Pictured is Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man half dressed in a Coptic Groom's Cloak.
Writing is hard.
You have to plot out an original story. Describe the settings using clever words.
Create characters.
Creating a three-dimensional character for fiction usually entails a boilerplate template. What’s their name? Hair colour? Are they extroverted or introverted? What’s their role in the story? How can the reader relate to them?
These questions are needed to start building a character. Now, let’s take it a step further.
How would you create a Coptic character?
Do you call them Mina Abdelmassih? How about Marina Salib? Do you have them loudly proclaim that they are Coptic and that they are heading to church for Saturday Tesbha? Maybe they reject a BBQ dinner date because it falls on a Wednesday or Friday? Do you make them the loudest character in the book?
Stereotypes aside, what makes a person Coptic?
I grappled with these thoughts and assumptions as I wrote my novel. I wanted to make a Coptic character since we hardly exist in fictional media. But then I placed a burden on myself.
How do I make an honest representation of a Coptic person?
Some people suggested to make them a head deacon at the church. Have their laptop covered in icons of the saints. Others demanded that they be without flaws.
But that wouldn’t be an honest representation of a human being.
Characters are interesting because they have flaws. Donald Duck is hot-tempered. Bugs Bunny is a trickster who can take things a little too far. Superman is stubborn. Everyone has flaws, it is what makes us human. I knew that my character needed flaws if the reader was to sympathize with them.
Hunched over my laptop, I got to work.
I knew that I wanted their religion to come up later in the work, so for now, I was subtle.
I had them kiss their cross before entering an important meeting.
I didn’t have to make them do everything. They could say in passing to another character that their weekend was the same, attended church, and drank tea with their grandparents. Give them physical traits that you could find in the congregants gathered in the cafeteria after Sunday Liturgy.
The more I write and grow as an author, I can't help but wonder if this is what creation feels like. Giving a character a flaw. To realize and then to work on. To be satisfied that by the conclusion, they've grown as a person. God is the ultimate author, so stepping into a smaller pair of His shoes, makes you appreciate the struggle and story.
A little introspection.
What makes a character Coptic? I hope I've created a complex character with flaws and strengths, with goals and values, with love and motive. Even if they fail at times or make the wrong choice, it doesn't erase that part of them.
Mary Beshay is a Lawyer Licensing Candidate and Author from Toronto, Canada.
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