Science vs. instinct - the perfect character foil
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Harper and Dean are a beautiful collision - opposites in so many ways, and yet, their characters would be incomplete without the other.
Greetings, Roguelings!
I’ve been thinking a lot about decision-making lately - probably because I just finished watching Harper and Dean argue their way through 300+ pages about whether to trust scientific data or gut instincts. These two have exceeded my expectations. Their dynamic is impeccable, and they feed off each other so naturally; they were the most fun I’ve had writing in a while. I was giddy writing every scene with them.
Harper and Dean are opposites in so many ways, and yet, their characters would be incomplete without the other.
And the best part is - as much as they bicker, they are both right. And writing their dynamic taught me more about my own decision-making process than I expected.
When I conceived Harper and Dean’s relationship, I knew I wanted them to clash. But I didn’t want it to be arbitrary enemies-to-lovers tension - I needed something deeper, something that would force them both to grow.
Enter the science vs. instinct conflict.
Harper was easy. I knew her character voice and emotional wounds well from introducing her in Skies of Fire.
Dean Hartford, on the other hand, was a whim. I wanted to write a bonus epilogue for Skies of Fire to show readers what the world looked like ten years later and WHAM. Here comes Dean. The INSTANT I wrote his character on the page - the way they looked at each other and the tension they had - I couldn’t get Harper having her own story out of my head.
It was not supposed to be. It wasn’t even on my radar.
And yet, here we are.
Dean is everything Harper isn’t: methodical, data-driven, broody, always three steps ahead with contingency plans. He documents weather patterns, tracks soil changes, and believes that understanding the science behind their post-apocalyptic world is the key to humanity’s survival.
Harper, on the other hand, has been surviving long before the world ended. As a child and adult, Harper has survived her twenty years by trusting her instincts. She can read people, sense danger, and make split-second decisions that save lives. Dean worries about the whole while she worries about those she loves. He’s slow to analyze, and she’s quick to decide.
Sound familiar? I feel like we’re all on one side of that coin or the other.
This isn’t just about fictional characters - it’s about two fundamentally different ways of navigating uncertainty. I, for one, am on the instinct side of things. The trust-my-gut, survival mode (always!). I’m sure it’s a mixture of my childhood, emotional wounds, being the eldest, a woman, and other sciencey things. :)
The breakthrough moment for both characters - and for me as their writer - comes when they realize they’re not actually opposites. They’re two halves of effective decision-making. Dean’s data gives Harper’s instincts context and validation. Harper’s gut feelings help Dean see their reality through a different lens, lending to his own decision-making.
Writing their relationship taught me that the best decisions - in fiction and in life - happen when we honor both our analytical minds and our intuitive wisdom. Sometimes you need the data. Sometimes you need to trust your gut. But most of the time, we need a bit of both.
What about you? Are you more of a Harper (trust your instincts) or a Dean (need the data)? I’d love to hear how you navigate that tension in your own life.
P.S. I’m hosting a special week-long event in my Pogue Gone Rogue Reader Community to celebrate the release of Land of Ash - you should join us! There are free and member-only posts, and giveaways for all!