How Dark Is Too Dark?

Photo courtesy of Free Digital Photos

A fair warning advisement - this post will not have a resolution at the end. 

I have no clue what the answer might be to the question "How dark is too dark?"  I'm not even sure there is an answer, because human taste is so subjective.  

That subjectivity is both the good news and the bad news.  Good because it means there has got to be someone out there who will love what you write, and bad for the exact same reason in reverse.

I suppose the goal is to get more people loving what you write than not loving it.  There's no way in hell anyone can please everybody, and have everybody love what you write.

Personally, I can only take dark, sad literature in very small bites (read never).  When I got to the end of The Last Oracle by James Rollins and the ending made me cry, I felt betrayed.  I enjoyed about the first five Anita Blake novels before the dark angst got too be too much.  I avoid sad, dark anything with a passion.

Color me surprised when The Age of Stars is dark, sad, pain filled and super-emotional.  I have three broken main characters, and the novel starts out with their brokenness splayed out on the page.  There will be a happy ending for two of them, as they heal each other.  The third, not so much.  His is a tragically sad ending, and the more I get to know his brokenness, the sadder I feel for him.  I think I need him to kick a cat or something so I stop feeling sorry for him.  He is the bad guy, after all.

 People use each other, betray each other, have their hearts broken, and apparently are going to have a lot of sex.  At least, to start with.

Photo courtesy of Free Digital Photos

Quick note - the sex isn't gratuitous.  It does figure very prominently into their emotional state and achieving their goals.  Once I get into the second act, I think things will calm down.  I hope - writing sex scenes is hard.

Before I even started writing the novel, I knew it was going to be a huge challenge for me.  I knew it was going to be dark and uncomfortable, but since I knew there was going to be a happy ending and the main characters grow to a better emotional place, I was okay with it.

Then I read this excellent post by Anna Elliott on Writer Unboxed about achieving that balance between likable and unlikable characters.  My head swam as I extrapolated the post to my whole book.

Am I writing an unlikable novel?  Would people, first of which would be agents and publishers, be willing to give my characters the chance to grow to the better place, or would they toss the book into the trash because it's too sad and too dark?

I don't know.

The story compels me, though.  I want to write it as I plotted it out.  The characters are fully formed in my mind.  To change the story would be false to me.

I had a little emotional breakdown over the weekend, and I owe a huge thanks to those of you who took the time to talk me down.  I decided to just write the first draft as planned, and do it as quickly as I can.  I'll give it some time to percolate, and then I'll decide what to do with it.  When in doubt, procrastinate, right?

Where do you think that line is when a story is too dark?  Have you ever written a story you thought was too dark?

Funny Photo Friday

I totally forgot I had to write a post until just now, 9:45 pm on Thursday night.  I don't think that's happened before in the almost two years I've been blogging.  It must be because I'm starting to gear up to return to school, and being a mother has really consumed my time the last two days.

Thanks to everyone who read and commented on the "What If" Blogfest story I wrote.  It always feels so good to hear that people like what we write, doesn't it!

We had a three way tie last week (Squanking, Predator Dog and Loreal Lion) so I'm not going to repost the pictures. 

New photos coming up....NOW!

WARNING:  Science Geek Humor Ahead...

The animal photos just weren't delivering this week, so I branched out, took a risk, and tried something new with some science and science fiction.  Hope you enjoyed the photos!

The goat really cracks me up, but  I like the Star Wars one, too. 

Did you find a favorite?

"What If..." Fairytale Madness Blogfest: Rumplestiltskin

It's time!  The "What If..." Fairytale Madness Blogfest is here!  To participate, we had to write a 300 word scene(s) that illustrated a new detail of a fairytale to change the perspective of the reader.


The four categories for this blog fest are (listed with their respective judges:

Team Tragedy: Leigh Covington

Team Comedy: Mark Koopmans

Team Plot Twist: Cassie Mae

Team Love Story:  Morgan Shamy

Late Saturday night, hyped up on a Starbucks Latte and a significant amount of Diet Coke, I got down to work.  I picked Rumplestiltskin, because I've always felt sorry for the poor guy, and landed squarely in Team Love Story.  I hope you enjoy the story!  I sure had fun writing it!

Rumplestiltskin

The miller’s daughter, now Queen and mother, searched the darkness for his return.  Her entire pregnancy was a calendar for their reunion.  Each month the child grew brought him that much closer to her.

“Rumplestiltskin.”  She tested the name, the memory.

Her father had brought her to the castle, innocent and young.  When all hope had fled, and she cried in fear of her impending death, Rumple had come to her--wiped her tears and held her close.  While he spun hay into gold, he told her of the King’s greed, and offered to take her away.  Stupidly, she trusted the King to free her, and refused.

Rumple returned the next night.  To take her mind off her troubles, he’d shared tales of faraway lands.  She remembered how his brown eyes danced and the curve of his smile.  Before he left they shared a kiss so tender the Queen’s heart ached.

The third night she waited for him, eager yet burdened with sorrow.  The King planned to marry her if she produced more gold, and threatened to kill her and her father if she didn’t.  She couldn’t leave the King now, but she was determined that love would have first claim upon her body.

In the early morning hours of the bittersweet evening, the Queen’s tears poured onto Rumple’s bare chest as she explained her future.   He’d listened, somber, and then made a request.  He wanted any child that might result from their union.   The King would have her, but he would have their love.

Sobbing, she'd agreed.

Tonight, he came to claim their daughter.  She watched for him, her heart pounding with anticipation.

The shadows beside the castle walls stirred. 

“Rumplestiltskin.”  She ran to him, their child in her arms,  never to return to her golden prison.

*****

Thank you Leigh, Mark, Cassie and Morgan for coming up with and hosting such a fun and creative blogfest!