I flew from Sacramento to Denver today, and during the flight, began considering the effects of traveling. Which got me thinking about characters in books. Naturally. (I know, I’m weird.)
Traveling is hard on the body and mind. Strange to consider, because all we’re really doing is sitting there, right? Wrong.
Anytime we’re taken out of our comfort zone, our subconscious heightens our sense of awareness. For some of us, the effect is more conscious. But the more we travel, and the more familiar the locations, the easier it is for our mind to predict. Thus, lowering our stress levels, and lessening exhaustion.
Traveling must be tiring for our characters also. It can be easy to see the plot, know what needs to happen, then write it. But, it’s important to reflect on how this impacts the characters. Are they accustomed to traveling? Are they used to the methods of traveling? Are they familiar with the locations they are traveling to? The journeys our characters take affect them, change them, mold them. But, how?
Look at yourself and consider the effects on you. When you take a trip, how exhausted are you when arriving at your destination? Or perhaps you’re so excited, adrenaline kicks in and you don’t feel the effects until the next day. Interesting, no?
Characters are people too! So write them that way. Show their exhaustion on their journeys. Show their excitement. Show how sore riding in a saddle all day makes them. Show them daydreaming while driving a great distance, then realizing with surprise that they’ve driven miles.
There are many ways to show the effects of travel, but above all, show their humanity. Show realistic emotions and reactions – this will create empathy and understanding. Create tension due to the stress of traveling.
How does this change them? You decide.
Stonehenge Writers 
On a similar note, I always find it funny when characters climb absurd numbers of stairs–this seems to come up in fantasy a lot, because they’re at a bottom of a canyon or have to climb to the top of the citadel or whatever…and they never, ever get out of breath! After climbing stairs for an hour! It’s always a good idea to remember the real world and it’s actual effects when putting our characters through something…
So true, Cheryl! It’s important to treat our characters as humans, unless there is a very, very good reason not to. Even if our characters aren’t human, they still retain elements of humanity.
See, that sounds like a challenge. Can a human write a character without humanity? Hmmm.
Ah, I see you’re going the other way with this. Very interesting to consider!
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