The Load of my story

I have a character in my story who's pretty much designed to be The Load. In a team of Specialists, each member excelling in one or more particular fields (One swordsman/gunslinger, one big guy with lots of guns, one Gadgeteer Genius, one Martial Arts expert, and one Strategist) she has almost no combat skills except for natrual athleticism. I want her to be like this, because of an idea I had where her boyfriend (the swordsman) is paranoid about her wellbeing, and recruits her just so he can keep an eye on her. One of his major character faults is that he doesn't trust her or anyone else to protect her, and shortsightedly puts her in danger by dragging her into direct combat. She herself is pro-active and eventually finds her forte (negotiations) an learns to become capable at swordfighting even though she's the weakest front line fighter. Will I be able to keep her likeable during the time when she's a blatant and full on load?

Probably not, because she's putting the rest of the group in danger just by being around, and even when she does find her niche, it's very much in the vein of The Chick.

A way to keep her likeable would be to make her character very sweet. If she's a load during missions, make her useful afterwards or beforehand-Don't make her a scrappy, but let the characters warm up to her. Maybe make her resent the fact hat she's dragged into combat because her boyfriend is a bit of a psycho.

Before I get ahead of myself, I want to ask a question: is she going to be completely helpless in a combat situation (relative to the fact that the rest of her teammates are the best at what they do)? If it were up to me, I'd at least give her a gun or something — and logically, I can't imagine the swordsman's pals agreeing to bringing a Load into a fight without protection or weaponry. That alone might affect the squad tactics and dynamics. It's just something to think about...

But enough of that. Since there's a reason why The Load is generally reviled, I think there are two things you should do, or at least consider.

• If she starts as The Load, fine — just don't have her stay that way for too long.
• How she ACTS as The Load is vital, too; does she just sit around and whine, or make trouble for her team, or anything of the sort? If so, people might have a venomous reaction to her...

One way to think about handling the Load is, what can she offer that no one else in the group can? She may not be much of a fighter, but like the others have alluded to, she can still be of use. The negotiator angle is something that I think is pretty interesting, but there's still more she can "physically" do, I'd wager.

Just spitballing here, but here are a few ideas:

• Maybe she can be a part of Mission Control a safe distance away. Or maybe she's the driver of the team's cool vehicle.
• Or if you absolutely want her to avoid being entangled in combat, make her part-medic.

But beyond that, she could offer a lot more besides her battlefield contributions. What if she's the moral compass of the group? Maybe the one who makes sure that the group doesn't kill each other (or themselves)? You can give her elements of a Team Mom — even if she's just a regular human, she could offer services vital to the team's success. And even beyond that, you could have her as a counterbalance; if the other guys are brooding, muscle-bound idiots/jerks (I'm exaggerating, of course), have her be a more lighthearted member of the group to keep things from getting to heavy for readers. Or if the world itself is bleak, have her be a glimmer of hope or idealism. As a negotiator, I imagine there's plenty she can do towards promoting peace and trust.

Well, those are just my musings — use them at your leisure. Still, I hope that helps you out a bit.

edited 14th Jun '11 9:56:33 PM by Voltech44