Pebblepup's Writing Den

How healthy are your characters? Do they have any serious illnesses, or chronic ones? Are they disabled in any way? Consider such a character.

You could use them as the main character, the narrator, or a sidekick. Don’t discount them. The superhero, Daredevil, is blind. Several characters are to wheelchair bound. You can have disabled characters.

You can make them only out of shape, pudgy, or taking daily medication. Think about the health of your character when you create them. The character chart I use, which you can find here, asks if your character is healthy.

A disability is not grounds for ignoring a character. Many disabled persons are able to do most things a non-disabled person can do. The superhero I mentioned, Daredevil, not withstanding. You don’t need to create a superhero, but you could have a friend of the hero hasa disability. Your hero might have heart trouble, like Tony Stark. They could have some other disability.

A character with a challenge such an impediment makes them more human. Give them a challenge like heart trouble, deafness, blindness or some other disability.

Characters could operate under the cloud of worry an impending diagnosis of cancer. This can add both conflict and complications that work to drive your story forward. These are some of the ideas.

A hero who must run when they are quite out of shape can also add conflict. A person struggling with their own weaknesses is an excellent way to bring conflict into a story. Suppose your character is a recovering alcoholic. They must decide at one point if they want the bottle or to overcome whatever obstacle faces them. Sometimes these are the best heroes.

Flaws such as health issues make your characters much more realistic. No one is in perfect health all the time. The ill health doesn’t have to be long term. Think about this scenario. Spiderman must face an archenemy while suffering with a streaming head cold. He hangs on a wall, as he does, with chills and watery eyes. He could be coughing and snuffling with a stuffy nose. The result could not only add conflict, but a bit of humor as well. Especially if a sneeze throws his web slinging aim off.

Your character’s health can have an effect on the story. Think about the problems a sick hero might encounter. What would you need them to overcome while not feeling their best.

Your main character might need to depend on someone who is willing, but sick. It is hard to depend on someone who must run to the toilet every few minutes. This could cause problems for the hero or main character.

Give this idea a thought. Disabled people have role to play in society. See if they can do something for your stories. You may find it rewarding to do that.

Having said that, if the story doesn’t allow for a disability, don’t put one into the story. In other words, don’t add a disabled character for the sake of having a disabled character. Use one only if it works for the story.

Good luck and keep writing.