October 15, 2013

Writing About: A President


FYI: This is a literature post for writers who are interested in writing about a fictional president. This is not a political post. Please keep that in mind. Thank you!
In chapter twenty of my final supernatural-thriller, I introduce a new character: the President of the United States of America. And while I was creating this powerful character, I realized the most difficult character a writer could EVER create is a president. Being a president is the toughest job any person could have and trying to mimic that, even in fiction, is far from easy!

Who is Tomas? Probably not who you think. ;)
Image by Chrys Fey.


Here are three options you can use to help you create a president: 
1.   You could create an evil president. 
To achieve this you would have to describe a mean, narcissistic personality and how this president does things potentially dangerous to the citizens of the country he/she rules. The president could relish in his/her power in a godlike manner, have a thirst for revenge that could include killing, and/or want to secretly bring down the country. Make sure to reveal the state of the country to show the impact of his/her reign.

2.   The other option is to create your ideal president. 
What type of qualities would you like to see in a president? What issues would you want him/her to support? While this method takes after your opinion, it would be wise to consider showing the president in a different light for the sake of remaining  neutral. You can do this by including a character who may not agree with everything your fictional president does in your book.
3.   Or you could try to fashion a president most people could be satisfied with. 
This is by far the trickiest method and the one I took. To do this, you will have to compile a list of traits that others look for in a president and combine as many of them as you can. Trying to create a president everyone can be happy is very well impossible, but the odds of more people liking that fictional president is a bit greater if that is your goal.
Next you will have to complete a character profile. I included gender and race because even though I would like to say that these details don’t matter, it is obvious when it comes to a president (even now-a-days) it does. That doesn’t mean you can’t use whatever gender/race you want, you certainly can! It's you're book!
·         Name:
·         Age:
·         Gender:
·         Race:
·         Party:
·         Position on Issues:
·         Personality:
Don't forget to also consider what he/she would look like as you would with any other character. Just because they are presidential doesn't mean you can't reveal what eye color they have.
Bring Characters to Life!
And if your president has a major role instead of a small role then you'll have to go even more in-depth while creating him/her. Does your evil president chew cinnamon gum like a camel? Does your honorable president like sugar in his coffee? Does she wear a fancy red scarf every day? 
Characters Make a Book
So who is Tomas, you ask?

Here he is:

He's my families cat! :P
I didn't have pictures for this post, so I improvised. 
Image by Chrys Fey.


QUESTIONS: 


1. Have you created a presidential character? How did you do it?


2. Which type of presidential character would you be more interested in reading or writing about: an evil president or an honorable president?



REMINDER: This isn’t a political post, so any comments bashing past presidents or the current president will be deleted. Keep it nice and clean. Thank you!




10 comments:

  1. Thomas is our family cats name!
    He is a yellow tabby cat...He would be an EVIL President!
    He likes to act all lovable on his side on the floor, and when an unsuspecting bystander walks near....BAM! Preactive strike to the legs! Much crying and running ensues from the kids, as he goes back to licking his paws.

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    1. That's too funny!!!!

      Tomas would be a good president, but he would definitely have his moments. He likes to talk back and give attitude when he's not happy. Half the time I think he's more human than cat. LOL!

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  2. I think an evil president is most interesting--especially one masquerading as a good president. Definitely sinister! It would have to be a while before anyone found out he was bad, of course :)

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  3. Hmmm...this is something I haven't thought about. I mean, I have an evil governor in one of my novels but a president. Hadn't thought about it! Knowing my stuff he'd be either funny or a secret bad guy. And btw, if our neighbor's cat doesn't run in 2016, then Tomas might have my vote!

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    1. It was difficult creating a president, but a lot of fun too! I'm glad I did it. :)

      Uh oh, we're going to have a kitty battle in 2016! lol

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  4. So Tomas must be the president in your family? He's adorable! I've never had cats, though. I have two dogs, one who thinks he is the pack leader lol

    Hmm... a sinister president would be interesting for me to read. ;-)

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    1. Tomas is the president in my family! lol He's gone from Florida to Michigan and back again, so he has experience. :P

      I think a sinister president would also be the most fun.

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  5. Great post, Chrys! This one really gets you thinking. I have yet to create a president, but if I were to do so, I'd definitely like to make him an honorable one. Lately, I've been feeling restless about our country and all of the horrible things that have been happening. I've always wanted to take a position myself and eliminate things like bullying, poverty and smoking on the streets, lol. But there is so much more that I see myself doing if I were president of the United States so I'd like to make my character as strong intelligent, nurturing and steadfast as possible. He/she would have to be quick on their feet but at the same time, easy to speak with and have the mind and motive to move and inspire his/her people. I could go on and on...love this!

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    1. I took the same approach as you would with the president in my book. There was enough villains in my series and my protagonist needed someone on her side, so I created an honorable president with a sharp mind and likable personality. But one day, I'd like to try an evil president. ;)

      Glad you liked my post, Gina!

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