Lost on survivor island

Dear Gabriel

My novel is about a group of people who are stranded on an island. I haven’t worked out yet why and how they will be stranded but they will be there for a few months before they get rescued. I suppose it’s a combination of Lost and Survivor. I know that this genre has been well covered in television but I think I have something more profound to say about human nature when it is under pressure.

My question to you is about whether people revert to type under these kinds of pressures or do they change and evolve into someone/something else? This will have implications for how I write the storylines – but please don’t feel any pressure!

Best wishes

Giovanna

Dear Giovanna

Don’t worry I don’t feel pressurised – I grew up Catholic so I know all about guilt, and how to overcome it! I also know that writing is such a personal journey that whatever I say, you’re only going to write what resonates with you, and feels right for your characters.

I agree that this is an exciting genre which can be explored very fruitfully in written form. I think humankind has long been fascinated with this idea of a live laboratory, where we have a chance to see what happens when a group of individuals are placed in a situation where they are confronted with challenges over an intense and shortened period of time.

Typically for a psychologist (and perhaps typically for me too!), I’m going to slightly fudge my answer and look for the middle ground. I recently read a bleakly fascinating novel by David Rieff about the death of his mother, Susan Sontag. Called Swimming in a Sea of Death (light hearted title no?), he reflects on the passing of a brilliant woman who refused to accept that she was going to die. Never mind that I can relate to this unwillingness, one comment really struck me. He asks whether dying brings out the best in us, both the dying person and those around them. With some poignancy he comes to the conclusion that in fact dying brings out who we truly are, in all its goodness and awfulness.

I pretty much agree with him on this and I think your characters on the island will indeed largely revert to type. This makes sense don’t you think? We’ve been shaped by all these forces as we grew up and learnt to cope in particular ways, even if these coping mechanisms are not so kosher (drinking, avoiding, suppressing, idealising etc). This is the toolkit, as shabby and makeshift as it is sometimes, which we draw on when the chips are down. It’s what we know instinctively.

Having said that, humans are capable of change and growth, but it’s hard and slow (that may sound fun for a sex scene but not for learning new coping skills!). So yes some of your characters might find new ways to be, or discover old skills which have lain dormant. In effect, the shock of the new circumstances can trigger these skills, but they will be rusty and will come and go. Expect your characters to be complex and unpredictable and they won’t surprise you. Good luck for what could be a fabulous exercise.

All the best

Gabriel

Write to Gabriel if you want to learn more about your characters.