Creating a Psychic Character

A psychic is someone who allegedly has supernatural abilities, such as sensing the future or communicating with spirits. Some people who claim to be psychic may also be known as mediums or clairvoyants. Some people use the terms psychic and medium interchangeably, but the words have distinct meanings as adjectives.

A story about a psychic can be intriguing, but it is important to remember that the psychic does not know everything about his or her audience. This is the same challenge that faces writers when they create characters, whether they have psychic powers or not.

One of the best examples of hot-reading (mentalists call it pre-show) that Edward has heard comes from Harry Houdini, who would have someone in a small town ahead of his shows to visit local graveyards and go into bars to chat with people who might be coming to see him later in the show. The psychic would learn things like where the person lived, what kind of art was in the house, the name of pets, and so on. All of these details could be thrown back to the audience on stage as messages from spirit.

This type of information can help a psychic to make more connections and provide a better reading. But it is also important to keep in mind that the psychic cannot know all of this information, just as a novelist does not necessarily know every detail about the lives of his or her readers.

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