redemption, which is my favorite thing in the world to read about.

Okay, what both of you said makes sense! The theme will definitely be redemption.

And don't worry; I wasn't planning on going into any gory details!

Well, it's set in a fantasy world that I'm in the process of creating (as in I just started. ) and there are elves and such in it. But she was kidnapped because of a war going on between her country and another one.
And like I said earlier, there are other main characters in the story too (whose stories aren't so dark), but she's one of the more important ones.

Sounds very intriguing! And, it sounds like something I'd read. As for the dark past, I'm not bothered by it (although, when it's published, I suggest it not be published as Children's Lit); several of my characters have dark pasts (and futures). And I agree with what has been said; if redemption is the theme, and evil is shown to be evil and NOT acceptable, the dark aspect shouldn't be a problem.

Thanks for the encouragement, Elestar! And when it's published (hopefully ) I don't think I'll say it's children's lit.

the problem is not when people put evil and dark things in their stories, but when they make it seem as if the evil is okay.

I think that your story sounds cool. What happens to the twin sister?

That sounds good! And don't worry about the dark past, stories with perfect characters with perfect pasts are boring. Obviously her dark past shouldn't be all that defines her, I've read stories like that that are all whining and angst. Again, it's boring. Plus, having problems in her past will be make it more effective when she puts her trust in God, the whole, "The sick need a doctor more than the well" thing. So yeah, it sounds like it could be really good! And like Fiona said, what happens to her sister? Does your main character save her, does she stay, do they ever find eachother? That could make it really intersting.

Her twin sister is raised by the evil commander and his wife, and she becomes just as evil as they are. I think she's going to become a leader in the Gralian army. (Gra is a country that has completely turned its back on God, and they are trying to destroy everyone who is still faithful.) She and her sister will eventually meet, but I'm not exactly sure what will happen then!

Thanks for pointing out the verse about the sick needing a doctor more than the healthy, Deanna! That verse is perfect for my story!

Cool!

Awesome! *fangirlish squee* I love long-lost sibling stories!

LOL I'm glad you like it!

You know, I have always liked stories that reveal some of the past near the end... maybe you should do that... but not the unnecessary stuff...

That was actually part of my plan. I figured that I would reveal little bits and pieces of her past as the story goes on. I always like it in stories when there's a little bit of mystery behind some of the characters!

Okay, I have a new question about this story.

Is it really necessary for Ciarra to get pregnant? Like I said before, it would happen before my story started, and there wouldn't be any nasty details.

My reasons for making her pregnant were that it would bring out some of her character traits (since she would eventually be a mother), and it would be the catalyst for her escape. However, I could probably bring those character traits out in other ways, and she could escape just because she is sick of being abused.

This is a really touchy subject, so I'm trying to be careful when I write about it. Does anyone have any thoughts on it?

If you could do it another way, I personally don't think it would be necessary. But I'm not sure what fits your story better.

That's what I was thinking. I want to make sure that my story is Christ-honoring, and I think it might be more so if I just leave that out.

The fact that she is now carrying a little life inside her is not the evil thing. What caused her to be carrying a child is what was wrong, and if she was involved in that kind of lifestyle in a previous life, then whether she is pregnant or not from it, isn't a morality issue as far as writing is concerned. Does that make sense?

If motherhood is necessary for character development then go for it! And maybe even carry a pro-life message along with it. If it won't help the story in any way, then it should be dropped like any other useless scene or event.

That's my opinion. You as the writer, should of course do as your conscience dictates. I would be very interested in reading this story though! Do you have any excerpts I could look over?

Thanks, Willow! You definitely gave me some good things to think about. I really like the idea of her being a mother; I really think it will help the story in some areas. And a pro-life message would be very good too.

If you haven't noticed yet, I'm not very good at making decisions. I tend to go back and forth on things like this.



Um... about that. I've started it twice, and scrapped both attempts. But when I actually get something that I like, I'll post it here!

So... I have I new problem with this story. When I wrote my outline, I realized the story needs to start before Ciarra runs away. In order for her to be the main character, I need to give that background, and I really don't want to give it through a bunch of "telling".

Anyway. Has anyone here ever written about an abuse situation before, or have any ideas on how to handle it? I don't want to cross any lines, but I also don't want to make it seem trivial, if that makes any sense.

(And... this isn't my main focus right now, which is why I'm only just now outlining it. )

I suppose it could be done as a nightmares, which can be caused by traumatic situations. Since nightmares are often very realistic, except for one thing, you don't have to worry as much about the shocking details.

Or if it's 1st person, the narrator can decide which details to share or to not share.

I agree with Varon. Or, you would could just give the reader a feeling that something traumatic happened in her past. Then reveal it later...