: Re: How to write a convincing character with a opinion that differs from the author's? So I wrote a short text recently in which the character has a very strong political opinion (anti-LGBTQ), which

@Pope4766717

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Are you writing political propaganda or literary work ?

Propaganda often has uses of stereotypical, one-dimensional, simplified characters. Literature seldom does except in satire. Your character has his own motives for not supporting homosexual agenda. These motives could be rational, irrational, based on emotions, based on knowledge or lack thereof, consequence of his personal experiences, product of upbringing, product of religious beliefs etc ... If your character resembles actual real people, with their own flaws and virtues, that is a good thing.

The fact that you cannot easily change his opinion is also a good thing, because in real life people do not shift their opinions easily. In fact, to be against homosexual agenda in modern times is a narrow path against mainstream, and such people do not sway in the wind. It would be good if you could create another realistic character, resembling real people, that does support homosexual agenda. Then try to situate both of them in an interaction (lovers, foes, colleagues, even accidental encounter ...) . From that interaction you could form narrative for your story, and let it find its own conclusion.

This technique has been quite successful in literature. For example, Sholokhov (himself a Communist) used it in his masterpiece And Quiet Flows the Don to portray his characters, both Red and White (and those switching sides) in a Russian Revolution and civil war. Key to success in his novel was that he did not try to vulgarly push his ideas or create stereotypical good and bad characters . Instead he let ostensibly realistic people to develop themselves according to their nature and situation.

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