“Remember when Luke has to drop the bomb into
the small vent on the Death Star? The story writer faces a similar challenge of
penetrating the brain of the reader. This book gives the blueprints.” – David
Eagleman
“The reader
expects that the protagonist will be flawed and vulnerable – never, ever ‘perfect.’
“Story is about
how the protagonist changes, internally – which means that your protagonist
can’t be perfect when she steps onto the page, because then why would she need
to change? Yet writers often fear that if the protagonist isn’t perfect – read:
socially acceptable – she won’t be likeable.
“The irony is that
what makes us likeable isn’t being perfect, what makes
us likeable is the fact that we’re vulnerable, that we don’t always know
the ‘right answer’ to everything. Vulnerability is endearing, and what allows
us to relate to the protagonist; perfection is off putting. In fact, ‘perfect’
people tend to raise red flags with us. We know that no one is ever that
perfect, so we begin to wonder, hmmm, what’s she hiding?
“Ask yourself:
Where is my protagonist vulnerable? How is she reading the world wrong? What
belief does she hold that the plot will force her to reconsider? What will she
need to realize in order to change?”
So, anyone who
reads this blog knows I’m a Christian. Christians writing in the speculative
fiction field are odd ducks – though one of my favorite has a quote emblazoned
above. Others are less obvious, but present nonetheless, so I know I’m not alone.
How does this
relate to the idea that “what makes us likeable isn’t being perfect, what makes
us likeable is the fact that we’re vulnerable”? I’m going to go on a tangent
for a moment and recall a T-shirt I first saw forty-one years ago:
While the meme
comes up when you do a Google search, I’ve yet to see this T-shirt ON anyone
any more. It’s like the concept of Christians being perfect has taken
precedence. Admittedly, it’s not foisted off on us. There are Christians who
ACT as if they are perfect and not forgiven. Though if you asked one about it,
they would of course dissemble and say that of COURSE they’re not perfect. They
just act that way.
“Christian” has
also gotten tangled with “Conservative” and “Republican” so much that it seems
that if you ARE a Christian, there’s either an expectation or a demand that you
be a “conservative Republican”.
And yet…Jesus Himself
was neither. His politics: “Render unto [the] Caesar that which is [the] Caesar’s,
and unto God that which is God’s.” (Matt 22:21; Mark 12:17; Luke 20:25).
His actions regarding
social justice (among other things): “…the Samaritan woman said to Him, ‘How is
it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?’…His
disciples came, and they were amazed that He had been speaking with a woman…”
(John 4:7-38) and “…When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that He was eating
with the sinners and tax collectors, they said to His disciples, ‘Why is He
eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners?’” (Mark 2:16).
Note (as you read
further), Jesus didn’t call them sinners. He DID call them sick. We’re all sick
in some way. As a counselor in training, a requirement of the degree was to
book a session or two with a professional counselor – to see what it was like to
sit on “the other side of the couch”.
The perception of
Christians being perfect – and therefore both unable to be characters in
stories as well as people that cannot be talked to – has become a deeply
embedded meme.
So – what can I do
with that? I can have Christians in my stories who are far from perfect and
deeply in need of healing. I can have Christians in my stories who are like me
and most of the Christians I know – normal. Everyone has wounds and challenges.
In fact, the school I work at has started looking at something called “the
trauma informed school” – as in, we need to realize that SOME of our students
have experienced trauma. I have known students whose parents have been murdered
in front of them; who have seen executions in refugee camps; who have witnessed
the rape of their mother. In fact, a study that began looking at why some people
are INCREDIBLY fat ended up discovering that virtually all behaviors can be
traced back to some kind of traumatic event (not ALL trauma has to be of the
variety above).
It’s called ACES –
the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study. A simplified version can give
therapists, teachers, and even parents of adoptive children, some sense of how
to deal with behaviors a child (or coworker or pastor or teacher) exhibits. EVERYONE
has an ACES score, even the most well-adjusted of us. In fact, taking it
yourself (as in “Why I do what I do is no one else’s business!”) can even give
you insight when looking for New Year’s Resolutions…
At any rate,
Christians will ALSO score on ACES. We are NOT perfect, only forgiven…and perhaps
that is the message I need to work on in my writing, as well as creating
engaging characters who work through difficult situations with flawed
personalities. Even the Bible mentions that Christians have to “work out your
salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12). If that’s not a prescription
for making an interesting character that creates plot (what the character DOES)
and story (how the character REACTS), I don’t know what is.
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