Writerly Wednesday: When your characters don't agree with you

Armed with the satellite remote, my husband sat down on the couch and began flipping through channels.

I entered the room as he settled on a rerun of CSI. "Hey, I love this episode," I said. "This is the one where the kid kills his college roommate because the roommate is having a homosexual affair with the kid's dad."

Exasperated, my hubby turned off the television and pushed himself up from the couch. "I guess I don't need to watch it now. Thanks for ruining it for me."

Scenarios like this are why my husband started watching Bones instead of CSI. I can't spoil the ending because I haven't seen every episode. In fact, I never really liked Bones.

Then a few weeks ago I caught an episode where the charred body of a man with devil horns was found on the altar of a Catholic church. That's when I discovered the main character -- Dr. "Bones" Brennan -- was an atheist.

At one point in the episode she said, "That would have great meaning to your superstitious followers."

I found the expression of her views on a higher power (and those who believe in one) to be irreverent, offensive and condescending.

I should have been saying, "Hey, wait a minute, jerky. Those are fightin' words."

But I didn't. Instead, I found myself more drawn to the show.

Why? Well, there were a few reasons.

First, Dr. Brennan's attitude fit her character. Second, it forced me to reassess why I believe what I believe, thereby strengthening my faith. And third, her partner -- Special Agent Booth -- balanced Dr. Brennan's lack of beliefs with his own take on faith.

There ended up being a lot of truth behind the message in that particular episode: "We all become angry with God sometimes." (Amen, brother. Amen.)

I mentioned my shift in attitude toward the show the other day to a friend. Surprisingly, the friend responded by telling me about a similar situation.

She had grown to love a character on a medical drama but, as someone who is pro-life, she felt conflicted when the character encouraged another (an unmarried teen) to have an abortion. In the end, the unmarried teen chose to have her baby and give it up for adoption.

My friend said the happy ending for all kind of balanced the message.

But not all endings are happy. Not all fiction -- whether in word or on screen -- adequately balances the pros and cons of controversial topics. Sometimes we become so wrapped up in the offense we feel to our personal beliefs that the greater message gets lost.

Creating a character who is vocal about a controversial topic is a tricky thing. There is a delicate line between potentially offending an entire group of people and broadening someone's view of the world.

My advice: Proceed with caution.

Have you encountered a character whose personal beliefs clashed with your own? Did you continue reading the book or watching the movie/television show? And have you created any characters who do not share your beliefs? If so, was it difficult to get into his/her head?