Low Level/continuous Pain Tips For Writing

Low level/continuous pain tips for writing

Want to avoid the action movie effect and make your character’s injuries have realistic lasting impacts? Have a sick character you’re using as hurt/comfort fodder? Everyone has tips for how to write Dramatic Intense Agony, but the smaller human details of lasting or low-level discomfort are rarely written in. Here are a few pain mannerisms I like to use as reference:

General

Continuously gritted teeth (may cause headaches or additional jaw pain over time)

Irritability, increased sensitivity to lights, sounds, etc

Repetitive movements (fidgeting, unable to sit still, slight rocking or other habitual movement to self-soothe)

Soft groaning or whimpering, when pain increases or when others aren’t around

Heavier breathing, panting, may be deeper or shallower than normal

Moving less quickly, resistant to unnecessary movement

Itching in the case of healing wounds

Subconsciously hunching around the pain (eg. slumped shoulders or bad posture for gut pain)

Using a hand to steady themself when walking past walls, counters, etc (also applies to illness)

Narration-wise: may not notice the pain was there until it’s gone because they got so used to it, or may not realize how bad it was until it gets better

May stop mentioning it outright to other people unless they specifically ask or the pain increases

Limb pain

Subtly leaning on surfaces whenever possible to take weight off foot/leg pain

Rubbing sore spots while thinking or resting

Wincing and switching to using other limb frequently (new/forgettable pain) or developed habit of using non dominant limb for tasks (constant/long term pain)

Propping leg up when sitting to reduce inflammation

Holding arm closer to body/moving it less

Moving differently to avoid bending joints (eg. bending at the waist instead of the knees to pick something up)

Nausea/fever/non-pain discomfort

Many of the same things as above (groaning, leaning, differences in movement)

May avoid sudden movements or turning head for nausea

Urge to press up against cold surfaces for fever

Glazed eyes, fixed stare, may take longer to process words or get their attention

Shivering, shaking, loss of fine motor control

If you have any more details that you personally use to bring characters to life in these situations, I’d love to hear them! I’m always looking for ways to make my guys suffer more write people with more realism :)

Writing Advice From Experience 1 - Blood loss

1. When you first lose blood, it doesn't feel that bad immediately, you won't actually notice it.

2. After 10 minutes and with you moving around, you will start to feel cold like you're sweating and your muscles ache.

3. Your face feels cold and you might get something akin to a headache. This is when you feel like you want to sit down.

4. Your vision will blur before going black at the edges and your limbs start tingling.

5. With the impaired vision your body will have a hard time balancing so any attempt you make is overcompensated, making you move more than you intended or crash into wall.

6. Your pulse will increase, like you can hear the heart pounding away along with some static noise in your ears as if you're standing next to a waterfall but directly in your ears.

7. You will later feel hot and then cold again. It will be like a roller coaster.

8. Trying to move without properly resting first will make your symptoms come back twice as bad!

9. It can affect you hours after initial blood loss event!

This information has been brought to you by me donating blood and not preparing properly. Fun stuff 11/10 would recommend for the experience alone, free snacks is a win along with learning your blood type.

I thought you guys might find this to be a good visualization for your writing. Here’s some of the medical equipment that CLS (Combat Lifesaver) qualified combatants (and medics of course) would be expected to be proficient in using. Note that CLS qualified combatants are nonmedical personnel.

Individual First Aid Kits should be on the body of every combatant. Buddy Aid bags should only be cracked open at last resort.

Here's some uhhh "fun?" info about how deeper wounds work (unfortunately based on experience bc I am so clumsy lol) for your whump writing knowledge.

TW: mention of wounds, stitches, somewhat detailed description of stitching procedure, scars

So when you get a deep cut that goes past the surface of the skin (ie. needing stitches) there are a few things that need to happen to help it heal correctly and without infection. Depending on what caused the laceration, you may need a tetanus shot if it was some sort of metal (even if it wasn't rusty metal, this is usually done to play it safe). Then, they'll have to numb the area, and let me tell you -NOT FUN. Remember that open wound? Yeah, they inject the local anesthetic directly into the wound. IN to it- not near it. So that's really not fun, and it's even worse if you're able to watch it happen because the area swells up from the medication. So very unpleasant. From there, honestly the worst part is usually over. The stitching itself is scary to watch (caretaker said not to look for a reason!), but the most that's usually felt is some pressure from the needle- IF it is numbed completely.

What's worse though- is if you DON'T get stitches when you need them. So after a deep laceration, there is generally a 24 hour window (maximum) to get it stitched. Usually it's ideal to be done within 4-6 hours of the injury. If this doesn't happen, the wound cannot be stitched because the body has already started healing the wound as it currently is, and won't be able to heal back together and close. So this means: much longer healing process (sometimes can be a month or more depending on the laceration), the wound should stay covered with gauze for most of the beginning of healing to prevent infection which is a bigger risk with an open wound. This will additionally create a different looking scar than a wound that was stitched. They can look similar, but are obviously wider and flatter than a stitched wound which can heal with a raised and much thinner scar. Sometimes you can also see scarring from where the stitches were too! I think that's kind of cool, though.

This is just what I remember from the situation and doctors, I am not a professional.

Have fun patching up your whumpees! Or ya know.. Not

behavior modification master list

WRU has hired renowned behaviorist Dr. Ivan Peters to refine their training protocol for Romantic acquisitions. When Jack Kenyon–the brilliant young partner of one of Ivan’s med school rivals–applies to be Dr. Peters’ research assistant, he has no idea what he’s signing on for. 

Please see individual chapters for detailed and specific content warnings. This story will contain noncon elements [*]; proceed with caution!

behavior modification pre-timeline content: organized in rough chronological order

past snippet: jack's fourteenth birthday

-/-/-

part one: jack and ivan at dinner

part two: jack and joe, before captivity

part three: jack's abduction

part four: ivan welcomes to jack to captivity

part five: worries for joe, bath time for jack

part six: jack's intake interview (part one)

part seven: jack's intake interview (part two)

part eight: past, present, and future

part nine: breakfast time

part ten: jack learns his positions

part eleven: jack's consequences*

part twelve: ivan's apology

part thirteen: jack's last chance to feel*

part fourteen: joe and his mother

part fifteen: prelude to punishment

part sixteen: jack's first treatment*

part seventeen: deprivation

part eighteen: jack loses joe

part nineteen: case notes*

part twenty: yes, sir*

drabble: statue*

drabble: bravo*

drabble: good boy, sweet boy*

-/-/-

behavior modification post-rescue content: organized in rough chronological order

first night home: joe gives jack a bath

first night home: from joe's pov

first night home: dinner and bedtime

drabble: zombie

trouble sleeping: grounding

just after: small decisions

drabble: joe sees ivan's videos

continuation of above: cut

drabble: he needs me

early recovery: bittersweet

starting over: undone

drabble: press conference blues

drabble: jack trusts joe

first time after: lightning glass

future snippet: rest now

drabble: jack's hair

drabble: it's over

future snippet: eros

baby drabble: christmas tree

baby drabble: corduroy bear

years later, with their child: lucky

kid-related drabble: lemonade stand

teenaged hallie miniseries: like father, like daughter

teenaged hallie miniseries: kids will be kids

teenaged hallie miniseries: daddy's little girl *

teenaged hallie miniseries: daddy and chief

-/-/-

role reversal alternate universe:

part one: sweetheart

part two: open *

part three: filled*

part four: initiation*

part five: better*

post-rescue drabble: mama

post-rescue drabble: the blanket is warm

post-rescue drabble: hidden shame

post-rescue drabble: nightmares

-/-/-

role reversal alternate universe on steroids:

part x: a real white knight

Whump Prompt #2

Whumpees with tattoos.

Wounds healing wrong, causing the tattoos to be misshapen, or missing parts.

Whumper cutting off or damaging a tattoo Whumpee has because they "didn't like it."

Whumper tattooing their name or a barcode on Whumpee.

Whumpee being taken into captivity right after they got a tattoo, it gets infected.

Whumper doing a cover-up on a tattoo Whumpee really likes.