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This list isn’t going to work for every author, reader, or story. Going to try to be as general as possible, but we’ll see how it goes.
- If you want to remove a basic skill from a character halfway through a story for ‘flavor’ then you probably shouldn’t do it. If you’re going to take away something that all other characters know from one then you should do it from the beginning. Sure, it could be a shock that a hero can’t read or write, but bringing it up late in the story and out of nowhere should require a special edit. For greater impact, you need them to avoid situations that would reveal this secret early. Otherwise, it does come off as a random choice.
- Even though it isn’t really basic, cooking is not a female-only skill. So, a male character cooking shouldn’t be surprising solely because of his gender. He shouldn’t be standing there as an anomaly since most people learn the basics. For that matter, not every woman knows how to cook, sew, clean, or possess other ‘housework’ skills. That isn’t genetic. Much of these are basic skills that everyone needs to learn.
- A character who doesn’t know a basic skill shouldn’t gain it within a few days. The reason these skills are considered basic is because nearly every adult has them. They were taught when the adults were children, who tend to be curious, interested in learning, and no shame in lacking the skill. This is why it is harder to teach an adult these things than a child. So, if you create this as an obstacle alongside a greater story, they are going to be distracted and limited in progressing. Nobody learns to read overnight.
- A skill that requires advanced training isn’t something that every character will have unless you establish it as being taught from a young age. A town of hunters would be skilled as they teach their children. Expanding this to the entire world where people live in different biomes and civilizations doesn’t work. This means you need to consider if such a skill should be unique or general. If the latter, you will need to explain how everyone knows it.
- Just because a person can’t read or write, it doesn’t mean they talk like an uneducated caveman.
- Yes, it’s possible for someone to be a natural. One could even argue that a protagonist should be this since they are the most important character. They are seen as special and more advanced than those around them, which is why they have the spotlight. All of that being said, doing this all the time creates a boring, unchallenged hero who nobody can see failing. Even if they do fail, the audience will find it unbelievable since they’ve already been shown to be perfect. Giving them ‘basic’ or more advanced skills that they struggle or are unable to learn would help avoid this problem.
- There are different categories of basic skills that one should consider. You have those needed for basic living such as reading and writing. Then, you have those that are general career based such as hygiene, organization, and maybe driving. After that, you have job/role specific skills that one still has to learn for their purpose. This last one can include carpentry, hunting, magic, swordsmanship, piracy, and the list keeps going. The point is that on top of basic skills needed for a person to simply survive, there are basic skills for their roles as well. Just makes this whole seem much more complicated.




This is a good list. I agree with the points. In the Wonka movie, the title character’s lack of a basic skill is dealt with toward the beginning and has a huge impact on what happens to him later on.
Amen to number 3! I’m reminded of when I took tennis in college. Months later, I was still laughably mediocre at it. So, it amazes me when characters pick a deadly weapon and instantly have the prowess to use it. Like they are as good as Legolas at using a bow, though he’d been using one for millennia.
Even Pokémon games stress the need to leave home and travel in order to gain more advanced skills that can’t be found at home.
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Never saw Wonka. What skill did he lack?
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If you don’t mind a huge spoiler, I’ll tell you. If you do, ignore the rest of this comment. He couldn’t read. So when handed an extremely unfair contract, he agreed to it, because he was embarrassed to admit he couldn’t read. The plot revolved around what happened as a result of this awful dilemma.
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Interesting twist.
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All terrific points, Charles. Good things to keep in mind when writing a character’s skill set.
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Thanks.
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These are good tips. It’s also important to weave things in organically and not as an infodump.
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Very true.
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These are great, Charles, and to the point.
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Thanks.
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