Age

There are many problems I have when it comes to writing, and I've talked about several of them already, so it should come as no surprise that I have yet another I wish to talk about. When I'm writing a character, in my head their age is simply a matter of child versus adult versus old. This, of course, being extremely limited, and rarely stated towards the readers, which makes it a matter of opinion based on the character's actions how old they are.

Even when I'm reading, however, I have this problem. A character's age may very directly be stated, and I still have little more clue as to how old they are five minutes later other than one of these three categories. I don't know why it is, but this is simply how I think of people.

On the one hand, this allows me to avoid certain stereotypes associated with certain ages, I suppose. There's no world-questioning twenty year olds, mid-life crisis fifty year olds, rebellious teens, or anything else you might think of. Age is little more for me than a point in life for events to be occurring. A princess might, for instance, have troubles going on when she is approaching a marrying age, a man might have to face his daughter's first date, or an old couple might face the onset of dementia.

But a lack of specific age can also lead to a lack of understanding or relating between reader and character. If a reader is older than a character, and can think back on what they did or would have done while that age, that character becomes more real for them. If they faced the same hardships, they have empathy. And for a younger reader, they can think forward and imagine themselves doing the same things as they age, and create in their mind a world soon to come. Age gives a character a place in both their world and ours. It is just another way that they can become more real.

I don't know why, knowing all of these things, it is hard for me to say how old some of my favorite characters are, both that I have written and read. Some characters of mine specifically I couldn't even tell you if they were a teenager or an adult. Are they in their twenties? Thirties? I have no idea. I just know what kind of quest I want them to go on, what kind of things i want them to be capable of, and what I want them to learn. As far as I'm concerned, the age is only a modifier. Just something that can be added in later if it comes up.

I wonder if I am alone in this. Of all the characters I have written or read, I think the only character whose age I can state in certainty is Harry Potter, and that is only because his age is so directly tied to the story. Is this an uncommon thing? Or am I alone? Just how important do most people find age to be?

I may never know.