Schumi

So do you think a conversation with a care line could work? It would be a phone conversation though, which could prove difficult to write. There is also the option of her seeing a councillor to talk about the ordeal.

Like you said, she could get stuck somewhere, and whoever is with her at the time is the person who she would confide in. I like that idea, and will write a few ideas down for it.

I liked what you said about how Samantha could have bad dreams about the experience. At the time of the dreams, she could be going through a period where she refuses to acknowledge what happened, and the dreams are a message to her to deal with the problem. Would it be best to simply mention the dreams, or is there a way of actually making them part of the story? i.e. I write the dreams like it was happening again, and then she wakes up to reality.

Victoria Island

You need to think about the psychological effect a rape has on her. Have you written this into the chapters that you have done already? if not you either have to or not do it at all.

as for the actual writing i dont see a problem with it to be honest. Maybe it could be less of a planned thing and more a spur of the moment thing where he would pannic and do it to frighten her more -- to gain power.

As for the actual writing of it i would say stay away from being too graphic. Maybe you could suggest it more than be graphic about it.

when a person is raped-- from descriptions and testimonys of rape victims i have read -- they dont really remember every detail of it. You could make the description of it point out main bits of it without making it too graphic.

maybe you could try researching rape victims stories and look at how they describe it and base it on that.

as long as its tasteful then i dont see a problem with it.

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In the battle between handbag strap and doorhandle, far better knacker your handbag than let the doorhandle feel its won ~ Kate Long - The bad mothers handbook

Schumi

That would help, but I'm not sure where to look for that information. I could try Google, but I'm a little apprehensive of what the search results will be if I type in "rape victims stories".

Victoria Island

You could try this link that i foiund for you ...

http://www.welcometobarbados.org/

It has stories of rape victims and a forum, its a very good site set up by a rape victim herself.

maybe it will help?

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In the battle between handbag strap and doorhandle, far better knacker your handbag than let the doorhandle feel its won ~ Kate Long - The bad mothers handbook

cindyfreire

In my opinion, considering where you seem to be going with Samantha's attack, I think that a care line would lose the impact you will have on the reader. With a stranger, it has much more impact because, considering the horror of actually going through something like that, aside of the fear, there also the humiliation and to be handling it so badly that you find yourself opening up to a stranger--surrendering your fears of admitting what happened, makes it more intense and powerful. So I would definitely go with a stranger she is stuck with somewhere (again, where she is stuck and why, should have to do with the overall storyline).

As far as the dreams are concerned, she could start out by tossing and turning--seeing bits and pieces of the attack in her dreams, but unable to decifer what she is dreaming or what it means. Then, as the lack of sleep begins to weigh on her, she could start becoming more unglued, making others around her feel like they have to walk on egg shells around her (since she does not yet understand what is happening to her, she becomes more touchy and distant. That is, of course, just until she has her final dream (the one that shows her the attack--the one she wakes up screaming from). the fragments become more detailed, until finally, she understands and she wakes up screaming. I would not have her seek counceling. This can make the book drag, and considering the fact that she is in therapy if you take that route, she will seem unable to take her therapist's advice to move on--she will seem like she is dwelling on it, instead of facing it.

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Fantasy

Schumi

Thanks for your post cindyfreire. I'm currently writing the assault scene, and it's going okay so far. Obviously with it being a first draft there will be lots of things I can improve on. You may or may not agree, but I have decided to write the scene in graphic detail. If it's not working, then I will write something simpler, and leave out the graphic side of it. I feel I need to try writing it this way, just to see whether it fits with what I am doing.

How long would you say the scene should be? It is one of the most important parts of the book, so I think it needs to be of a good length. Your thoughts on this would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

Victoria Island

if i were reading it in a book i wouldnt want pages and pages of graphic detail about it.

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In the battle between handbag strap and doorhandle, far better knacker your handbag than let the doorhandle feel its won ~ Kate Long - The bad mothers handbook

cindyfreire

Well, I know, first hand about the part of a book that is critical to the book itself. Two chapters I wrote about a particular event in my book, took me three months to plan and plot in detail, and the result is amazing, if I do say so myself. So when you're planning the assault, try to begin by sitting and thinking about what you would do if you were the one who had been assaulted. What did you see, feel, hear, think? Don't just write it the way you think it should sound. Remember, there are no definitive rules in writing. You write what you believe will produce the greatest effect, and leave the various opinions of those who are against the assault, on the back burner.

Just write the scene the way you think it should be written and go from there.

As far as length, well, that all depends on how long you want Sam to endure the attack, and how long you want the reader to endure it. Try to be as concise as possible so you don't find yourself rattling on. Think of it this way, write it your way and then stop and read just the assault. Then ask yourself, did you feel you had to stop to catch your breath to continue (figuratively speaking of course). This is a good indication of the pacing. You want it to capture the reader's attention, instead of having the reader skim through that part of the book, searching for the end of the assault. That is when you know it is too long.

Now, about detail, or the amount of it is concerned, ask yourself this--how much do you want the reader to feel at the moment of the attack, if your considering having Sam dream of it later in bits and pieces? If you give away too much detail during the assault, then when the dreams begin, they will show nothing the reader does not already know, and therefore, will make it redundant and make the reader less inclined to read about it again.

You know what I did? When I was writing my book, and during the planning of all nine books in this series, I came up with many scenes that although they were great, I knew they had no place in the books. So, what I did was, I wrote the scenes out as individual scenes, as if they were going to be part of the series. I just did this for myself. It was fun to see the outcome of each one. And now, I have a seperate file for all the deleted or alternate scenes that will never make it into the books. It's great practice and very thought inducing. Besides, later, after you have become a best selling author, you will have those scenes to go back and reflect on and see your growth as a writer.

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Fantasy

Schumi

At the moment, I am more inclined to write the assault out in detail, and not rely so much on the dreams she has later on. After I have finished the first draft of this chapter, I will be moving onto other chapters, which will involve other characters, so the dreams may not happen straight away. I have a firm plan on paper of how the attack will take place, and feel I should try writing it in detail first, and then maybe not go into to much detail about the dreams. Simply say what she is seeing, and build the picture in stages etc.

This is probably going to sound strange, but while this is a vial attack on Samantha, I'm more inclined for the attacker not to be overly aggressive with her. Yes, he will sexually assault her, but he won't do it in a way where he is savage with her. I personally think this makes it more interesting. He will talk to her in a derogatory way, but he won't act as he talks, if that makes any sense. It's not easy to explain.

That's exactly what I want to do. I'm pretty sure I have written parts to the novel already that won't be in the final draft. But I'd like to keep them, so I eventually gather of collection of writing that only I will ever read. Basically, what you say above is why I am writing the assault scene in detail. I may well think this should be included in further drafts of my novel, or I may think it's to much, and simply file it away with others bits I have done.