I'm a damaged character on the stage of my own life. Functionally schizophrenic, moderately agoraphobic, given to anxiety and panic attacks, and, well, other things. I think everyone, to one degree or another, has damage. It's a human and social thing. Damaged characters are interesting, and stories need to be interesting. That doesn't mean that the protagonist need to be terribly damaged, nor does it mean that everything they say or do is authentic. Almost no one is authentic, and almost no story about an authentic character is interesting. There are, of course, exceptions to the rule. My characters tend to be ordinary people thrown into extraordinary circumstance that reveal their inner fears and uncertainties, and give them an opportunity to overcome them - if only for a moment. Heroes are often damaged characters who rise above their impediments. In the end, they may save themselves, or fall back into the murky reality of their damaged psychologies. I like damaged characters, but only so far as they don't go over the top into comic book land. That's only my preference, of course.
@Horse Dragon I think the percentage of damaged authors is quite high. Emotional pain can often lend itself to creative genius
@AlannaHart Yes, I believe you are right about that. As Captain Kirk said in one of the Star Trek movies: I need my pain!
Sadly damaged characters are used a lot in fiction and it can, and I believe does, give a wrong and negative representation of the mentally ill and only contributes imo to spreading more ignorance on the subject, when far more insight and understanding is needed. To be honest they are the weakest and most vulnerable members of our society, they need a leg up; not negative put-downs.
This is often true. I suppose that is the reason why (if I may quote my previous post) '...My characters tend to be ordinary people thrown into extraordinary circumstance that reveal their inner fears and uncertainties, and give them an opportunity to overcome them...'
A damaged character is not really a bad character nor is it an addiction. Many people find that books/stories they can relate to makes the story much more appealing. Just be careful to fully develop your character and not leave loose ends.
