: Re: How to write about a character adversely different to you So, I am very naturally a nice person. I respect everyone unless they have well and truly wronged me. I go out of my way to help

@Kimberly114

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Close your eyes, leave the keyboard alone for a bit, and imagine yourself as the character—but not at the point you're having trouble writing. If this is the first time you've immersed yourself in their head, start from the beginning. It sounds like you've got a good idea of the events that made them the way they are, so work your way through those events, imagining them as vividly as you can. Make sure to use the first person in your thoughts—I did this, that happened to me—and keep your metaphorical 'viewpoint' firmly behind the eyes of the character, not as an outside observer. This part should give you a good base for sympathizing with the character.

Now, while that's a start, there's also the way the character handles their emotional reaction to events. Everyone experiences negative emotional reactions, of course, but while it sounds like you're probably used to handling those quickly and moving past them, it's not uncommon for people to dwell on their anger, hurt, frustration, etc. until a different reaction to the event, person or situation in question is very difficult.

Think back to a time when you had a similar negative reaction to something, one that was more difficult than usual to move past. Spend some time thinking about things you could have done differently to 'win,' who was most at fault for various aspects of the situation, shifting blame away from yourself when you can get away with it just for practice. Once you're used to the feeling, return to the character's perspective and apply that spiral of negative emotions to the events in their background: everyone really is set against them, and each successive negative outcome is only demonstrating the point further. Positive outcomes are flukes, easily explained by someone else's self-interest just happening to align with their own goals.

This should bring you into the right mindset to write the character's reactions without cringing. If it doesn't, consider whether their attitude is truly consistent with their nature and nurture. And the exercise, of course, works with any character; simply adjust the emotional reactions to suit their nature. Once you've done it a couple times, it should be easier to slip into their mindset and consider only the events leading up to the immediate situation, rather than having to start from the beginning.

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