As far as injuries a writer can get, several metatarsal microfractures is far from the worst. It’s frustrating, and it’s slowing me down in general, but I can, at least, sit and write.
One note I was given for Thorn was to keep an eye on the injuries that Veranix and various other characters receive, and how hard they push themselves afterwards.
Now, I wrote Veranix as the kind of person who can and will push himself to the limit of his endurance. He’s specifically experienced in pushing himself that way. But even still, the limit of his endurance is still a limit. I tweaked one of his injuries to be a little less catastrophic than it naturally would have been, and don’t have him pass out from the strain of it, only to be back in it and fighting a few minutes later.
I’ve never really been in a real fight, where I get hit or cut and have to will myself to keep going. But I have had plenty of accidents over the years, where I’ve had to the push myself through to make it. Plenty.* Sometimes you just have to take the time to heal.
So, how do you all temper the balance between characters getting hurt– because if they were just invulnerable machines, what would be the fun?– and pushing themselves to keep going?
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*- My wife keeps count of the number of times I’ve been on crutches in our marriage. Including this time.
Since taking up taekwondo, I’ve noticed injuries in books I read, in particular the Harry Dresden novels, because dude gets beat up a LOT. I can tell you that it’s possible to crack a rib and then keep fighting, if it’s not broken badly. But if you break your collarbone, you aren’t going to be doing anything with that arm for a while, and possibly not with the rest of your limbs either.