"Balanced" Does Not Mean "Neutral"

Think about a classic balance scale, like the one Lady Liberty holds.  When both sides are parallel to the ground, they are balanced.  This is generally how we think of balance: everything sitting still and equally portioned out.  But there is a completely different way to be balanced.

Balance can be considered to be when positive and negative forces cancel each other out, leaving no effect.  Imagine having something that weighs 5 pounds on the left side of the scale for a day, then putting it on the right side for another day.  The scale has been balanced in a certain light.  It was up to the left for one day and up to the right for one day.  Although the scale was never level, it has been on both sides for the same amount of time.  That is a kind of balance.

Abstract examples are only so helpful, though.  Let's use people.  I post an entry here every day.  Well, not exactly.  I didn't post one yesterday.  But I'm posting two of them tonight.  If I skipped 5 days in a row, then on the sixth day, I would write six entries.  So although I am not steady, I do balance out.

If somebody never did anything good or evil, they would be balanced.  The net number is zero.  This person would also be completely neutral.  If somebody sometimes did nice things for people, but didn't do bad things, he would be considered good.  The net charge is positive.  If somebody would sometimes help out random strangers and other times assault them, this person would be balanced.  They would not be neutral at all because they have extreme highs and extreme lows, but they balance out.

Balance is important to me.  No matter what, things have to add up right. My writing time and quality has to balance out.  My characters may or may not be balanced, but they need to both be able to act unbalanced and to know how to handle the imbalanced.

Really, just remember that being fair and even does not mean being boring; it just means being fair.