How do I write a blind character in a fantasy without ripping off of Toph or DareDevil?

Discussion in 'Character Development' started by Link the Writer, Feb 19, 2017.

  1. Sack-a-Doo!

    Sack-a-Doo! Contributor Contributor

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    Perhaps you could familiarize yourself with as many other blind characters as you can find. Then any character you write will be more of an amalgam.

    Or... just write the character as a person who happens to be blind.
     
  2. rocketshark

    rocketshark New Member

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    The first thing I would suggest when writing anything you don't have first hand experience is listening to those who do. Read first-hand accounts and interviews, or better yet see if you can talk to someone who is blind about their experiences. See things from their point of view. There are, in fact, real world people who can and do use echolocation, and others who get on just fine without it.

    Secondly, I love your idea! Having a protagonist that is blind is a unique challenge, but in a fantasy world it would make for a fascinating perspective on things - especially when they can 'see' something others can't extrasensory but themselves lack the ability what most readers use to experience their own world in the sense of shape and color. It gives you the chance to explore the setting with the other senses, and creates challenges not often seen in that kind of setting. The idea that she would still struggle to make sense of a room and still relies on her cane just plain excites me, because it adds a level of tension that is constant and very real. It also immediately makes the reader empathize.

    I think Star Trek did an excellent job with this with Geordi LaForge. He has to balance being able to see the electromagnetic spectrum in ways no other can (and comes in super useful as an engineering officer!), but he is unable to experience simple things like a sunset. Use what you've seen done 'right' with Toph and Daredevil. Clint Barton (Hawkeye) is another disabled character in the marvel universe you could look at (he's deaf and wears hearing aids).

    I would suggest not trying to make up for the lost vision 100%, because there is something vaguely irritating and ablest to me about stories that wave off the struggles of a character with disabilities by giving them compensating super powers that 'replace' things to the point of them being superior. For example, not downplaying the struggles she faces just by being blind, while still making her capable. Hard to balance, I know. BAD Daredevil stories do that. It also feels like an excuse not to use the natural tension to your advantage as a writer.

    Again, love the idea! I wish you good writing~
     
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  3. Link the Writer

    Link the Writer Flipping Out For A Good Story. Contributor

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    Oh no, her Soul Aura does not make up for her lost vision. She can see what amounts to inverted shadows of living beings, but that's about it. Even then, it's limited only to humans and animals as this special ability is something one has to be taught how to do in incremental steps. She wasn't born knowing how to 'see' trees. So she'll have to rely on feel, smell, and sounds for them. :D Even if and when she's able to see the 'inverted shadow' of a flower, that's all she'll ever see. She won't be able to see the true color and beauty of a flower.
     
  4. rocketshark

    rocketshark New Member

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    That, to me, is an excellent balance. The 'soul aura' is interesting by itself and you already seemed to have thought about how it works , it's limitations, and in addition to her blindness. :) You've got yourself a pretty open palette to work with regarding that idea.
     
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  5. Link the Writer

    Link the Writer Flipping Out For A Good Story. Contributor

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    Guess it's now time for me to commence writing Mishu's story. Toph, DareDevil, Geordi, prepare for the inclusion of yet another badass blind character. :p (Crap, we forgot Zatoichi!)
     
  6. rktho

    rktho Contributor Contributor

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    What if she has invisible rods that come out of her eyes that function a little like her cane? They're ethereal and not physical, but with them she can sense things by "bumping" against objects with them. So if she looked at a table, the rods would "hit" the table. And then, as part of the ability, she could see the entirety of whatever the rods touched. So if she looked the table, the rods would act like cursors and highlight whatever object they touched, so she could see the whole table. But not anything else. She'd have to move her eyes to a different object to see it. So she can see everything more or less perfectly, but without color, and she can only see one thing at a time. Unless it has a soul, of course.

    Am I making sense?
     
  7. rktho

    rktho Contributor Contributor

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    Don't forget Star Wars: Rahm Kota, Kanan Jarrus, and of course, Chirrut Imwe.
     
  8. Link the Writer

    Link the Writer Flipping Out For A Good Story. Contributor

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    Uh... No. No you are not.

    I can kind of see where you're going with it, but....I imagined literal metal rods coming out of her eyes.

    I was thinking more like she combines her Soul Aura with her other senses to gain a bigger picture. The problem here, though, is that I'm worried readers will think she's not blind. For example:

    Lord Valmorn sat down, reached for what I assumed was a cup. After a moment where he drank, he set the cup down and cleared his throat. "Tell me something," he said, "is it true what they say of you? That you...made contact with the Forbidden Ones?"

    I know it's not that long, but I'm just concerned that even though she could see Lord Valmorn's Aura and surmise what he's doing, the description would act like she wasn't blind.
     
  9. rocketshark

    rocketshark New Member

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    I'd focus on the old adage of SHOW don't TELL. Focus on showing us what she is experiencing: when she assumed he reached for a cup, was it because she saw his 'soul shadow' reach across, grab something, and lift it to his mouth? Could she hear him drinking it? Did she believe he sat it down because she heard the sound of the cup being set on the table? It'll be clearer she's blind if you can focus on how she's ascertaining things rather than just telling us what she's actually witnessing.
     
  10. Link the Writer

    Link the Writer Flipping Out For A Good Story. Contributor

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    So more like:

    Lord Valmorn reached across for something, I wasn't sure what until I heard the sound of glass scraping on the table followed shortly by gulping. "Tell me," he said, moving his hand down. "Is it true what they say..."
     
  11. rocketshark

    rocketshark New Member

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    Much better! It puts us more firmly in the shoes of the protagonist, allowing us to 'see' with her eyes, so to speak. The only nitpick I'd have is the beats of the action and how she perceives them:

    Lord Valmorn reached across for something, glass scraping the table, and brought it to his lips. He took a drink. "Tell me," he said, an there was a clink as he set the cup down. "Is it true what they say..."

    This might just be my writing style vs. yours, but for the sake of flow, you can probably sacrifice small things like 'moving his hand down' and 'followed shortly by gulping' to describing the actions she already recognizes from context. I'm sure she'd be able to make assumptions before he finished his swig-it's a common action she probably 'sees' a lot. Once she realizes it's a cup from the sounds and his 'shadow', you can slowly work that into your description of the action - she now knows he has a cup, so she knows what he's setting down, and you wouldn't need to necessarily write out that entire flow of thought. It interrupts the pace of the scene as we put together what she's 'seeing' as she does, unless those things are important for us to know. It's a fine balance and depends on what you feel is more your style as a writer.
     
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  12. Link the Writer

    Link the Writer Flipping Out For A Good Story. Contributor

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    That sounds better, use her 'sight' and other senses to paint the picture rather than have her narration cut the flow with 'I wasn't sure what...' Once she hears the glass on the table, or the clinking of ice in the water, she would know exactly what he's picking up. She's had her entire life to learn how to piece together what's going on with her other senses.

    My style, currently, has a lot of redundancy so that's an issue I'm struggling to work on. :p I like the way you worded it: it flows better and it doesn't presume Mishu or the audience are complete morons. She knows what a person drinking from a glass 'looks' like and sounds like. Once Lord Valmorn drags the glass across the table and brings it up toward himself, she would know exactly what he's doing.
     
  13. rocketshark

    rocketshark New Member

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    Yes, exactly!

    I think redundancy is a gremlin that never goes away. I've caught myself using the same metaphor twice in ten pages, lol.

    Thanks! I'm glad the change helped. :)
     
  14. Link the Writer

    Link the Writer Flipping Out For A Good Story. Contributor

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    A part of me wants to delete the draft I got, start over with the change in mind...but that would be an intensely stupid thing for me to do, right?
     
  15. rocketshark

    rocketshark New Member

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    Yes, please don't do that.

    Just keep writing. Make a note to yourself of what changes you want to make in your next draft, and go forward with the perspective in mind as you write. Although I totally get the wanting to start over. I have been there so many times. :dead:
     
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  16. Jeff Countryman

    Jeff Countryman Living the dream

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    "How does she even navigate in this world when she's blind?" . . . that was your original question. The answer is 'be blind' - no need for anything else. Research will give you everything you need to know without magically creating things.....KNOW your character. Seriously....KNOW her/him/it. No magic needed!!!!! Learn the craft of writing before you write. Carry on......
     
  17. Pinkymcfiddle

    Pinkymcfiddle Banned

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    Is it correct to exploit the visually impaired this way?
     
  18. ChickenFreak

    ChickenFreak Contributor Contributor

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    If she's important, couldn't she have a human servant that handles the seeing?
     
  19. Link the Writer

    Link the Writer Flipping Out For A Good Story. Contributor

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    Hey, um, I think the question's already been taken care of, last three posters. :D Sorry about that.
     
  20. Link the Writer

    Link the Writer Flipping Out For A Good Story. Contributor

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    Good thing I'm half-blind and went to a school for the deaf and blind, no? ;) Besides, it's not like I'm creating the FIRST EVER BLIND BADASS WARRIOR EVAH!! :p

    Plus, how is this exploitation when I'm planning to showcase how she deals with the negative side of being blind, yet show her being a tough badass? This isn't friggin' The Miracle Worker, not by a long shot. She'd bitchslap Anne Sullivan across the face if the woman tried to 'save her'. “Bitch, please,” Mishu would say, “I don't need to be saved by you, I'm the one that's going to save you!”

    @ChickenFreak - She has a sword-cane and her 'Soul Aura' sight. She also reads their universe's equivalent of Braille, so why would she need a sighted companion to be with her 24/7?

    @Jeff Countryman - You didn't read the thread at all, mate. The question was clearly: "How do I basically not put Toph and/or Daredevil in my book". I hate to break it to you three, but the concept of a fictional badass being also blind is a tale as old as time. Hence the purpose of this thread. I think you're trying to twist this to something it isn't.
     
    Last edited: Mar 26, 2017
  21. Ettina

    Ettina Senior Member

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    I agree with making sure that her blindness still affects her despite her powers. (That's one reason I much prefer Toph and Geordie to Daredevil - Toph can't see color or airborne things, Geordie is blind whenever his visor is removed or malfunctions, whereas the versions of Daredevil I've seen have no limitations.) And the fact that she can only see living creatures is an interesting limitation that I haven't seen before, as best I can recall. I like the snippet of description you and the other responder worked out.

    One thing though - don't have her 'missing out on the beauty of things'. With her perception, she'd more likely find different things beautiful rather than not experiencing visual beauty at all. (For example, she might really enjoy watching dances.) And if you have her lament not experiencing visual beauty, that feeds into ableist pity tropes.
     
  22. Seraph751

    Seraph751 If I fell down the rabbit hole... Contributor

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    Idea #1:
    Extremely heightened spatial cognition.
    When you drive spatial cognition is a biggie. How do you know if your car will fit between two cars when you get into another lane?
    How do you know when someone is too close. That feel of "Hey ya' bastard you're in my personal space!" Spatial Cognition!!!! This sense of pressure is natural for us. It is both a passive self-defense mechanism and an active defensive and offensive mechanism.

    Idea #2:
    Set a timer and blind-fold yourself for a minimum of 5-10 minutes. First hand perspective huzzah!

    Idea #3:
    This bounces of your idea of sensing living objects. If she is in a forested area or an area with heavy plant-life and animals (humans/humanoids included) she can use that to navigate around the 'dead zones' i.e. rocks, buildings, and vehicles.

    Hope this helps!
     
    Last edited: Apr 7, 2017
  23. Shattered Shields

    Shattered Shields Gratsa!

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    Since she's a magic user, she could manifest "tendrils" of air or water to feel the environment around her. It need not even be air or water, it could be raw feelers of magic. You could easily BS about that to your readers. The weakness of this would be the fact that these feelers might not be able to go very far, and that her enemies may be able to see/sense them and destroy them. That could also disorient her and leave her vulnerable.

    As for not making her like Dare Devil or Togh (I know the struggle, Togh is awesome), just make sure that the only thing she has in common with them is her blindness. Mayhap's Mishu still brushes her hair while Toph just lets hers go? Just an idea, hope it helps!
     
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