Character Reactions...

[PenelopePitstop]

So I'm working on my novel this weekend (managed to not get drunk last night and have a hangover today - that's how seriously I'm taking it!).

But I'm having trouble with my main character - I've realised that her response to situations it markedly different most of the time! The other characters all remain quite constant, but when I think about how the main character reacts there's a definate lack of consitency.

It's like I just don't know her well enough!!! Which is odd cause I created her.

At the same time no-one is predictable are they :eek:

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you :)

[zornhau]

Perhaps inconsistency is her character tag? Hang a lampshade on it, and have other characters point this out.

Or perhaps she's trying to adapt: "Well, X didn't work last time. I'll try Y."

[PenelopePitstop]

^ cheers... I like that reasoning.

Maybe she's just a bit like me ;)

[Christine N.]

Do YOU react the same way every time? Maybe your other characters are predictible? ;)

Some people do and some don't. I like different. Don't sweat it too much, unless you think it needs to be changed.

[MizzACEE]

I like the idea of making her an unpredictible person, and pointing that out in the story by having other characters mention it, if it fits in to your story. What kind of story is it, if you dont mind me asking?

Good luck with that!

[Serenity]

I think it's fun that human's aren't predictable, so why should our characters be? Depending on the mood, situation, and even the time of day, can alter how we react to the same situation.

Case in point. I work with kids. This is a job that you usually start out in a great mood and it will tend to go downhill from there, especially now that we're getting close to Christmas. (But, I digress.) I had an example of this just yesterday. Child 1 started to use the marbles to hit various targets around the room. This happened about 20 minutes into the start of the program for the afternoon and I was still in a pretty good mood. I gave him a look, a smile and very calmly told him that's not how we played with the marbles, etc.

Child 2 comes along about 2 hours later and I've dealt with a fight, inappropriate language and someone clapping wooden blocks next to another child's ear- reducing said child to tears because, well that hurt! Anyhow, the point is by that time I wasn't in the best of moods and when Child 2 did the same thing with the marbles, (I'm hiding those dang things, by the way) I yelled and told her to put them away, find a book and read quietly somewhere away from the games for ten minutes.

When she pointed out that Child 1 did the same thing and didn't get into as much trouble... well, I felt horrible, but you get my point, I hope. (And yes, I apologized and while I made her put the marbles away, she was given the same consequences as the other child- in case you were wondering. :tongue )

Anyhow, it was the same 'act', just in different circumstances. Well, I hope my rambling helped. Keep him/her unpredictable, just make sure it's not wildly so or completely out of character. (Don't make him/her a saint one moment and the devil's right hand the next.)

[Serenity]

ETA: Sorry for the duplicate. Serenity posted while I was typing this.

LOL- great minds and all that, right??? :D

[WriterInChains]

It's like I just don't know her well enough!!! Which is odd cause I created her.


Maybe you don't know her well enough yet? I think it's important for the writer to understand why their MCs do what they do even if it's never stated in the story, and maybe this is what's giving you trouble. Try journaling/daydreaming (whatever you do to get inside the minds of your characters) as your MC about why she made a certain decision. She'll probably tell you. This may sound nuts (& I hope it doesn't sound harsh), but even if you created her, she's not going to do you any good until she grows a life of her own (maybe she already has?).

Have fun, Penelope! :)

[ChaosTitan]

Maybe you don't know her well enough yet? I think it's important for the writer to understand why their MCs do what they do even if it's never stated in the story,

Heh. You've never met my characters. I don't always understand why they do something the moment they do it. I will often come to understand it the further into the story I get, but sometimes a good character reveals things to you the same way you reveal them to the reader: in due time.

[Diviner]

As long as the reactions aren't too different, you could easily work with her as an unpredictable person. What I mean by that is say she's walking down the street and she sees a dog. You can't have her like dogs in one scene and dislike them a few scenes later. (Okay, that's a bit simple.) You have to watch how far you shift her reactions from one extreme to the other, or your readers will end up chucking your book across the room in frustration. Or they'll simply look like this: :Wha:

JMO
.

Essentially, you can make her as unpredictable as you want as long as she remains in character. Sooner or later, you need to get a feeling for what sets her off. Logic does not govern many of our acts, and sometimes self-contol slips. It is perfectly normal at times to do things counter to our best interest, and guilt will also drive actions. As for those secondary characters, if they are more fully rounded, they may become less predictable, which is good as long as they don't upstage you MC.

If I write a scene to discover what my characters will say and do, I get to know them better, a little piece added to the human puzzle. Each thing I learn strengthens my concept of my characters.

[PenelopePitstop]

Thanks everyone so much for the responses so far - they are all fantastic and really helpful!

[WriterInChains]

Heh. You've never met my characters. I don't always understand why they do something the moment they do it. I will often come to understand it the further into the story I get, but sometimes a good character reveals things to you the same way you reveal them to the reader: in due time.
Exactly! :)
That's (part of) what keeps us coming back -- to get to know them better, to see what they'll do next. But, we can't always just sit back and hope they'll reveal all the important stuff in their own time, and that their motivations make sense to the story and build to a satisfying climax for the reader. At least I can't.

In August, at a workshop given by a multi-published author, I did an exercise that I thought wasn't necessary to my story (but, she's majorly cool so I trusted that it'd been important to her writing & did it): journaling as my MC on specific questions about what she wants and what's stopping her from getting it, and on specific ways I want readers to see/react to her. This 5 minute exercise broke loose so many things I'd only been seeing as shadows in the corners of the story, surprising things, things that helped me sharpen the story's focus. (Plus, I have a couple of great "query letter" lines already!)

This kind of thing may not be necessary for everyone, or every story, but you never know if it'll be valuable until you try. :)

[stormie]

Maybe she can have mulitple personalities. :e2dance:

Seriously though, maybe she doesn't know herself well enough to be consistent. She's confused to as how she should react to certain cirumstances. Maybe her self-esteem is low.

[Elodie-Caroline]

I try and make a female character say, think and act the same way in which I would to situations, but the stubborn Cow won't! She has a mind all of her own! lol :D


It's like I just don't know her well enough!!! Which is odd cause I created her.

Ellie

[Birol]

It's like I just don't know her well enough!!! Which is odd cause I created her.

Your parents created you. How well do they know your motivations and what goes on inside your head?

[PenelopePitstop]

Okay... taking into consideration everything you guys have posted, here is an extract from what I've written today.

Bear in mind that this is a character who has been very 'devil may care' up to now. However, her history with Sebastian (which is too complex to explain in a post) has a lot to do with her reaction. However, it was out of character compared to her previous actions, so I have tried to use some of the suggestions you have all made today:

A touch screen console resided within the desk and Sebastian considered this carefully before telling me to take a seat.
‘I’d rather stand.’ I replied.
‘Sit down.’
‘Okay.’
I perched on the edge of one of the seats opposite him, but had to wait several stressful minutes for his attention. After an age, he finally spoke.
‘I assume this is all about revenge. What did they promise you? Freedom from your past? From your future?’
I shifted uncomfortably and began to scratch frantically at my neck. I looked across at Sebastian who was looking down and shaking his head.
‘Callum wants you dead.’ He said.
With his words still sitting somewhere between my ears and the pit of my stomach, Sebastian began to blur out of focus. It was a natural reaction, but one I knew wouldn’t win me any kudos. I had my head between my knees and was breathing far too heavily when I heard a voice requesting a porter bring a paper bag, which was thrust into my hands not a moment to soon.
‘I want you to tell me everything and don’t try any hero antics now. This game is well and truly over and your destiny is hanging precariously in my hands. Now talk.’
Gazing up from my paper bag, breathing without rhythm and sweating inappropriately I didn’t think my overall demeanour suggested any ‘hero antics’, but I nodded in agreement. Maybe it was pride, or maybe embarrassment, but I tried to summon the pluck I’d demonstrated during the previous weeks. However, I realised those actions had be inspired by anger. Now, sat here with him, the anger had subsided and as it evaporated so did my courage. What had I been thinking?

Tell me what you think?

[WriterInChains]

Hi Penelope:

Looks to me like you know what her motivations are. A nice little bit, too (although I'd lose "I replied" and "Okay"); I'd read on. Maybe you just weren't confident that you knew her well enough? I think we all have that problem at one time or another. :)

I like "sweating inappropriately" -- her sweating seems appropriate to me, so this says a lot about her.

~C

[Stacia Kane]

This is JMO, but this is the stuff I don't worry about so much in first draft. No matter how much pre-work I do, I never feel like I fully know my characters until my first draft is either complete or almost. Then I go back and check for consistency of reactions, stuff like that.

You can fix this once you know her better. For me, I need to know where they've gone to be able to show where they started.

[PenelopePitstop]

What's JMO??

Cheers :)

[lmcguire]

What's JMO??

Just My Opinion.

Liz

[Azure Skye]

If it's any consolation my reactions are always inconsistent.

[kuatolives]

I usually have to write the whole book before I know a character's character.
It's the 2nd draft where I align everything.