Sometimes I will take a look at the roleplaying forums of this site and possibly follow one or two if I feel like it. As someone who is also semi-active on Deviantart, I often notice a pattern with some people's original characters: horribly depressing backstories. I have nothing against characters with depressing backstories. It creates interest for fans/ readers as well as making some interesting character dynamics. HOWEVER, some of these seem way too common, even Mary-Sue/ Gary-Stu -ish at times. "She was extremely beautiful, but her parents were drug addicts and the rest of the family died in a car crash." Not saying all original characters are like this, hell, I'm guilty of the same thing. Maybe it's because many artists or writers (such as myself) deal with depression or enjoy writing tragic characters just for the sake of it. Though, it can get a tad repetitive in my opinion. What do you guys think?
I think that lots of writers, especially teenage writers, have an inclination toward the depressing and tragic. You put a right brain artist with a hormonal teenager and you get TRAGEDY.
I have nothing against tragic backstories, but yeah, I see the trend, too.
Yes, absolutely. I'm just as guilty of it as everyone else. But I guess I've tried to make things better. So one element of the tragic backstory that we see a lot is that the character has no family left. I think it's a major trend among younger characters to have their parents killed/held hostage because often times, that is what allows an adventure to start in certain genres. I mean, what responsible parent would allow their kid to go off on a potentially fatal adventure and fight monsters without a question? However, it is a kind of annoying trope, and I'd really like to see some fresh takes on it.
Do the tragic backstory right. Sometimes the smallest things are heartbreaking.
My characters have fairly depressing backstories just because I feel like it adds some depth. Granted, they still suffer from them, it’s not brushed off like it doesn’t matter.
One of the best tragic back stories I've seen recently was Jessica Jones' from Marvel's netflix series. I think the difference between bad oc's with tragic backstories and good ones is how the oc reacts to trauma. There should be lasting effects to these things. Jessica Jones' parents were killed in a car accident, she was given weird abilities, and then used and r@ped by a crazy mind control freak for those powers. Instead of acting like she was fine now and that was all over, Jessica has PTSD and alcoholism that actually effects her and the storyline. It's a struggle. That's what makes it make sense. Instead of glossing over the topic like "oh it was bad and I'm totally depressed but it doesn't effect me negatively now" the writers took the time to think about how trauma lingers with people. Tragic backstory just for the sake of pathos is kinda crappy, but antagonistic tragic backstory (basically backstory that hinders) is really effective.
Yeah. I know what you mean. idk y tho. sometimes the tragic backstories are integral to the story and sometimes they're just there to add "interest". I don't mind if they're integral to the story but if they are just there for the sake of it, it seems cliche and annoying.
Just my opinion.
Having side characters in novels with tragic backstories isn't as bad and overdone. I sometimes like that as it can definitely add depth to relationships etc.
I totally agree @writelikeyourerunningoutoftime
One of my characters co owned a law firm, and her business partner was killed in a car crash. It leads to her having difficulties with her arm due to the crash, an almost permanently bitter outlook on life, and becoming a bit of a lone wolf.
.jpg)
