Hi! I’m not really sure how to phrase this, so let me know if you need me to clarify anything. A friend and I were talking about how with a good character, you can often understand their line of thinking even if you don’t necessarily agree with the conclusion they come to. My friend started talking about a sort of “input/output” way of thinking about it.
“which is what makes a good character, when you want to think about what information input leads to what output and the logic that informs how they react to things”
Then we were wondering… do you have any tips for practicing this sort of thing? I’m thinking it would be great to do an exercise where you’re given a list of inputs of some sort- events, things said by other characters, etc - and you write down a possible thought process, and the conclusion the character comes to.
Hopefully this makes sense! Please let me know if you know of any resources like this, and thank you in advance!
Okay, so I must admit to being completely perplexed at how your friend has phrased this, but the closest thing I can think of is Jack Bickham's concept of scene and sequel (written about in his book Scene and Structure).
Now, this concept has to do with plotting, but it really is about character, so bear with me for a moment. Bickham defines stories as being a series of scenes and sequels. A scene is a unit of conflict lived through by the character, and the sequel is the unit of transition between one scene and the next. To break it down further, scene is plot (action that is moving the story forward) and sequel is mostly story (emotional and logical reaction).
First, let's define a scene (according, again, to Bickham, who I think is onto something). A scene is build around three things: a goal, conflict, and disaster.
The goal is what your character wants. If your character wants to solve a murder, the goal of the scene is to find a clue to the identify of the murderer.
Conflict is the struggle to obtain that goal. Your character is mysteriously attacked from behind just as they were on the verge of recovering that clue.
Disaster is the complication that moves the plot forward. Your character is safe, but the clue has been stolen. Your character must now work harder to solve the mystery.
So far, so good. We could call this scene, we could call this plot, or we could call this input, but it is the exterior action that moves the novel along.
Sequel is the bridge between scenes where we learn about the character. It is all about your character and what they will do. It contains emotional response, thought, and a decision.
Emotion comes first because if we don't know how your character feels about the previous event, we can't relate to them. The bad guy has gotten away and the character despairs at solving the murder.
Next we'll have your characters think through their response. Your character promised his murdered best friend she'd never give up. If that friend was alive, they'd stop at nothing to solve the murder.
Last, your character makes a decision that leads into the next scene. Your character's worst enemy in high school volunteered to help, and no matter how much bad blood is between them, your character resolves to take them up on that offer.
The above sounds very clinical, but it isn't going to sound that way when you write it out. Note that a sequel also doesn't have to be actionless - if your character's emotional reaction is rage, having them throw their phone against a wall conveys that just fine. Having them rant their thoughts to a friend as they pace back and forth will also lead them to the decision, which will result in the next scene.
That's why I'm going to say sequel is the same as output - your character is reacting to, thinking about, and then acting on the scene/event, leading us the reader to understand their emotion and logic. Without that, the story falls flat. We do not have a reason to care about the plot if we do not know why we should care about the story.
As to how to practice this, that's easy - put your character in a Situation (scene/input), and then have them react (sequel/output). Try not to think about the checkpoints until after you are done writing, and then look at it with an editing eye. Is the goal/conflict/disaster clear? Can we understand the emotion the character is feeling? Does the logic of their thought process leading to a decision seem sound?
And just to be thorough, think of a part of a book or movie that didn't work for you. Maybe a character had a disastrous first date, frets about dying alone, and then cheerfully agrees to a second date - we have the emotion and the decision, but we're missing the thought process. Maybe a character stumbles into a fight with ninjas, but shrugs it off at the end. We've got the conflict, but the goal isn't clear (why is he fighting those ninjas?) and we have no disaster (this scene does not drive the plot forward or complicate it in any way). This is a common blockbuster movie problem because while it looks awesome, it doesn't mean anything.
I hope this breakdown helps! You are likely already writing this way, but this checklist can help you figure out why some scenes feel flat and how to fix them.
