Writing Tips for
Story Structure & Storytelling
by Melanie Anne Phillips
Creator StoryWeaver,
Co-Creator Dramatica
Characters - The
Attributes of Age
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Introduction
Writers tend to create
characters that are more or less the same age as themselves. On
the one hand, this follows the old adage that one should write about
what one knows. But in real life, we encounter people of all
ages in most situations. Of course, we often see stories that
pay homage to the necessary younger or older person, but we just as
often find gaps of age groups in which there are no characters at all,
rather than a smooth spectrum of ages.
In addition, there are
many considerations to age other than the superficial appearance,
manner of dress, and stereotypical expectations. In this lesson
we're going to uncover a variety of traits that bear on an accurate
portrayal of age, and even offer the opportunity to explore seldom
depicted human issues associated with age.
The
Attributes of Age
People in general, and writers in
particular, tend to stereotype the attributes of age more than just
about any other character trait. There are, of course, the physical
aspects of age, ranging from size, smoothness of skin, strength,
mobility to the various ailments associated with our progress through
life. Then there are the mental and emotional qualities that we we
expect to find at various points in life. But the process of aging
involves some far more subtle components to our journey through life.
Anatomical
vs. Chronological age
Before examining any specific traits,
it is important to note the difference between anatomical and
chronological age. Anatomical age is the condition of your body
whereas chronological age is the actual number of years you've been
around. For example, if you are thirty years old, but all worn out and
genetically biased to age prematurely, you might look more akin to
what people would expect of a fifty year old. Nonetheless, you
wouldn't have the same interests in music or direct knowledge of the
popular culture as someone who was actually fifty years old. When
describing a character, you might choose to play off your reader
expectations by letting them assume the physical condition, based on
your description of age. Or, you might wish to create some additional
interest in your character by describing it as "A middle-aged man
so fit and healthy, he was still "carded" whenever he
vacationed in Vegas." Such a description adds an element of
interest and immediately sets your character out at an individual.
Jargon
Far too often, characters are portrayed
as speaking in the same generic conversational language we hear on
television. The only variance to that is the overlay of ethic buzz
words to our standard sanitized TV through template. In other words,
characters act as if they all through alike, even if they had
completely different cultural upbringings. But aging is an ongoing
evolution of culture, rooting the individual into thought patterns of
his or her formative hears, and tempered (to some degree) by the
ongoing cultural indoctrination of a social lifestyle.
Characters, therefore, tend to pick up
a basic vocabulary reflective of both their ethnicity AND their age.
For example, a black man who fought for civil rights along side Dr.
Martin Luther King, would not be using the same jargon ad a black man
advancing the cause of rights today. And neither of these would use
the same vocabulary as a young black man in the center city, trying to
find his way out through education. To simply overlay the "black
jargon" template on such characters is the same kind of
unconscious subtle prejudice promoted by "flesh colored"
crayons.
Sure, we all learn to drop some of the
more dated terms and expletives of our youth in order to appear
"hip" or "with it," but in the end we either sound
silly trying to use the new ones, or avoid them altogether, leaving us
bland and un-passionate in our conversation. Both of these approaches
can be depicted in your characters as well, and can provide a great
deal of information about the kind of mind your character possesses.
Outlook
Speaking of character minds, we all
have a culturally created filter that focuses our attention on some
things, and blinds us to (or diminishes) others. Sometimes, this
is built into the language itself. When it is hot, the Spanish
say, "hace color" (it makes heat). This phrasing is
due to the underlying beliefs of the people who developed that
language that see every object, even those that are inanimate, as
possessing a spirit. So, when it is hot, this is not a mindless
state of affairs due to meteorological conditions, but rather to the
intent of the spirit of the weather. Of course, if you were to
ask a modern Spanish speaking person if they believed in such a thing,
you would likely receive a negative reply. And yet, because this
concept permeates the language (making everyday items masculine or
feminine), it cannot help but alter the way native speakers of the
language will frame their thoughts.
As another example, the Japanese
population of world war two was indoctrinated in the culture of honor,
duty, and putting the needs of society above those of the individual.
Although most countries foster this view, in war-time Japan, it was
carried to the extreme, resulting in an effective Kamikaze force, and
also in whole units that chose a suicidal charge against oncoming
forces, rather than to be humiliated by defeat or capture.
Corporate Japan was built around these
Samurai ideals, and workers commonly perceived themselves as existing
to serve their companies with loyalty and unquestioning obedience.
But when the economy faltered, those who expected to remain with their
companies for life were laid off, or even permanently fired.
This led to a disillusionment of the "group first"
mentality, especially among the young, who had not yet become settled
in their beliefs. So, today, there is still a gap between the
old-guard corporate executives, and the millions of teenagers to whom
they market. Age, in this case, creates a significant difference
in the way the world looks.
Continuing with the notion of
generation gaps, I grew up when the rallying cry was "Don't trust
anyone over 30." Of course, now we're all in our fifties or
even sixties, so we are forced to admit that we, ourselves, have in
fact become "the Establishment."
But that is what is visible and obvious
to us. The real difference between my generation and the post
Yuppie, post GenX, GenY, Gen? generation is farm more foundational.
In conversations with my daughter I discovered that while I see myself
on the other side of the generation gap, she does not perceive one at
all! This is due to primarily to the plethora of high-quality
recorded media programs which capture so many fine performances and
presentations when the artists and great thinkers were in their prime.
We live in a TV Land universe in which no
great works ever die, they are just reborn on Cable.
To my daughter's generation, it is only
important whether or not you have something worth saying. How
old you are has nothing to do with your importance or relevance.
In short, the difference between my generation and the younger
generation is that we perceive a difference between the generations
and they don't!
In summary then, the age in which you
establish your world view will determine how you perceive current
events for the rest of your life. When creating characters of
any particular age, you would do well to consider the cultural
landscape that was prevalent when each character was indoctrinated.
Comfort Symbols
We all share the same human emotional
needs. And we each experience moments that fulfill those needs.
Those experiences become fond memories, and many of the trappings of
those experiences become comfort symbols. In later life, we seek
out those symbols to trigger the re-experiencing of the cherished
moments. Perhaps your family served a particular food in your
childhood that you associate with warmth and love. For example,
my mother grew up during the Great Depression in the 1930s. Her
family was often short of food. So, as a snack, they would give
her a piece of bread spread with lard and mustard! Now the
thought very nearly sickens me, but she often yearned for that flavor
again, as it reminded her of the love she received as a child.
Once we have locked into symbols that
we can use to trigger emotional experiences, we seldom need to replace
them. They are our comfort symbols upon which we can always
rely. This has two effects as we age: One, we latch on to
performers and music, as an example, that age along with us. We
recall them at their prime when we first encountered them, and also
have spent years aging along with them. This leads us to
suddenly wake up one day and realize we no longer know who they are
referring to in popular culture magazines and entertainment reporting
televisions shows. In other words, the popular culture has
passed us by. Two, we see many of our symbols (favorite
advertising campaigns, a restaurant where we went on our first date,
etc.) vanish as they are replaced with new and current concerns.
So, the world around us seems less relevant, less familiar, and less
comfortable, just as we seem to the world at large.
When creating characters, take into
account the potential ongoing and growing sense of loss, sadness, and
connection between characters and their environment. And don't
think this is a problem only for the elderly. My 24 year old son
laments that there are kids growing up today who never knew a world
without personal computers! He says it makes him feel old.
Physical
Attributes
Babies have a soft spot on their heads
that doesn't harden up for quite a while after birth. cartilage
wears out. Teens in puberty have raging hormones. Young
kids grow so fast that they don't have a chance to get used to the
size and strength of their bodies before they have changed again, not
unlike trying to drive a new and different car every day. I
can't remember the last time I ran full-tilt. I'm not sure it
would be safe, today! Point is, our bodies are always changing.
Sometimes the state we are in has positive and/or negative qualities -
other times the changing itself is positive or negative.
When creating characters, give some
thought to the physical attributes and detriments of any given age,
and consider how they not only affect the abilities and mannerisms of
your characters, but their mental and emotional baselines as well.
Conclusion?
Sure, we could go on and on exploring
specifics of age and aging, but since it is a pandemic human
condition, it touches virtually every human experience and endeavor.
The point here is not to completely cover the subject, but to
encourage you to consider it when creating each of your characters.
It isn't enough to simply describe a character as "a middle-aged
man," or "a perky 8 year old boy." You owe it to
your characters and to your readers or audience to incorporate the
aging experience into their development, just as it is inexorably
integrated into our own.
Copyright Melanie Anne Phillips
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