Distractions and Behavior
I am the master of falling for distractions…any distraction. The result is wasted time, unfinished projects, and knee-deep frustration. Interestingly, I also love a feeling of accomplishment, the kind you get when finishing a task. I’ve no idea how to reconcile these disparate characteristics.
The most recent distraction is a recalcitrant mouse driver. My mouse will operate fine for various lengths of time, then without warning, go dead.
This is annoying. Most annoying. You reach for a tried and true friend expecting results X, Y, and Z. Instead, you get bizarre and unwanted results A, B, and C. It’s not only annoying, it’s jarring.
The surprise is, this mouse has been faithful for years. Now, suddenly, it’s behaving in bizarre ways. As writers, do you think we could get away with this approach for our characters? OR…do we have an implied contract with the reader to stay on the reader-inferred character arc. Are character arcs smooth, or can they have jagged bumps…kinda like my 401K value line…that show departures from the expected?
Part of me wants to say the character arc is sacrosanct and inviolate. On the other hand, what better way to ramp-up the tension than a nice side trip into the unexpected?
I’d sure love to hear your thoughts on this. My gut feeling is character arc diversion is okay, so long as it’s not too radical and has a logical basis. I’m also thinking that the jagged-line approach wouldn’t work as well as a building of motivation sufficient for the character to engage in some departure from his or her normal profile. For example, Stalin-like characters are not going to volunteer to work for the Red Cross one day, then have all Red Cross personal shot the following day…well, Stalin probably would in the real world, but our fictional character shouldn’t.
So, my weasel worded position is, in general, characters need to behave as expected. Some departure might be okay, but the basis for that departure needs be built into the story in an way that won’t shock or annoy the reader.
If you have thoughts about this, it would be great to hear them. The soap Comment Box is open, so, feel free to share.
Thanks and hope to see you again on Friday.
Themocracy
I think you nailed it, Galen. Characters need to act consistently, unless they don’t. And when they don’t, they need some good reason/motivation. That’s a cute picture of your mouse–how did you get it to pose like that?
I’ve never seen such a lovable looking little mouse. However, if he were running through my kitchen he might not look so cute to me – in fact, I would probably react by screaming rather than saying, “Oh, how adorable.” But there are times when I am sometimes surprised by my own reactions to situations, so I think it’s okay for characters to surprise the reader on rare occasions. Some sort of explanation does need to go along with the action though, even if it’s simply having the character say, “I can’t believe I just did that.”
For the most part, yes, I agree once a character’s character is established they should act consistently. However, people sometimes do things out of character, so you CAN write in occasional “I can’t believe I just did (or said) that” kinds of things and have the story seem real, too.
That’s The Old Silly‘s opinion, anyway.
I agree that characters need consistency. As a reader, I get thrown off if a character does something different, something I didn’t expect. I don’t mind a little something different, but nothing outrageous and completely out of character.
I’ve had crit partners tell me, “Colleen would NEVER say that,” or “Frankie should be more angry here.” I’m always surprised that they seem to know my characters better than I do. But they’re looking more closely at the characters because they’re reading a chapter at a time so they don’t know what’s coming next.
And too often, they’re right, because I’ve tossed in that behavior because I know what’s coming next and need it — but I haven’t set it up.
As Johnny Carson said, “If they buy the premise, they’ll buy the bit.” So you have to get the premise sold first. Show that there’s a foundation for the seemingly aberrant behavior.
I think characters can act however the heck they want to…as long as we explain that Mimi had a nervous breakdown, or that Cousin Bruce’s fear of plane travel has suddenly resulted in odd consequences for the rest of his life.
Elizabeth
Mystery Writing is Murder