C.R. Langille
Follow Me
  • Home
  • Blog
  • About C.R. Langille / Press Kit
  • Published Works
  • Contact
  • Shop

The Will to Survive

4/7/2013

1 Comment

 
I’ve been trained by the military to survive in the wilderness. I’ve also read many articles and books on the subject of survival. Plus, I’ve seen a great deal of documentaries and television programs on the subject. There’s one aspect that I found in common between all of these courses, articles, books, and programs – the will to live. Without the will to live, you’ve already defeated yourself. With a strong will, you’re more likely to find a way to survive and make it back home.
 
What is the will to live? Basically it’s you telling Death, your body, the world, or whatever adversary is coming after you, natural or otherwise, that you aren’t going to die. You will live no matter what. Studies have taken place to show that people can extend their lives by a few days to a few weeks if they have an important event or milestone to reach (see Shimizu & Pelham’s “Postponing a Date With the Grim Reaper: Ceremonial Events and Mortality”). Also, look to stories where children or severely handicapped people have survived days in the woods without help. What drove them on to keep alive? The will to live.
 
The power of the mind is a mysterious thing. The mind can heal (placebo effect), and it can keep us going for that one extra step. The question is, what motivates a person to keep on living? For some people, it could be spiritual. For others, maybe it’s family. For some, maybe they just want to have that last Guinness they had in the fridge. The study referenced people surviving until they hit a birthday or other milestone. In an austere condition, such as a wilderness survival or similar situation, the milestone could be getting back to loved ones.
 
Now ask yourself, how can you, as the potential survivor, help keep your will to survive strong? It starts at home before you ever find yourself in a bad situation. The key to success is ensuring you do everything possible to decrease stress and anxiety. Little things, such as making sure your finances are taken care of, there's a plan in place for children or pets in your absence, or your family business (if applicable) is in order before leaving. I say leaving, because most survival situations take place outside of the home – camping, hunting, deployments, etc. If you know that all the little things are good to go, that will be one less stress factor that will eat away at your will when you’re stuck out in the woods with a broken leg, evading a pack of killer wolves, while at the same time hiding from a serial killer.
 
If you’re constantly thinking about problems with your life, or being depressed, it will start to dissolve your will. Focus on the good things. Keep telling yourself that you’re going to make. You can make it one more minute. You can take one more step. Think positive.

Now, you might ask yourself, how do I apply this theory in my writing? Easy enough. If you have a character in a horrible situation, first decide if this character is going to have the will to survive, or is going to get a bad case of "give-up-itis." Maybe you want to show the reader the slow decay from a strong will into the realm of giving up on life. You want to show the external factors that are going to motivate or demotivate your character. If they left things unsettled with friends or family, have it scratch at the back of their mind constantly. On the flip-side  maybe the thought of getting back home to their loved ones is that little extra juice they needed to keep putting one foot in front of the other. If they're strong willed, keep their mind focused on the good things. If their wolf-bait...have fun breaking them down piece by piece until they just want to lay down and let the darkness take them.
1 Comment
Lauren M. link
4/8/2013 06:25:01 am

I think this applies to writing in more ways than just characterization. When (as a writer) you're feeling a little bit lost in the woods with your story, all the outside pressures your dealing with can combine into a giant gooey ball of writers block and soul-killing anxiety. It takes away from your determination to persist with the story until you get somewhere with it finally.
Having your daily affairs taken care of (and other evil issues like car and family troubles) definitely helps to make the writing day more productive, even if composing is a struggle.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    C.R. Langille writes horror, fantasy, urban-fantasy, dark fantasy, and is considering stepping into the sci-fi realm. He has a grasp of survival techniques, and has been a table-top gamer for over 16 years.

    Archives

    January 2023
    October 2022
    March 2022
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    October 2020
    July 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    September 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013

    Categories

    All
    Author Interview
    Book Release
    Book Review
    Bushcraft Interview
    Conventions
    Cross Promotion
    Dark Tyrant
    Game Review
    Gamer Interview
    Gaming
    Horror
    Hunter Interview
    Hunting
    Movie Review
    Stokercon2017
    Survival
    Tales From The Storm
    Training
    Women In Horror Month
    Writing

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly