I have a character who's significant other was killed and then she was turned to stone for several centuries. When she gets awaken she realizes that everyone she knew is dead as well as her significant other. There is also a few other characters who died before she was turned to stone but her so will be the main focus.
I've never experienced the death of someone close to me though so I honestly have no idea how to write a grieving character. Some dos and don'ts would be really helpful, please. :)
Do: Let the reader see that your main character is in a shock
Don't: Let your character be happy really quickly maybe just a little smile but not a laugh in the first view days
I hope this will help you a little bit :)
The five stages of grief are anger, denial, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Each person is unique when it comes to how long the phases last/ how intense each phase is. For example, my character's husband has been dead for years, but she is still in both the anger and the depression phase because she deals with her grief poorly. Some people, like my character, repress their grief unhealthily, whether it be through drugs or alcohol, putting on a happy face, or ignoring their feelings entirely. For the average person, however, it takes time, support, and self-care to bring them out of the depression phase and into the acceptance phase. After acceptance, the problems don't magically disappear. There will always be an absence where the deceased person once was, and they will feel that absence at random times. Grief can last for years, and the lingering effects of grief can last even longer. It depends on the character/the person involved.
People react to grief differently. My mom is more of a worrier. My sister will have nightmares about the death. I ignore it and keep going (I'm pretty sure that's really unhealthy.)
Hesitation about another S O will be a big deal. Trust me on that.
A resource that might be helpful: There is a character called Zeno in the anime Akatsuki no Yona (Yona of the Dawn). He's immortal in a world full of mortal people . In two extra episodes the show sort of delves into his backstory, where he is alive and has to watch everyone he knows grow old and die without him. I think the episodes give really good insight into the sort of grief he's experiencing, which could in some ways be similar to the grief your character experiences. I think you can find the episodes on youtube, under "Zeno's backstory"
Of course, as the others already said, all grief looks different and depends a lot on the character of the griever before the incident happens, but maybe this is a good place to start.
