Delusions- Need help brainstorming

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sveltskye

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So in my novel my character is writing a story and begins getting delusions that her characters are real and trying to communicate with her from another dimension somehow a la Sophie's World (to put it simply, its a bit philosophical and less straightforward than that). I want to incorporate it in the beginning as something of a mystery, but something that's not straightforwardly supernatural. So far I have the words on the page spelling out a message, and her seeing messages in signs and hearing messages through what people are saying. Basically I want the delusions to start out in the writing and then move outward into her actual world. I was wondering if anybody has any other good ideas about how to achieve this.
 

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Graffiti would be fun. A real case study I read of a schizophrenic had jet-trails through the clouds spelling out things.

Sounds on the wind? A torn take-out menu or discarded flyer that leaves a message to her intact?

And if there is something physical that could apply, that would be fun. I won't get into the details, but for a while there lemons and lemon seeds meant something to me. And I saw lemons everywhere :) For instance, someone had dumped out their tea in my parking space... and left me more lemons.

Ah, just ideas. Good luck; it sounds really cool!
 

lisaxcollins

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What about music or animals?

Or maybe something simple like nature; like how Pocahontas talked to Mother Willow? I'm not saying to copy that, but maybe have nature play a role like the signs you spoke of.

I'm running a tad empty in the brainstorming department, but if I think of anything I will post it.
=]
 

Rufus Coppertop

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One of the classic signs of a psychotic disorder is "ideas of reference" where the person believes that people on the television or the radio are sending them messages.

Sometimes, it can be frank hallucination, where they hear things that the person on telly didn't actually say. Sometimes, they impute meaning.

A woman I knew twenty years ago, used to listen to the weather report religiously because that was how she found out what her husband was up to.

If it was humid in Sydney, that meant the affair he was having was sizzling hot. If it rained in Brisbane, that meant he was thinking of leaving her. If a cyclone hit Darwin, he was having a menage a trois and everyone was giggling about her.

She also honestly believed that everyone in Australia was in on the joke. She took a trip to Sydney, saw a kid on a schoolbus look out the window laughing and truly believed that he recognized her, knew that she was that lady from Morwell whose husband was having an affair and was laughing at her expense.

There might be something there you can use.
 

wheelwriter

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I second the ideas of reference, and every random conversation is really about your character. Every time someone laughs they are mocking her. Sometimes people with delusions will question if they, themselves are real or if they are wearing some sort of mask. They see meaning and meaningful connections in random, unconnected things. Sometimes delusions are combined with paranoia - people are not who they say they are, they are trying to trick or harm the character.
 

DavidZahir

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How about the idea that animals are trying to communicate with her? For example, maybe the pigeons mean something by parking on the phone lines in a certain way. Or perhaps when she tosses some bread on the ground and they "swarm" to feed, she sees patterns in the swirling mass of grays and whites as they move?

For that matter, the neighborhood cats could be in league with her enemies and that is why the pigeons have to be careful.

Then, there's artwork. I have an angel calender above my desk. When reading your post I imagined for a moment what it would be like if the image moved, and I saw it out of the corner of my eye.

Your character might also hear voices in certain sounds -- the toilet flushing, thunder, static on the radio, ringtones, etc. That one isn't even uncommon. Remember "Paul is dead" or the so-called "subliminal" messages about Satan in popular music? (I can across a YouTube video swearing the same thing about a speech by Obama once)
 

EnkelZ

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Basically I want the delusions to start out in the writing and then move outward into her actual world. I was wondering if anybody has any other good ideas about how to achieve this.

If you open a file with the wrong filter, it will look like crap (e.g. open a .jpg file with a text editor)... but there will be character strings in it... no reason it couldn't accidentally include a brief sentence.

If you hit a page on a web site that doesn't exist, the error page (404 error) can be programed to say what ever the site owner likes. Some site owners put up some funny pages that say things like "Oops, you've reached the end of the Internet, time to turn around and go home"

There's a guy that collects scraps of paper from the street. I saw an interview with him, but can't find it via google. He showed all sorts of things like discarded notes between lovers, medical records, you name it. I think he's in London somewhere.

Computer programs can throw up some pretty interesting error messages on the screen. I would reference a mainstream program, but there are programs out there dedicated to plot design and other writing activities... often they're opensource programs maintained by small groups of programmers. She could hit an error that pops up a weird message that is followed by click "okay" to accept.

Sometimes printers can go crazy and print what ever the heck they like.

I know my computer is always getting into trouble... not because it's bad, but because my stupid cat thinks rolling around on the key board and mouse are the only way to live.

ETA: here's an example of an edited 404 page: http://approachanxiety.com/404.htm
I'm pasting the text below for those who are leary of links, but on screen it looks real until you start reading the content.

The page cannot be displayed because you need to approach some women
The page you are looking for is currently unavailable. Your Mom told me you've been online for way too long and you need to go out and approach some women.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please, try the following:

Don't click the Refresh button. Go outside now.
To go outside, first click Put On Shoes. On the Wussy tab, click Time to Make a Girl's Day. The Ass is Plastered to My Chair setting should match those provided by your pickup coach.
If you are addicted to information, try to cut down a bit.
Click the Make a Commitment button and approach one woman every day. It gets easier with every approach.
If you would like to be happier than you've ever been before in your entire life, click Go Out Into the Real World
There are many hot women out there in the real world who are tired of wussies who won't come up to them and talk to them. If you are unable to get up, click back and pay for a coach to kick your ass.
HTTP Error 404 - File or Directory not found.
Internet Information Overload (IIO)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Technical Information (for a better life)

Go to ApproachAnxiety.com and perform a title search for the words Fear, Overcome and Exhilaration.
Open Coaching Help, which is accessible in the Coaching Section, and search for topics titled Push Me into Approaches, Show Me How to Do It, and Understand My Irrational Fear.
 
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alecya_giovanni

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This may be overdone, I don't know, but what about the crossword puzzle or crytoquip in the paper? Those things look like they make no sense anyway. If your charatcer is looking at the paper and suddenly figures out t=n and characters are sending them messages from other forms of literature, it might be a good jumping off point.
 

mister_lister

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Delusion covers a broad category... it is basically, by the dictionary definition, " A patently false belief that is not changed by evidence or argument to the contrary". Usually delusional people willl not fully consider an arguemnt to the contrary of their beliefs (hence most religious positions). A delusional person will not consider or believe a scientific arguement or logic that departs from the delusion. Quite a trap if you think about it and there are medications for such mental disorders, but seldom will a truely delusional person take medication to come out of the trap.
 
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TheWhalewatcher

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The main character of my leviathan-novel has bipolar disorder (basically, manic depression). He hears voices telling how to live his life and believes they are true. Also (typically) confuses fantasy and reality, osmotically blending the two worlds. This kind of mash-up usually makes a plot very interesting, fun to write (it's really freewheeling) and alluring to read. It's a technique that it's used very often in films as well. In my case it's important never to specify what is real and what is delusional. This influences also the writing, Joyce and his streams of consciousness, for example, are inspirational.
 
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