Thread: How to approch violance in your story.

i been wanting to ask about this before i get started on my story about my vampire character meeting a fae or fairy Mary can be quite violent in her stories but there is a paradox she dose not like taking innocennt life but she has no guilt for killing villians and she can snap necks and has for my fairy queen Lunara she wants to resolve conflicts with out violence but she will fight if it comes to that she usally weilds a enchanted sword and then there are the masscare Mary describes which is the first time she has killed which she was in her Blood Rage she says " i can even remmber how i killed so many people i can only hear the screams and when i came to i saw has if a wild beast tore through and i saw the blood on my hands and relized i was that beast and that moment has haunted me for ever" i will reaveal more about that in the story but so how do i approach it without going overboard?

Violence is best handled outright. Pushed into a corner and a fit of rage, all of us are capable of killing. You just have to meet your limit.

To avoid going overboard I usually just describe a violent scene in terms of just actions rather than lots of emotion, for example

'Xanthe smashed his nose with a little caress from her palm, then grabbed his shoulders and began crushing the bones.'

I'm not that experienced though. It might work from the reader's point of view or might not...

^ This is actually good advice. When writing violence, just describe how the violent scene goes, then insert some emotions if they need be. Here's an excerpt from a fan-fiction novella of mine just to give an example:

"The gargantuan swooped down from his pedestal straight to Cairne’s direction. Look at him. An old, wretched creature who doesn’t deserve any mercy. Die! The Lich King opened his mouth and blew forth a wave of blue-black flame. The tauren saw through this attack and managed to dodge it by smashing the Breeching Comet down to his right, thus propelling him sideways."

I don't mean to be offensive, but if you are going to ask a question in a forum for and by writers, do you think it might be appropriate to use some basic writing courtesies like capitalization and punctuation. I couldn't even get through your question.

Hi Narnian, in my vamp novel the queen vamp only kills just the one time in order to save her life. The scene is extremely bloody, but it is countered by the death of a vile human being who has preyed on the weak all his evil life. So you almost feel sorry for the evil one who is finally at peace.

Sometimes it is needed to describe broadly the situation. There you can move with more words.

You must incude the effect of th eviolence on the protagonists emotions or can get a little gratuitous just like explicit sex scenes

Originally Posted by sportourer1

You must incude the effect of th eviolence on the protagonists emotions or can get a little gratuitous just like explicit sex scenes

I think this is good advice, and the typo "eviolence" makes is pretty interesting too.

Perhaps you could use my technique (not proven by anyone), make the scene as un noticeable as possible. Make it small, easy to comprehend so that the person dismisses it and moves on. For example, 'The guard standing at the entrnace looked straight at him but Bones quickly gave a blow to his head, snapping it. Entering the butchers shop he noticed that the Fallen's mark was out of shape'. The scene is small people dismiss it and move on to the exciting part that comes up next.

Sometimes I try to think of my intended audience and decide whether I need to write PG-13 or R-rated. You are writing about vampires so some gruesome violence is a given. However, you can decide whether to say that blood nearly covered the table OR describe how it looks when it drips off, while the victim's head hangs by a flap of skin and the red, squirting fountain in his open neck begins to fade away. Personally, I wouldn't want my kid reading a book like that. But it does appeal to a certain audience.
Violence is necessary to describe what happens, and simply to be realistic, but you have to decide how graphic to get. Others on this forum have suggested balancing the physical actions with the emotions of the character, but it looks like you are aware of this already.
I am struggling with the same issue, and I haven't solved any riddles, but hopefully this is another way to frame the question so you can find your answer easier.