I’m noticing more older main characters in fiction, even though I know there have always been mature main characters. I wasn’t paying attention to that until I got older. Now I can relate to them. Things like needing reading glasses and dealing with aches and pains are part of my life now. I recall a funny moment from the violent Sons of Anarchy show where the evil, controlling mother was trying to hotwire and steal a car. She had to get her readers out so she could see.
Since I’m still recovering from my health scare, I haven’t
returned to the book I was working on yet, but I have been editing for other authors.
A small-press publisher hired me for three jobs, and keeping busy is helping me
get back on track. So far, two of the books have older main characters.
It is refreshing to see stories featuring older main
characters in books and on TV. Sometimes, though, watching these elderly people
struggling with daily life is hard to take in. One recent example is the
documentary on Ozzy Osbourne’s last couple of years and his final weeks. It was
a great accounting of how much he went through after breaking his neck in a
fall and then his final weeks planning his farewell concert. The documentary
was both humorous and heartbreaking. One line stood out. “I used to take pills
for fun. Now I take them to stay alive.”
I’m at that age now where watching an older person struggle is
difficult to handle, but it’s part of life.
I’d prefer to see these mature characters running around
like a 63-year-old Tom Cruise in his latest Mission Impossible movie. It’s
inspiring to see that, but everyone ages differently, and everyone has a
different story to tell. Even the daily struggles are inspiring in their own tragic
way.
Escapt to a world of enchantment and passion.
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