Following on from the last posting, I was wondering if anyone could advise me

My novel is based around the victim of rape and then a stalking campaign. As it is such a delicate subject matter I am not sure how to do anymore research other then the anonymous writing that I have read on-line or in texts.

Does anyone have any advice?

Thank you
Eve

I'm noy quite sure how you'd approach this but how about writing to, or telephoning, a support group or charity or something like. You might find that some victims would want people to know their stories and experiences. Delicate subject though, although it is one that has been tackled and tackled well. The Lovely Bones springs to mind, although the author had suffered this horrendous attack herself.

Sorry not be more helpful.

BEst of luck with it.

Nik.

Of course you need to tread carefully with victims themselves, but perhaps victim support organisations would have people used to talking to the press about the facts and issues.

But don't underestimate the power of imagination to extend from your own instinctive knowledge of yourself to other people in other situations. There's a risk with all research that you plonk it on the page and don't really engage with the smells and tastes and feelings in all their shifts and nuances. Research is no substitute for that kind of deep engagement with the human truth of the matter.

It's not in the same league, but in an early piece, while happily married myself, I imagined out and wrote a divorce in all its bloody detail. Some years later I went through a divorce myself, and some years after that went back to the piece. I had been right, I found: that is how it is. And that's when I knew I was a writer.

Emma

Good advice from Nik and Emma.

Lucky by Alice Sebold, is an account of her own experience of rape. I haven’t read it, but judging from The Lovely Bones, I would imagine it’s worth the read from a research angle.

Having said that, we’re talking about empathy here; the ability to imagine yourself in a situation and then recording your feelings, both physical and emotional. If you can do that, it goes a long way towards your research.

Dee

I've read Lucky and would say it gives a pretty graphic account of what it's like to be raped. I nearly fainted on the tube, while reading it - had to put my head between my knees. A kind woman opposite offered me an apple and the man sitting beside me got up and moved away, no doubt fearing I was about to be sick all over his smart city trousers.

Frances

Eve - put yourself in the victim's shoes, I think, is a strong way of moving forward on this one. How would you/she feel? What are her reactions/thoughts etc? I did some thinking/reading around the subject for my latest novel, "Thorn in the Flesh", which has a very similar theme to yours, but a large part of it came from my own questions to myself.

Good luck with the project!

A
xxx

Just don’t fall into the trap of how society dictates we should react. ‘Society says this… therefore, if I'm a normal person, that’s how I should feel. We are all individuals, and there is no right or wrong way to react to this situation.

Be interested to hear what the men on WW think…

Dee

Thanks for all your thoughts.

I'm really pleased as this reinforces what I already believed. I wrote the rape with myself in mind, imagining my own thoughts and feelings about going through such an ordeal.

Everyone that has read it (including an agent) has been very positive, I guess the last few days Ive been having those awful feelings of self-doubt, 'should I have done more research etc?' Though to be honest I have been having a bad week this week, where I just want to tear it all up and start again!

Emma I totally agree with what you said, from a young age I have always imagined things happening to me and writing them down. I remember writing a story when I was 13 about my parents divorcing, thankfully it never happened but I found myself crying as I wrote it. I guess it's amazing what the imagination can do, it's such a powerful tool.

I have also read Lucky and it was a very thought provoking and quite uncomfortable read. I have avoiding going into as much detail as this book, as my story is based more on events after the attack. But it did help me in the initial stages.

Like Dee I would be interested to hear the male views on this matter..!

Eve

Hi

I think one of the most wonderful things about being a writer of fiction, is that we can act out so much without getting too deep into the icky stuff. I understand the need to be authentic, but surely speaking to real victims of rape in order to write fiction about it might be seen like you're capitilising on another's pain? Just a thought. I think you'd be able, as has been succinctly said, to imagine yourself in that situation, read a few decent books on the subject, and go from there. Unless you're writing something factual i.e a self-help or analysis book, I'd personally steer clear of getting too into it, or you may find your inspiration crushed by the distasteful, horrific and widespread realities of rape.

Remember that we, as writers, deal in the imagination. If we experienced everything we wrote about, most of us would be long dead.

That's my two pennies worth.

JB