How to Write a Good Fanfic

10.4.1 - PTSD

In 10.4 – Mental Illness I mentioned the fact writers like to turn a mental illness on and off conveniently, but PTSD is one of the worst-case offenders.

I'm sorry to say that PTSD is more often than not treated as a go to for the writer's self-insert to angst at random intervals simply because the writer wants them to, but they feel they can make the reaction as serve as they want to, yet the more severe it is the more pity points they think the character will win from the readers and the characters. However, I shouldn't be wondering as a reader why the character isn't being put into the mental ward because they go from functioning to not functioning at the flip of a switch.

The other day I read a story where a character fell to the ground and curled up into a fetal position simply because someone yelled at them, yet the writer wanted us to believe this fourteen-year-old could hold down a job despite the fact she was falling onto the ground like this. Worse, we were expected to believe she'd survived on her own – I'd like to say on the streets, but in reality this one was in the wilderness. The male characters were also painted badly despite the fact one was being OoC and the other was being blamed for her catatonic state.

Oh, did I mention the fact she was skipping around the yard as if everything was sunshine and daisies despite her traumatic past which led her to have her PTSD issue, yet she was way to trusting of adults and acted as if nothing traumatic ever happened to her. I'll admit that this does happen in real life, yet it's still not a simple on/off switch, but there are still negative reactions from people around them when they have an episode. Let's not forget the fact she info dumped her traumatic story to the first person who would listen.

Not related to this story, I'm really tired of all the stories where Hermione runs away from her problems after the war and people blame it on her PTSD to make an excuse rather than her simply wanting a fresh start. Having PTSD doesn't make you a coward but instead effects your perception of reality. Of course, if she was having issues where she felt those she cared about might get hurt because of her episode, that's different than running away, but I've never seen that twist.

It's used a lot as a "poor, pity me" moment, yet those with PTSD don't want to be pitied. They want to be treated normally as much as possible. Some are even in denial. It certainly shouldn't be used for just entertainment value. More often than not it is one of the major go-to when people want something to make their work more interesting, yet they don't put much thought into it.

So, research, treat them like people, and think carefully about why you're writing about the subject.