: Re: Can I make a character make a philosophic observation or say their opinion, even if it's unnecessary for the plot/story? I have a character in my story who has the habit of making philosophic

@Kaufman555

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Presumably you write in a way that speaks to your experience, and your experience will be unique from everyone else's. I appreciate those sorts of things, when I read. Some of my favorite books deal with philosophical points, for example, the role of class in society. Star Trek TOS was particularly good at tackling issues.

So yes, this can work well.

Also, putting in your unique perspective may arguably be what sets your story apart from others. Even though my story might be bad, I know that I'm the best person to tell it, because I see the story. I see it because of my life history. You see your story, and if your philosophical ideas are relevant, then add them in. I'd also say, don't be afraid to add more to your story, such as a subplot (or another subplot!), through which you can state your ideas and add more complexity at the same time.

Using a specified character to voice the ideas is one approach to introducing your ideas but it's not the only approach. This is the approach I'm using - and it helps distinguish that particular character voice. But, my beta readers wanted me to pare down some of the ramblings. I think they were written in too much of a dump.

--> A good example of what I think you are describing is seen in Mistborn. One character, Sazed, sprinkles information about different religious philosophies throughout the book. Sazed has the knowledge, because part of his magic is to store all history. He shares the knowledge because a main character, Kelsior, is trying to start a new religion to overthrow the evil empire (this part of Kelsior's plan is unknown to the reader until the end of the story.) Sanderson did a nice job of constructing a wide range of fictional religious philosophies for Sazed to draw from.

It works extremely well.

My answer: Construct an in-story reason for the philosophical points that you are writing.

(Sanderson's is described above. Mine is less sophisticated - it's simply that this character has a highly relevant back story to the book's plot, and his philosophies all come from that. They are shared through revelation of his backstory.)

Add in all that you feel are right, and keep an eye on them during revision and critique.

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