One of the things that bugs me about modern science fiction is the characters... Despite often being parts of supposedly military organizations, they pull rank at the slightest provocation. Their leaders give bad orders, and their subordinates disobey reasonable ones. The Peter Principle is everywhere on display.
We see characters who can do anything and everything well, who always succeed and have no sense of their own fallibility. Headstrongness has become almost a kind of plot armor.
We see characters who turn minor disagreements into massive splinters and nursed grudges. They rarely discuss their differences and come to some kind of middle ground, not even an agreement to disagree in too many cases.
We also see fiction where the PoV character almost always knows best.
We see never-before-observed phenomena and problems solved in five minutes with the science-fiction equivalent of chewing gum and gravel.
A part of my desire is to push against this trend, and while I was creating my debut novel, Pursuit of the Heliotrope, I came up with five planks to help create characters that are balanced--capable but flawed.
The five planks are:
- Professionalism. Characters argue but attempt to reach consensus.
For instance, in one of the discussions, Lew comes up with an idea that makes Orland Co. look a little bad, but the company rep looks at his arguments in good faith and attempts to provide additional info to help mitigate any situations that might arise if Lew is right.
My characters maintain professional language and tone.
For instance, the Orland company rep is not demanding or haughty. Iggy and Wyatt have a very professional back-and-forth as Iggy searches for traps on a ship. Criticisms are done in private, when necessary and possible.
Ranks are respected but not worshipped.
For instance, Aric makes a point to treat his hired contractors well, at his own expense. There are occasional direct orders given, but when they happen, they are usually for the clear benefit of the subordinate. Wyatt recognizes that he's getting older, and remembers the value of youthful agility. - Respectability. Subordinates respect superiors and superiors respect subordinates.
For instance, Aric recognizes Lew's expertise on repairs, and puts significant trust into his evaluations. Iggy says to Aric that he "learned from the best," but he's careful to say this so that Wyatt and Max can't hear him.
Superiors know the strengths and weaknesses of their subordinates and give them appropriate tasks.
For instance, Wyatt assigns two solid engineers to help Lew work on the Heliotrope. Wyatt even knows that one of his people, Wil, is a good cook--even though that has nothing to do with Wil's official duties.
Subordinates look up to their superiors, for good reason, and understand that they can learn from them.
For instance, Wyatt's part-time engineers both look up to Lew as they see his expertise is the real deal.
Disagreements happen but they are usually resolved calmly; criticisms are not seen as or used for personal attacks.
For instance, at one point Wyatt neglects to mention a possible tactic, but for good reason, which a short conversation and some reasonable questions shows. - Specialization. Each character has strong and weak points.
For instance, the different crew members are assigned to the tasks that they're best at. Lew is good at haggling for parts, but not for other goods, and he knows it.
Characters aim at tasks that match their skills.
For instance, the same people work with Lew multiple times on engineering tasks.
Superiors point their subordinates in the directions that match their skills, and also the superiors recognize those skills.
For instance, Wyatt's assignments to the Kingfisher for a particular maneuver. - Competence. People in certain positions are generally there for a reason.
Everyone recognizes Wyatt's expertise in security work. Aric handles high-level planning way better than Lew or Bill. The captains of each ship command the respect of their crew because they are seen as competent, but not overcompetent.
Problems are solved, but it takes time and materials. There are several briefings and planning sessions. Resources are finite and have limited flexibility. Sometimes things are jerry-rigged and sometimes there's a plan to get what they need. There is significant down-time when time-intensive tasks need to be completed.
Simple ideas are thought up by multiple specialized characters. Bill and Max have a common idea at one point, and so do Aric and Lew. - Fallibility. This is the negative plank that ties everything together.
Even characters with strong specializations can and do fail. There are a few examples of this in the book.
Characters also recognize the possibility of failure and try to plan for contingencies. They check the final quality of their work, too.
For instance, when Lew is fixing some thrusters, he not only takes time and materials and manpower to finish the repairs, but he talks about the tests he performed to ensure that the repairs are holding.
