Going from drinking the problems away, to taking responsibility...

[lonewolfwanderer]

Thanks to everyone here, i've managed to shorten the gap between the beginning and the end of my WIP. However, there is still a gap...

One of the problems is... One of my character's has turned to alcohol as a means to "drown" his guilt of ending the world. But he needs to, at some point, decide to stop drinking and take action and do something to fix the problem he has created. But i don't know what his motivation is to do so... What helps him decide to stop drinking and work towards saving the day?

While drunk he stumbles across my main character, and they end up travelling together. through the journey or whatever, they come across a few other characters who also join them. Two of these characters are kids.

I just can't work out what the deciding factor would be for said character to take responsibility for what he did, rather than run away. Any ideas?

 

[alchemist]

It has to be true to his character. What makes him tick?

Does he have an internal moral code that'll kick in? Or will he only do the right thing when confronted with the victims of his actions? Or will he only act in his own self-interest?

 

[lonewolfwanderer]

Hmm... well lets see. Wesley started the whole thing, and has been on his own, drunk, for most of the time after that. He then meets Gabriel; later on meets Red, Grizz, Mira and the twins- all of whom have suffered heavily. Take the twins for example... they get saved by Wesley and Gabriel after their mum died, turned and tried to kill them.
Later on, Gabriel encounters his wife, who has also died and turned. Up until this point, Gabriel still believed she was still alive, so it's quite a blow for him. Wesley decides after witnessing this encounter, to take responsibility for bringing about this apocalypse.

I don't know... i think he just wants to do the right thing, but is too afraid to come forward about what he did. So i guess it would be a moral code kinda thing, perhaps a mix of all three....

I mean, he wants to fix things so he can find atonement. What helps him overcome his fear, could be witnessing the results of his actions, and what drives him to drink could be the conflict between fear and wanting to do the right thing...

 

[Jo Zebedee]

See, you answered Alc's question with a plot list and character list and not the salient point of what makes Wesley (if he's the drunk) tick. Who is he? Not what does he do, but what he is. What does he believe? What does he want? Why does he drink? Forget the plot - be Wesley. Then it might become clear.*

*i think I now sound like Yoda. I want a trophy for giving out Yoda-like advice.**

**in fact if we need to have trophys on the chrons can't we have cool sff ones. Like most mentions of Rayguns @Bowler1

 

[alchemist]

Later on, Gabriel encounters his wife, who has also died and turned. Up until this point, Gabriel still believed she was still alive, so it's quite a blow for him. Wesley decides after witnessing this encounter, to take responsibility for bringing about this apocalypse.

Well, there you go - that seems to work.

Otherwise, maybe he needs a reminder that he wants to do the right thing, rather than wallow and avoid the consequences of his actions. A reminder of the man he used to be - either a memory of some other time he did the right thing, or witnessing somebody else acting in such a manner.

 

[Venusian Broon]

Perhaps he erroneously believes he's the last man left on the planet 'in the land of the dead' - so he goes a bit out of his mind and decides that if he's going to go out soon, he might as well be blind drunk and wallow in his pity/dread/sorrow for his dead comrades/whatever etc... (Does all he see apocalyptic death and destruction?) - then when he actually meets someone else alive just like him there is a sudden realisation that there might be hope, so that he has a moment of epiphany and decides to sober up? (And then perhaps he'd be much braver to save a child later on, because children are the future etc...)

 

[lonewolfwanderer]

@Venusian Broon: That's a valid point. I'd thought of that, and that is what i see with my minds eye: Wesley wondering the streets, blind drunk, despite the fact the streets are now crawling with undead, believing he has literally destroyed the world...
But he doesn't sober up straight away, it's more gradual methinks... Because I have an image of after Wesley finds Gabriel: Once Gabriel has healed, he returns to searching for his wife and daughter. But Wesley follows close behind, hoping to find another drink. Which means, i think, that Wesley hasn't yet realized that he is not that last man standing (Might be a side effect of his drunken state)...

Thanks for the replies Is getting the mind juices flowing so i should figure out something soon..

 

[Ray McCarthy]

Two of these characters are kids.

I just can't work out what the deciding factor would be for said character to take responsibility for what he did, rather than run away.

He wants the kids to have a future?
Friendship with Gabriel?
Their help.

 

[psychotick]

Hi,

The answer is usually simple. People usually stop drinking for reasons related to the reasons they started drinking in the first place. If your guy took up drinking because he was left unable to fix a mess he'd made, then give him the ability to fix his mess.

Cheers, Greg.

 

[paranoid marvin]

A shock could take him out of it

For example one of the kids could almost be killed because he was drunk when he should have been caring for them, or else he catches one of the kids drinking his alcohol , copying him.

Realising that his drinking could harm or even children, he resolves to stop.

Taking responsibility for something he's done and kicking a habit are two entirely different things though

 

[lonewolfwanderer]

Hmm... thanks for the ideas and foods for thought.
I think i'm going to go with this:

MC and drunk save the kids from their own mother- a result of the drunk's actions.
MC encounters his wife, who is dead. The emotional impact for the MC plus the fear that he's lost his daughter too, is also a result of the drunks action (he witnesses this encounter, and by this point they've gotten to know each other quite well, i think).
Finally they encounter another character, who's story could quite easily top the other two. Again, a result of the drunk's actions.

All of this, plus a few words spoken by another character, help the drunk to realize he should stop drinking and take responsibility for his "mistake" (the shame outweighs the fear, so he steps up).

Thanks for the help... i'll make sure Chrons is on my dedication page when the time comes you've all helped out so much

 

[JunkMonkey]

Okay, at the risk of turning this into an AA meeting, it has been 12 years since I had a drink. I was up to a bottle a day and after one seriously drunk night and a screaming-match row with my dad (who had been matching me drink for drink all night) I woke up in the morning and thought: "This is stupid. I have to stop. I am never going to do this again." And I haven't. Totally dry for over a decade. Never even had "Just one..." because I know it would be too much. Sometimes it is that simple.

 

[lonewolfwanderer]

Ye that's true, and congrats on that... is quite a feat ... However, the cause for this man to drink is the responsibility of bringing about an apocalypse (he opened the tomb that sealed away a Lich) and the fear of being found out by any other survivors.

 

[Mirannan]

The physical effects of drinking too much for too long might wake someone up. Liver problems and alcoholic cardiomyopathy have fairly unpleasant symptoms; maybe the start of obvious physical degeneration might wake him up? I imagine there are other possible fairly obvious symptoms such as DTs and the like.

JunkMonkey - Congrats.

 

[lonewolfwanderer]

Hmm, that is also true... But Mr. Drunk is trying to drink himself to death. It's only after meeting other survivors that he starts to change his decision, so physical degradation doesn't really concern him. Before he meets anyone, he sees not only drinking as his escape from the reality around him, but also sees the degradation/suffering health as a means of atonement for what he has done.

 

[tinkerdan]

To be the devil's advocate here; you seem to have created a situation that might continue to feed his drinking. At least the scenario you posit takes me in that direction.

He drinks because of guilt for causing what is killing everyone. He finds some people who haven't yet died and is worried about them finding out what he did so he continues to drink. The people he finds begin finding that their friends and family have become victims this might further push him to hide behind drink to not be found out. I see a tragic end to this man.

That much said the candle that might become the beacon that might yet save him, has to be lit from something deep within himself that will be sustained within himself; because any external force or reason will be teetering on the brink of collapse like a house of cards if and when that is removed; but maybe you want him to eventually collapse back into himself.

As horrible as it may sound to some people the best thing to take him out of the downward spiral will likely sound like something selfish rather than selfless.

 

[psychotick]

Hi,

"However, the cause for this man to drink is the responsibility of bringing about an apocalypse (he opened the tomb that sealed away a Lich) and the fear of being found out by any other survivors."

And there you have your answer. He brought about a disaster, now he suddenly has the way to fix things. And his fear of being discovered is gone as he has been discovered. In short drinking cannot help him and it will stop him from doing the one thing he desperately needs to do.

Cheers, Greg.

 

[lonewolfwanderer]

Well, the actual drinking part is minor. It's possible he never stops drinking throughout.

What i do need to have happen though, is for him to overcome the fear of being found out about what he's done and to take responsibility for it. That is the real important part, i just thought the drinking could work as a representation of that and help highlight the actual process of him facing his fears. But it is complicating things... So i'm going to change the question:

What would help a drunk overcome his fear, and take responsibility?

 

[Ray McCarthy]

What would help anyone overcome fear of being found out, and take responsibility?

A sense of honour? Nothing external really. Inner "moral" change. He doesn't have to find "religion" or "faith", though you could use them, but in moral sense the idea of "repentance" (even if you or the character doesn't believe in God) makes the step of taking responsibility logical and easier. "Repentance" isn't regret or being mildly sorry.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repentance
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/repentance
It doesn't have to have a religious context.

Many understand the term repentance to mean “turning from sin.” This is not the biblical definition of repentance. In the Bible, the word repent means “to change one’s mind.” The Bible also tells us that true repentance will result in a change of actions (Luke 3:8-14; Acts 3:19). Acts 26:20 declares, “I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds.” The full biblical definition of repentance is a change of mind that results in a change of action.

From http://www.gotquestions.org/repentance.html (Warning Christian Evangelical of some kind)

"Fear of being found out" evaporates when someone repents. In fact it's typical that they then go to opposite extreme and inappropriately tell people they should not tell, or not tell yet (maybe when older) or not tell the way they are telling. Telling the "truth" to everyone you meet, unbidden, is usually a bad idea.

 

[AnyaKimlin]

Also to play devil's advocate he can take responsibility without stopping drinking. I grew up around alcoholics and no one is the same. They are all human and have their own motivations.

How about one night he is more drunken than usual (my relative would be more likely to do nuts stuff when she was sober and needed a drink than when she was drinking) he gets up on a table, says he can't take it any more and shouts it out to everyone within earshot. Reacting to the consequences of that change his mind.