The Big Bargain

For those of you who heard my talk at the Georgetown Indie Con in early June, you may now skip this blog.

This is about one point from that talk on character and character development. The idea has sort of stuck with me—so maybe it’s worth writing about, too.

The idea is this: we all make a bargain with the world. We are sold a deal. And some of us buy it.

We are told how the world should work. We are given a worldview. At least, we all adopt a worldview. We are raised with a certain attitude about what’s expected. I know, pretty basic, right?

But think about it this way: at some point in our lives we are led to believe that doing X will lead to Y.

For instance, signing a mortgage. You are agreeing to, say, thirty years of debt! But you get a roof over your head, a place to raise your family if that’s your thing. What’s the cost? Thirty years of work. To some, this might be a heavy, grueling burden. To others, signing a mortgage might be a sure sign of security, of having “made it.”

Or for instance, joining a monastery (or a cult). You are agreeing to give up all sorts of things and live a certain lifestyle. In exchange for…enlightenment? It’s a bargain. A deal.

These are bargains on a grander scheme. They may not be that obvious. I think it’s interesting to think about people you know who have rejected the well-beaten path, who shrugged off how they were raised and pursued their own course.

I have a friend who, as far as I can tell, has been traveling the world since their college days (about 40 years). That’s another kind of bargain, but it seems to me a much more purposeful one; it’s very self-aware. I’m in awe of that kind of freedom.

Of course, a bargain implies choice. It’s perhaps good that you (or your character) have the opportunity to make a choice. There are millions and millions of people (also potential characters, of course) who face each day with one thing in mind: survival. Food, a roof, safety.

Do your characters know the bargains they have struck? Do they think about those choices, whether they were mistakes or not? Do they ponder life’s big choices? Are they trying to wriggle free from a burden they wished they didn’t have?

Your story might be much more in the weeds of your character’s day-to-day world. But it might help to show the reader the bigger view—and what deals were struck along the way. Do they conform to authority or rail against it?

The Clash had a great couplet about this. It kicks off the song “Death or Glory.”

Now every cheap hood strikes a bargain with the world
And ends up making payments on a sofa or a girl

Joe Strummer wrote it to acknowledge the complications and responsibilities of adulthood. Complications? Responsibilities? Does your character know the terms of his or her bargain with the world?

It’s worth pondering. And finding a way to show your readers if your character understands the big equation in the sky might give your readers a strong hook into your story.

Final thought: Bargain. It’s a deal, right? It’s a deal in the form of an agreement, and it’s a deal that means, perhaps, you got something cheap. Hmmmmm.