forum How do you write your characters with immense guilt after what horrible things they've done?

Started November 03, 2024 by lol5

tune

Im curious about how you write characters who are deeply remorseful for their past actions. Any advice?

Oooh boy, I’ve got a whole lot to say on this one.

Really, there’s two ways I’ve written this into a character.

On one hand, I have characters who tries their best to not think about it, and who’ll just break down if someone mentions it enough times.

On the other hand, I also have characters who constantly dwell on their past selves and pay for it daily. They want to apologize for their actions or make them up in some way, but for whatever reason, they can’t.

And for both of these types, they’ve usually become very meek and modest after the incident happens and the consequences set in.
They’ll be content to let someone walk all over them if it means that they’re “making up” their transgressions.

Just my two cents.

Another thing you can do is to use your own emotions as a reference point. I typically think of a time when I was faced with immense guilt and use that emotion to fuel that scene. But that's just me honestly

id suggest reading the Sea of Ink and Gold trilogy. both of the protagonists carry lots of guilt, so you can take pointers from that. and its a great series, the best ive ever read and ive read a lot

Okay so my character (Eli Bradford) is like highkey super manipulative and anger-prone. He's not a good person but it's because his parents are actual garbage and he was never raised right. Anyways, after his friend Ethan tries to leave their almost 9 year long toxic friendship, Eli demands Ethan talk to him in person and gets violent enough that he accidentally kills Ethan.

He kinda goes hysterical afterwards and then locks himself in his room for weeks. He's deathly terrified of getting caught and thrown into jail so he just begins lying. He's got uh … bad coping mechanisms (no, not alcohol or smoking) so lets just say those get worse. He disassociates like crazy until he eventually begins convincing himself that the death wasn't his fault.. it was Ethan's. If Ethan hadn't tried to leave then he wouldn't have angered Eli enough to cause the accident. Yadda Yadda. Anyways, Eli fully convinces himself that is was Ethan's fault (even though deep down he knows it wasn't), and he genuinely just hates himself further.

I need to stop yapping here or I'll have a fourteen page essay done about this and NOBODY wants to read that.