{"id":1806,"date":"2017-01-05T07:38:50","date_gmt":"2017-01-05T15:38:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/storymind.com\/blog\/?p=1806"},"modified":"2018-10-07T09:12:59","modified_gmt":"2018-10-07T16:12:59","slug":"characters-the-attributes-of-age-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/storymind.com\/blog\/characters-the-attributes-of-age-4\/","title":{"rendered":"Characters: The Attributes of Age"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Melanie Anne Phillips<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/span>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.<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition, there are many considerations to age other than the superficial appearance, manner of dress, and stereotypical expectations. In this lesson we\u2019re 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Attributes of Age<\/span><\/p>\n

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 expect to find at various points in life. But the process of aging involves some far more subtle components to our journey through life.<\/span><\/p>\n

Anatomical vs. Chronological age<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u2019ve 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\u2019t 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 \u201cA middle-aged man so fit and healthy, he was still \u201ccarded\u201d whenever he vacationed in Vegas.\u201d Such a description adds an element of interest and immediately sets your character out at an individual.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jargon<\/span><\/p>\n

Far too often, characters are portrayed as speaking in the same generic conversational language we hear on television. A notable\u00a0variance to that is the overlay of ethnic buzzwords to our standard sanitized TV, but presented as templates for each ethnicity, rather than as realms in which an individual character might carve out his or her own niche. \u00a0In other words, characters act as if they all alike in regard to ethnicity, even if they had completely different specific\u00a0upbringings within their culture. But aging is an ongoing evolution of culture, rooting the individual into thought patterns of his or her formative years, and tempered (to some degree) by the ongoing cultural indoctrination of a vibrant social lifestyle.<\/span><\/p>\n

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 \u201cblack jargon\u201d template on such characters is the same kind of unconscious subtle prejudice promoted by \u201cflesh colored\u201d crayons.<\/span><\/p>\n

Further, we all learn to drop some of the more dated terms and expletives of our youth in order to appear \u201chip\u201d or \u201cwith it,\u201d 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

As a side note, I believe that each of us, as authors who affect the way others think, have an ethical responsibility to search ourselves for hidden stereotypes and not to propagate them.<\/p>\n

Outlook<\/span><\/p>\n

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, Latinos\u00a0often say, \u201chace calor\u201d<\/span> (it makes heat). This phrasing is due to the underlying beliefs of the people who developed that language that sees 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 (in many ways, such as making everyday items masculine or feminine)<\/span>, it cannot help but alter the way native speakers of the language will frame their thoughts.<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/span><\/p>\n

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 \u201cgroup first\u201d 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

Continuing with the notion of generation gaps, I grew up when the rallying cry was \u201cDon\u2019t trust anyone over 30.\u201d Of course, now we\u2019re all in our sixties (or even seventies), so we are forced to admit that we, ourselves, have in fact become \u201cthe Establishment.\u201d \u00a0Well, “forced” is too strong as word because, point of fact, we’ll NEVER admit it!<\/span><\/p>\n

That is just what is visible and obvious to us. But what is invisible? \u00a0The real difference between my generation and the post Yuppie, post GenX, GenY, Gen? Millennial Generation is far more foundational. In conversations with my daughter (some years ago) 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 partially\u00a0to 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. It is also due to the anonymnity of social media in which people are judged by their opinions and attitudes, rather than by their age or appearance. \u00a0We live in a TV Land Internet universe in which no great works ever die; they are just reborn on Cable. \u00a0And those of us who wander that land on Facebook, Twitter, et al, are as ageless as “dust in the wind” – from a song many in this generation have never heard. \u00a0Yep. \u00a0Generation gap.<\/span><\/p>\n

To my daughter\u2019s 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\u2019t!<\/span><\/p>\n

In summary then, the age in which you establish your worldview 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

Comfort Symbols<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/span><\/p>\n

When creating characters, take into account the potential ongoing and growing sense of loss, sadness, and connection between characters and their environment. And don\u2019t think this is a problem only for the elderly. My son laments that there are kids growing up today who never knew a world without personal computers! He says it makes him feel old.<\/span><\/p>\n

Physical Attributes<\/span><\/p>\n

Babies have a soft spot on their heads that doesn\u2019t 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\u2019t 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\u2019t remember the last time I ran full-tilt. I\u2019m 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 \u2013 other times the changing itself is positive or negative.<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/span><\/p>\n

Conclusion?<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u2019t enough to simply describe a character as \u201ca middle-aged man,\u201d or \u201ca perky 8 year old boy.\u201d 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

*******************<\/span><\/p>\n

Postscript<\/span><\/p>\n

I hope you have enjoyed these storytelling tricks. \u00a0If so, please stop by my web site at Storymind.com<\/a> for many more. \u00a0And while you are there, try free demos of my\u00a0software products for writers to help you develop your story\u2019s world, who\u2019s in it, what happens to them, and what it all means.<\/span><\/p>\n

Melanie Anne Phillips, Creator StoryWeaver, Co-creator Dramatica<\/span><\/p>\n

Need personalized story help?<\/em><\/h2>\n

\"\"Try my story consultation service for free! \u00a0Just email me<\/a> with a bit about your story, and I’ll give you some initial feedback and lay out a customized story development plan for you.<\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n

<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Melanie Anne Phillips 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1806","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-characters"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p36xpN-t8","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/storymind.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1806","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/storymind.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/storymind.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storymind.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storymind.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1806"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/storymind.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1806\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1816,"href":"https:\/\/storymind.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1806\/revisions\/1816"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/storymind.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1806"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storymind.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1806"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storymind.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1806"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}