Writing a Believable Character
By Mary Kole
Mary Kole is a former literary agent, freelance editor, writing teacher, author of Writing Irresistible Kidlit, and IP developer for major publishers, with over a decade in the publishing industry.
Crafting a believable character can be quite the challenge for writers, because without one, you don’t have a lot going for your novel. It’s no secret that readers connect with character first, and a believable character is key to this attachment. There’s a major characterization mistake that many aspiring novelists make. If you’re using this in your story, you need to take a long hard look at your choices: a character in denial is not a believable character. Read on to find out why.
A Believable Character Has Emotional Logic
Imagine coming across a story where an otherwise fleshed-out character whose emotional and critical thinking logic readers have been able to follow says something like this:
My sweetheart doesn't really like the sunshine, and his skin is strangely pale—but the possibility of him being a vampire hasn't really crossed my mind. It’s probably nothing.
One of my least favorite tropes in fiction is denial or disbelief. There’s simply nothing that clashes with a novelist’s aim to create believable character more. What do I mean by denial? Here are some examples:
Something about the way Rolf stared at me made me shudder, but he was just too attractive to resist following him down the dimly lit alley.
Morgan was certain that she would never, ever experience her first kiss.
The newcomer gave me a straining, meaningful look but I just glanced away and hurried off to class. Probably she was trying to blink out a contact or something.
All of these instances of justification are completely understandable and sometimes it’s downright human nature to be in denial in a situation. And I would maybe even give those characters the benefit of the doubt for a scene or two. Sure, writers have to convince readers to suspend disbelief in order to immerse themselves in a story. But that only works when you give readers a believable character. And if the denial is so overt that readers can see right through it, your character completely falls apart and your story stalls out.
The Logic of a Believable Character
Frequently, writers need to provide events and characters that will be important in the plot later on without being too overt about it. You can use foreshadowing strategically to plant clues, but sometimes, you also need to add important details without drawing reader attention. This is what the examples above are attempting to do: direct the reader’s attention to elements while also making them seem very casual. They are not casual. In fact, they are conspicuous as heck.
But the last thing readers want is to follow a character in denial about Something That We All Know Will Be Important Later. Readers know that Rolf will leads our narrator down a dark alley, that Morgan will get snogged breathless, and the new girl who gives Narrator #3 "that look" is trying to communicate something important. It’s not difficult to guess how their stories will play out. If the narrators ignore these obvious signs—while also making sure to mention them in detail—then they are not a believable character.
It's more important to portray characters—especially protagonists—as perceptive, so that readers will sympathize with them and trust their judgment. It's not wise to intentionally create an unreliable narrator by, for example, telling readers that characters will "never" do something (e.g., fall in love). This is a romantic comedy trope that grinds my gears, because we all know that they “doth protest too much,” to quote Hamlet. When the story goes in that direction and the protagonist falls in love, the trope is fulfilled but the protagonist’s credibility is damaged. They take a step back away from being a believable character.
To avoid the cliche of the "unlikely" romance novel, for example, let’s learn the character’s backstory and wound, which feed into their desire to remain attachment-free. Instead of having a character in denial about the prospect of love, let’s have them actively rejecting it to avoid getting hurt. Knowing why a character feels the way they do, and then having them examine those feelings (see more about how to develop characters in a novel) makes them more nuanced.
A Believable Character Will Be Paying Attention
Including key details and making sure the reader notices them and knows that they will be important later should be done without drawing too much attention. Describe the new girl, then go about your story. Don’t dwell, especially if the character claims they don’t notice the important detail. Your protagonist can clock the element, and your readers will, too. (If you’re in first person point of view, the character can’t narrate something without being aware of it, so characters in denial are all the more conspicuous here.)
If your plot requires a character to do something unusual or potentially dangerous (like going down Rolf Alley), try not to have them deny it or deceive themselves. A believable character works when they are layered, complex and, most importantly, self-aware. To make these moments in your story seem real, add in some doubt in your character's mind via interiority, and then let them make the proactive choice to go against their intuition anyway.
Fixing Denial In a Believable Character
How would that look? Here’s an example:
I didn't want to follow Rolf down that alley, but Meghan's comment from last week was ringing in my head, where she had called me a prude in front of everyone. I wanted to prove her wrong.
This is realistic and makes for a believable character, while flat-out denial is not. The skill of writing fiction consists of making implausible occurrences seem realistic (-ish, depending on your book genre) and relatable to readers. Instead of putting your character in aim for a believable character instead. Your own protagonist—and future readers—will appreciate the depth and nuance.
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