The softer side of reality
When characters act like creations and not like real people
The Snarky Editor comes out to play when she discovers egregious and often hilarious errors in published books. But The Snarky Editor has a softer and more helpful side as well, the side that’s known as Leigh Michaels.
Sometimes the hero and heroine in a romance novel behave -- well, like characters in a story, rather than like real people would act in this situation.
The heroine willingly walks off down a dark alley with a guy who's just held a gun to her head, because she "just knows" that he's really an honest, upstanding guy — even though a sensible woman would scream and run.
I'm not talking here about cases where the heroine doesn't have a choice. I mean the ones where she could A.)-- pull out her cell phone and call the auto club / emergency services / best friend or B.)-- go with him down the dark alley. And she chooses B.) and says, "Oh, sure, I'll be happy to go off with you to your hideout in the long-abandoned warehouse, because you’re so hot!”
Heroines behave this way because the author knows this guy is the hero, and he's wonderful, and he wouldn't actually hurt a fly. So she lets the heroine act as if she knows that too.
Or the hero smiles and thinks, Isn't she wonderful? I want her to be the mother of my kids. — even though he’s just met the heroine and she’s screaming insults at him.
Heroes behave this way because the author knows this is a wonderful woman who’s just having a bad day, and she’s got a small headache which is causing her temper. So the hero acts like he knows she’s really laid back and thoughtful and generous and a perfect mom.
It happens in other sorts of books, too, of course. How many idiot amateur detectives have walked into obvious traps where a sensible person would have called for armed backup instead? How many of them actively avoid involving the law and go seek out the bad guy themselves? And then they ask stupid questions like, “Why did you do it?” and “Why don’t you give yourself up?” — instead of wondering if the bad guy might actually consider covering up the crime by killing the amateur detective too.
It's something to be very watchful of. What would a real person think, say, and do in this situation, relying what SHE knows at this moment? -- Not with the insight provided by what the author knows. Not based on what the heroine will know by the end of the book. Not even reflecting what the reader knows.
What would the sensible person do RIGHT NOW if this was really happening to her?
It's hard sometimes to keep ourselves out of our writing – our extra knowledge, our attitudes, our convictions, our judgments – and stick to what the character would logically do. But that extra distance, that extra step back, can make all the difference between a character who’s convincing and one who’s just not.
What do you think? Share your thoughts, your experience, your examples, your questions. Is there a topic you’d like to see addressed?
The Snarky Editor’s Softer Side is represented weekly by author / editor / teacher / writing coach Leigh Michaels, commenting on random topics of interest to writers and readers. Leigh is the award-winning author of more than 100 books. (The Snarky Editor herself mainly comes out to play when she discovers egregious and often hilarious errors in published books.)
To find out more, check out https://leighmichaels.com
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