Be Real, Not Ideal.

Sitting in a hunting stand this past winter, the wind burning my face as I waited for a deer to wander through my sights; I had a lot of time to think. It was actually much more time than I would have liked. I would have hoped to have been distracted by a parade of white-tail deer shuffling through my firing lanes, but that was not the case.
Actually, only three does (female deer) ever came into view. Two of them were small, yearlings perhaps, but one, possibly the mother of the other two, came to a halt no more than twenty yards from me and stopped to sniff around in the partially showing grass for a snack. I sat there and watched her poke around for a moment, hoping that she would grow a six-to-ten point set of antlers before my eyes. She didn't. 
As I watched her, I couldn't help but notice that the deer was beautiful and graceful (and very likely delicious). I stared at the soft brown coat and smooth movements, holding my breath in hopes to not frighten the animal.
Then, it occurred to me... I never think this way about human beings. If I saw a mother of two sniffing the sidewalk all graceful like, I would probably post a picture of it on Facebook accompanied by a snarky comment. That would make sense, though. Humans don't usually sniff the ground. If they do, I feel that they likely deserve whatever social media backlash follows the activity.
However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that the only times that so many of us appreciate the human body is when we envy it or can gain from it. Culturally, generally speaking, we praise guys with big muscles or the incredibly athletic. We worship women with long legs, big boobs, and an ample backside. And, though many of us wouldn't admit it, our bodies are now seen as assets to a further goal. If you have certain sets of features, throw a picture on Instagram with a few hashtags and watch how many likes you get. 
Though many have concocted this idea to be the reality, the simple truth is... it isn't real. The human body is as disgusting as it is beautiful. Things like gas, bloating, snot, and sweating is much more real and much more common than bulging cleavage, big butts, and bicep veins (that I simply can't get to emerge...).
What is my point?
Write about the real, not the ideal. I once wrote a blog that encouraged writers to create bold characters. When we hear the word "boring", many of us jump to the fat, lazy guy who sits on the couch all day, but do you know what is truly boring? An idealized person. Someone who never struggles. Someone who doesn't seem to face the inner-demons that the rest of the world faces. That is boring. I would rather read about the guy on the couch than an idealized human. Why? Because the guy on the couch is relatable. The perfect specimen is not. 
I can guarantee you that Harry Potter and Katniss Everdeen would not be near as engaging if their first instinct and action were to always do the right thing and have no quandaries about it.
There are some of you reading this right now, who probably think I am off-base. You are probably saying to yourself  "But the touched-up Instagram photos get thousands of likes, and my book about the grasshopper with a drinking problem has only sold three copies!"Well, yes. People like to look at the ideal. They may even fantasize about or envy it, but they don't want to invest in it. And, when you read a character's story, you are investing in them. You are giving hours of your life to read the story of someone/something, real or fake. Time is a great investment and it is saved for the real, not the ideal. 
Unfortunately, no one may want to dive into the life of your alcoholic grasshopper either. The sad truth: it is vastly more difficult to make a sale than it is to give a quick pitch. An idealized story will easily nab some quick interest, but a real story takes time and investment. It's hard. It's real.
... But it's worth it.
Happy Writing!