Three Reasons Your Characters Should Break the Rules
Let's face it: We create rules to follow and break. In my science fiction novel, Astria, one protagonist encounters a dilemma that has the potential to shape his entire future.
The character, Ternon, stands before a Council and faces a decision to either keep a secret about a high government official or risk sharing the truth and thus jeopardizing his chance at leadership.
Ternon chooses what he believes is right, despite the consequences. Most readers believe this was an honorable act, however, some think he acted foolishly. Either way, I think it makes him an interesting character.
Here are three reasons characters should sometimes take risks and break rules, regardless of how things turn out in the end.
1. INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL CONFLICTS WRITE THEMSELVES
As crime novelist William Kent Krueger states, "It's the conflict that drives marvelous stories." For writing about characters who break the rules, they come equipped with both external and internal issues.
The external conflicts are clear in that the result of breaking a rule will bring consequences, be it running from the law, losing their job, keeping secrets from loved ones, losing an honor or award, being kicked out of school, or something else entirely. This also helps to raise the stakes for your narrative.
Internal conflicts come as self-doubt, guilt, shame, and fear as the characters struggle with whether their actions were worth it, how much harm was done, and if they deserve what is coming to them. These worries provide a type of layered internal turmoil that pairs perfectly with their external obstacles. As they grapple with their external dilemmas, they are simultaneously dealing with their inner turmoil.
2. CHARACTERS WHO BREAK THE RULES ASK US WHAT RULES MAY BE WORTH BREAKING
At the start, I discussed how people set rules for a reason. However, characters can also break rules to raise awareness of certain issues and provoke readers into thinking differently. In T.J. Klune’s adult fantasy novel The House in the Cerulean Sea, caseworker Linus Baker eventually concludes that the Rules and Regulations pamphlet he’s held onto for years is more an instrument of control over magical youth than help.
The book takes place in an imaginary world, but we can find reflections of our own system in the principles that Linus believes he should uphold – reporting undefined magical creatures, for one example, or judging schools based on results instead of care given. When Linus learns some regulations ought to be broken, perhaps we too should come to the same conclusion. Characters who disobey the status quo challenge the environment they live in rather than accept it without question; isn’t this why we read books – to uncover new views and potential realities?
3. MORAL GRAY AREAS = FUN DISCUSSIONS
This is more about marketing than writing, but moral dilemmas extend into book club debates and interesting author events. For instance, John Grisham's classic A Time to Kill planted the question of Carl Lee Hailey as a hero or villain in readers' minds for thirty years. And Sarah Penner's The Lost Apothecary calls readers to consider whether a woman who sells potions to kill abusive husbands deserves acclaim or punishment in their eyes. Characters like these give writers endless topics for discussion that may not have straightforward answers.
They should be complex and flawed: allowing them to break the norms adds extra conflict, heightens the stakes, forces people to assess their values, and creates an opportunity for ethical deliberation.
Eric Myers
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