: Re: Writing a character who is an expert in something that I can't know I'm writing a story where the main character comes back from the dead. The character is fully lucid, knowledgeable and articulate

@Speyer920

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There's a few solutions I'd recommend.

First, I'd recommend something mentioned by Francine DeGrood Taylor in a comment: research common experiences in those who claim to have come back from the dead. While you state you don't want to incorporate any major religious traditions, we find that there's a fair bit of commonality to draw from because everyone involved is human.

Second, instead of focusing on what he knows, focus on how he acts with that knowledge. In some situations, what you know is important. In others, how you act is important. If you keep your character in the sorts of situations where his actions are more important, then you never have to address the question of what he knows.

As an example, one trope that comes up is a character that comes back with some hidden purpose that drives them which they cannot fully convey to anyone else (except the select privileged ones). In such a case, how they act with their disciples can overshadow the knowledge that they found it upon. Another trope might be that the character comes back bemused at everything. It's well recognized that the fear of death is a major factor in the human psyche. Someone who has been through it might simply find all of our trivial daily frustrations downright amusing.

You can draw from existing real life vocations where the act is more important than the knowledge. Magicians, for instance, make a living on stage where the entire audience knows that if they knew the secret, the magic would go away. The magician still manages to weave magic. Zen Buddhist teachers are known for their ability to teach someone who believes the teacher holds a secret. They will openly state that they have no secret to teach, but are more than happy to leverage your belief that they have a secret to teach you something valuable in your life. Or, perhaps less fancifully, politicians know that the spin is often more important than the content they put in the bills.

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