Having a Character Do Something You Wouldn’t or Couldn’t

Living vicariously through your writing?

When writing fiction, as opposed to an autobiography, you create characters who do things you never would—or at least I hope you never would—such as the obvious (killing, slashing, or otherwise causing others physical harm) or never could do in real life (piloting an airplane, being an astronaut on a spaceship, riding a horse like a champion, or wreaking vengeance on the wrongdoers). You may find this a pleasure or very difficult—and that’s the process of writing.

You achieve this by delving into yourself and finding the strength to have a character do what you would never do—a sort of gestalt, as the Germans say—or stretching your mind beyond its border and have your character doing things far outside of your life—things you have only read about or seen in person or video. The whole experience is exhilarating and frustrating at the same time—a roller-coaster ride, as the cliché goes.

A Few Examples

These are some ways where my characters in Freelan: The Dawning have misbehaved or simply behaved in ways I never would or could:

·    Sid Minot (the main antagonist) uses people to take his revenge on Jim O’Connell (one of the two main protagonists), something I wouldn’t even attempt to do

·    Before coming to Hammil Valley, Peter Thorn (starts out as antagonist) overly imbibes alcohol whereas I am a teetotaler, and he uses narcotics, primarily cocaine, which I have never even considered doing, my brain being too precious to me

·    Cathy the party girl tries to lure Jim into her bed, but I have never used sex as some kind of weapon

·    Rose Wilson (the other main protagonist) rides a horse, but I can barely ride a bicycle

·    Janet Parker, Jim’s housekeeper, is a great cook, while I can cook a little but hardly at her level which approaches gourmet chef level

Of course, I also have them doing things I would do, such as drinking tea, admiring roses, and standing up to tyranny and threats.

Final Note

Have fun. Drag out the secrets inside you. Make your characters dance to a different tune. It’s all part of the process.

Hope you found this helpful and have been inspired to start and/or continue writing!

See my article: Publisher Agent Fiction Genres Defined, with downloadable PDF.

Please check out my works in progress (WIPs). And thanks for reading.

NOTE: None of my text or images are AI-generated. You can rest assured that I pulled it all out of that stuff in my skull called a “brain.”

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