Hello everyone, I'm currently developing a couple of characters for a new story I'm working on, and I've come across something of a brick wall. One of my characters, Jael-of-Tents, is completely and utterly homeless, while at the same time being an individual who enjoys indulging in some serious hallucinogens. The world is mid to late Industrial Revolution, low-magic (there's something that better resembles alchemy, but very few people know any details, so it's not too relevant here). Cities are largely separated by huge untamed wildernesses which are quite a difficulty to cross, though in recent years trains and airships have become popular (if expensive). Basically, what I'm wondering is how I could make her a more believable character, in terms of minor details. How would a character like her survive on the streets? How could they travel? What kind of hallucinogens could be useful? Even just tiny minor things, like a clothing choice, or a habit, or an affectation would be great. I've never written someone like her before, so I'd like to get things right. Thanks
Honestly I'd start researching the lives of people who are or have been longterm homeless. The bare facts of sleeping on the street won't have changed all that much. The basic reasons certain types of clothes are preferable probably translate. Similarly, where/how to hide your stuff, what kind of food is a good bet, transport options (you might not be able to sneak onto a bus or train in your setting, but you can probably grab onto the back of a loaded cart till the driver notices you - basically figure out the mechanism by which people do something now and then translate it back to your time).
I lived on the street for several years, on and off. I got caught stealing a car with a friend and instead of going to jail, my mom convinced the DA to give me a floater out of the county. I was on the street with no friends and no money. A night in jail was food and a shower, even though some weird pervert was watching me. I can tell you—it was miserable the cold goes right through you, everything scraped at your skin. Your clothes became an important possession. Food was a priority. I remember in Albuquerque buying a bowl of what I thought was stew was actually green chili. I had never eaten hot stuff before, but I ate every drop. Sweat was dripping off my red face—me begging for more crackers. The cook got a great laugh at my effort to finish it. Trying to survive by taking things was not considered stealing. I would find a motel where the cleaners would leave a door open and take money out of the radio or the vibrating bed at the time. Most of the people you’d meet hd nicknames that would reference something about them. I didn’t give any of theses names for the PC police—but my friends were called Gray Bobby, Feal-less Fosdick, Dirty Dee, Trashy Julie, and No-Legs Patty. They all were characters, each with reasons they were the despot of society. I tried living with uncles and became like an unpaid hired hand but one by one they dropped me off on the highway telling me it just didn’t work out. You could buy alcohol from the drugstore or filter it out from canned heat. I had some friends that drink an aftershave, but I never tried it. I preferred fortified wines or port wines, as they’re called. After the military I ended up back on the street but I was able to get friends to support my drinking and eventually got a job as a bartender.
It would have a lot to do with the attitude of the society toward vagrancy. There have been times and places where vagrants were exiled or jailed, tortured or killed. And times when they were welcomed, fed and assisted. So you need to determine that aspect of it.
A few random things I can think of—a homeless person might spot-wash their clothes when able, in a bathroom (I'm thinking contemporary—I suppose a well or horse trough in your setting) while wearing them, rather than the luxury of taking them all off and really washing them. Soap would be a rare luxury. They might also spot-wash the worst parts of their bodies at the same time. I know if a person living on the street has anything valuable like a good warm coat or a sleeping bag, they'll get beat up very badly, like broken skull or ribs, and it will be taken from them. Again, this is contemporary. Depending on your society it might be the same or totally different.
So, a few thoughts on this. Being homeless in mid-to-late industrial revolution is surely different than today, so I would pay attention to that difference. Life as a homeless person today is no doubt difficult, but I’d wager it was much more difficult back then. Today homeless people have easy access to food, can get their laundry clean, and often have cell phones (access to knowledge). I imagine all of those would be greatly diminished in your time period. For travel, they’d probably have to stowaway or negotiate work/trade. If you’re researching homelessness today there are videos on YouTube where people talk about what it’s like to be homeless. I know most people treat them as less than human (quite sadly), and I’ve heard several homeless people say that most people “see through/past them.” I’ve also heard that they are some of the most approachable people you can meet. Since every day is a serious struggle, I imagine many homeless people have a routine (though many undoubtably don’t). For those with a drug addiction it is getting money however they can, soliciting it, a side hustle, or crime. Another thought you may have considered is the use of hallucinations. Most homeless people who use drugs do hard drugs, which hallucinations don’t really fit the bill (by my definition). When I hear hallucinogens, I think psychedelics. I would be extremely shocked to hear of any homeless person using them. However, hallucinogens could also mean dissociative drugs like PCP/Ketamine, rather than LSD/mushrooms/other synthetics. The term hallucination is actually a misnomer, as it can mean many things. This image gives a good overview of the different drug classes: Dissociatives make sense because they are addictive, and allow you to escape (dissociate) from your troubles. Only issue there is the class of drugs, PCP/Ketamine specifically, may not have been around in your story’s time. I do a lot of reading on Wikipedia so I’d be happy to dive in deeper on the topic if you like. I think even the use of psychedelics makes sense due to the alchemy in your story, and if you’re character isn’t fiending for them, is fine. Or, since you have alchemy you can create an addictive one, or maybe he’s just an outlier. I find you asking which ones would be useful and important point of clarify when helping you research the topic. If he’s using them as a tool, a lot of possibilities open up. Psychedelics make connections in the mind, open your perspective so your brain connects the dots on things you don’t normally “see,” that may or may not be happening. If you want to clarify on the nature of his drug's use I’d be happy to pitch some ideas. Dissociatives make sense for escapism, but I’ve also read reports of people “traveling to other realms” on them as well, which would meet the description of hallucinogenic. Mushrooms can manifest a deeply spiritual experience. LSD can make you see the conspiracy that was happening, in one fell swoop, that you didn’t see before; they could maybe make your character anticipate events shortly before they happen due to one’s subconscious mind connecting context clues.
Holy crap I was going to reply to the OP but this made anything I had to say redundant. Have you written your story cos I wanna read it!
Reddit is a huge place but it's more of a current resource than one from a hundred years ago. You can look at: r/homeless, r/almosthomeless, r/urbancarliving, r/vandwellers, r/digitalnomad just for some ideas. Also in terms of how people see homeless people, look at r/hostilearchiture - people really don't want the homeless people around.
Background is also important. Was she always homeless or did she become a homeless person after things happened. If she used to live in a home, then drawing a contrast between those good years of having a shelter and her present situation might help.
