Character is an expert on something I'm not
My OC Edward, who I thought of quite a while ago but haven't done anything with, is a professional cyber spy and hacker. He's employed by an organization (in the future, of course) that is basically trying to curate all the data in the world, including that which is not readily available, which is where people like Edward come into play. This organization hires people who can access hidden data, like unreleased tax returns of corporations or deleted emails of suspicious politicians, and cover their tracks so that there's no proof that the organization is invading privacy or doing illegal things, and then anonymously release the data onto a site called Vox Populi.
Obviously, I'm not a hacker or a cyber spy. So how do I write this guy's profession? I've tried to research hacking and cyber warfare before, but I mostly get fake BS on conspiracy blogs or cliched portrayals of hacking in the media (nerdy friend taps on the keyboard a few times and exclaims, "I'm in!). I'm excited to expand on this character and plot line, but I can't do it if I'm totally ignorant of the whole theme that the novel revolves around.
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The answer is research, research, and more research. I'm not an expert on horseback riding, or sword-fighting, or ruling a country. The only way I can write convincingly about those subjects is by doing research.
Research can take many forms. It can be reading about the subject, both guides and first-hand accounts. It can be talking to people who do the thing. It can be finding the relevant experts on youtube. It can be going and doing the thing yourself, to get at least some idea of what it feels like. Obviously, not all methods are applicable to all things you need to research. I don't get to "try running a country". But you get as much tidbits of information as you can, and then fill in the blanks with good writing.
Things you want to focus your research on:
- The big picture: how is the thing done at all?
- Details: as many as you can. Small colourful details can make the picture come alive. For instance, a horse needs to be praised, and if you're doing a long journey on horseback, you're going to be alternating walk and trot. That's details writers who treat horses as "slow medieval cars" ignore.
- Problems that might arise. Problems generate conflict. Conflict makes your story interesting.
- Jargon. The very specific language of the particular field of interest again makes your work come alive. Your character would be using those specific terms. A knight wouldn't be talking of a "horse", but of destriers and rounceys.
For your particular character, you won't find anything useful by googling "how to hack a website". Or at least, I don't think you would. But try searching for the opposite - for how computer security works. Talk to someone who works in the field, or at least read up on that. By learning about the defence, you can learn about the attack.
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Ask an expert.
Obviously, research is an important first step. But there's only a finite amount of research you can do, and without intimate knowledge of the subject, you have no way of knowing whether the research you're doing is the right research.
So find an expert, and convince them to be a beta reader. They'll be able to spot the things that stand out as unrealistic, and give you insights into what would actually happen in those spots. As a bonus, experts are good primary research sources as well, but it's as beta readers where they shine, because the rough spots that are obvious to them won't be obvious to you.
Find a single detail, and explain it in depth.
If your readers see your character demonstrate a deep and accurate understanding of a small portion of their field, then they will assume that your character has a similar understanding of all the other aspects of their job.
As long as you don't make any egregious errors, the trust you earned from the initial proof will allow you claim that your character has expertise on similar subjects with very few details that you need to learn.
I heartily recommend the Writing Excuses episodes "Characters who are smarter than you are" and "Learning to listen as a writer", especially when Mary Robinette talks about how she wrote the Calculating Stars and dealing with the things she didn't know about. Each episode is 15-20 minutes long, and very educational.
This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/41180. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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