In an article for Writer’s Digest, Veronica Gutierrez shares four tips for writing about guilt in fiction. Can guilt help you tell a good story? “It can—if it forms the basis of a character’s actions, if it’s authentic, if it isn’t tied up in a pretty bow, and if it has consequences,” Gutierrez says.
- Tip #1: Make guilt the basis of a character’s actions. Guilt can cause a character to form misbeliefs that drive their story. Guilt can drive a character to make amends, avoid certain situations or people, or even act out in anger. It works best when it’s under the surface, Guiterrez says, “something that gnaws at your main character, something that you don’t have to tell as much as show: a sudden twitch, a tick, a difference in skin tone, a change in vocal timbre, etc.”
- Tip #2: Make guilt authentic. “Whether it’s all-consuming or a minor part of a character’s background, feelings of guilt must be authentic and believable, especially when unjustified,” Guiterrez writes.
- Tip #3: Let guilt linger. “As in real life, and much like grief, feelings of guilt are not something that disappear suddenly,” Guiterrez says. “No, they are something we continue to carry with us, even if to a smaller degree.” Guilt may lessen over time, but it doesn’t vanish, but transforms into regret.
- Tip #4: Let it have consequences. Guilt should prompt your character to action and growth. It can also have repercussions down through generations. “Guilt wouldn’t be the gift that keeps on giving otherwise,” Guiterrez concludes.
