Your Story Can Turn on the Reputations (Good and Bad) of Your Characters

One of my favorite stories as a child was "Seven at One Blow" (also known as "The Brave Little Tailor"). The catalyst for the action is the tailor's claim that he killed seven. He actually killed seven flies, not, as people assumed, seven men. His reputation was overblown, but it opened up opportunities for him, eventually, to marry the princess and rule half the kingdom.

The Scarlet Letter is all about reputation in the community. Westerns are full of people challenged because they have the reputation of being the fastest gun. And it's very common in stories for characters to have their reputations threatened, which could destroy their hopes or even make them pariahs.

I love how in the movie Stand by Me, Gordy, the protagonist is overshadowed by his late brother's reputation as an athlete. In fact, it's interesting to see how, with all the action in that movie, reputation is vital to the story. For instance, Chris is trapped and abused because of the reputation created by his family. No one expects anything good from a Chambers boy. He's so oppressed, he's willing to surrender his future, but the story changes him so that he embraces his talents despite the community's opposition.

With all the great examples in fiction, I think, because visual storytelling is so powerful, the idea of reputation is neglected by today's storytellers. It still shows up, but often is its fully exploited because the focus is on goals and desires that you could photograph. Now, I'm a big advocate of having tangible goals and desires in stories. But sometimes deeply understanding the power of reputation can create story choices that resonate with audiences and readers.

As with the little tailor, can create opportunities (or threaten them, as with Chris). This can lead to more interesting and substantive challenges for the protagonist, putting him or her into a larger world where more is at stake.

A lot of new opportunities are founded on trust. If your reputation says you are both competent and someone who can be relied upon, people will want to include you in projects, to provide resources so you can do more, and possibly even seek you out as a friend, companion, or lover.

Of course, doors close if you are seen as someone who is untrustworthy. People will take precautions, at the very least, monitoring and testing your behaviors.

One of the most powerful things you can do in the story is have a trusted character betray others. It creates a visceral reaction tied to our own experiences of being disappointed in or damaged by people whom we trust.

In addition to opportunities and trust, those with remarkable reputations gain influence. Their advice, suggestions, and commands are listened to. They may even be seen as role models and their behavior may be imitated.

Note: While influence is often earned, reputation can be tied to expectations based on rank or association. Most people will obey a police officer. The influence of a General in the military may have nothing to do with known accomplishments, and everything to do with status. When I was in business, many executives were more likely to pay attention to someone with an Ivy League diploma (no matter how foolish they were) than to others. Cachet matters.

Reputation can be more granular. Think of a sports team. Someone who plays his or her position at an All-Star level, even though they may be disasters as human beings or as one coach described an athlete "dead from the neck up," they are welcomed as role players.

Likewise, people can make mistakes in specific areas and others will be warned not to give them another chance. In practice, it's often even worse than that, with people being defined by one horrible moment in their lives where they didn't meet the challenge.

The story possibilities of these consequences of reputation gained or lost aren’t exhausted with this list. Every single story could be looked at in terms of the value of reputation, both in terms of the people who matter to the protagonist and the impact on the character's confidence and self-esteem. How do you as a writer deliberately make use of reputation in stories? It begins with having a sense of how character reputations might be created, twisted, or destroyed as the story progresses. That will be the subject of next week's post.