Being a Better Writer: Author Morals and Character Morals

Welcome back, everyone! I'm sure many of you wondered where I was yesterday, since BaBW is primarily a Monday -specific post. Rest assured, all is well. I just had a shift at my other job yesterday that was all day. Didn't seem worth posting once more that I wasn't going to be able to post due to that since I'd already given enough warning that such was going to happen, so I figured most would be okay enough if I left things for today.

Right, that said, what are we talking about today? Well, today's topic is one that once more comes from fan feedback and questions submitted to me by young writers, and one that fortunately I've heard discussed by other authors at length, as well as something I had to consider for myself. It's a topic that will come up with any new writer who is really thinking about what they write and what they're putting out there.

It's the question of character morals and beliefs as they relate to the author's.

You can read the rest of this post at Unusual Things

Comments

[ocalhoun]

If you write nothing but stories about sex, for example, it’s going to be a label that attaches itself to you, even if you try to downplay it. You’d be the one that writes about sex all the time … and no matter what you say, that stigma will be impossible to shake because of the volume of what you’ve written.

And that is why my clop gets posted from an alt account!

[AlouetteSK]

It is really too bad that some people can not get through their head that the morals of the Author and characters do not go hand in hand. Then again, those types of people usually do not use their head as much as their feelings.
As noted, only if a pattern of different characters having the same morals in different stories shows up can one make the argument, but from what I have seen, most just take the first instance, then become outraged and offended, writing up about righting the injustice on their social media medium.

[Beware The Carpenter]

Of the dozens of characters I've created, none of them are me and I understand that, yet I would still say that at some level I am all of them.

I can definitely relate to the swearing thing. There was one scene with a troubled street kid that I re-wrote several times before concluding he needed to be swearing.

It's very important to me that the one's I do relate to more; don't come across as anything close to flawless characters, just like it's important to like the villains. That said: the truth told by an imperfect messenger is still the truth, just like a lie is still a lie no matter how eloquently it is phrased.

Ultimately though, the authors views will eventually shine through.