How to Write Believable Character Reactions

Establish Character

Early on, establish who your characters are by defining their values, beliefs, personality traits and motivations. When you have a strong sense of who your characters are, you can have them behave in a way that is consistent so that readers can understand them.

For example, if you’ve established that your character values honesty above everything else, their reactions to lies and deception will be logical and predictable. If they face a moral dilemma, readers will expect them to be honest – this makes your character’s actions believable. You can also use this technique to create anticipation from readers when they know something the character doesn’t.

Appropriateness and Suitability

Reactions are believable when they are appropriate when they fit the situation. A character whose beloved pet dog has just been hit by a car might feel afraid, upset, and anxious. On top of this, your character’s reaction needs to suit the character. If the character is a young girl, she might cry about the situation, and she might feel desperate and have to beg a neighbour to take her and the dog to the vet. A man in his twenties might be angry with the driver and he might shout at him for reckless driving, but he’ll be able to get the dog to the vet himself.

World-building plays a role in how characters react because it will dictate rules and expectations that shape how characters respond. Imagine your character discovers they have magical abilities. If they live in a city where this is outlawed, and the punishment is execution, they will feel frightened, and ashamed, and might try to deny their abilities even to themselves. However, if they live in a city where magic is celebrated, they might feel excitement and pride.

Genre and Tone

It’s important to consider the genre of your story when writing emotional scenes because this can influence how your characters react. Readers will have expectations from the characters and their reactions, and to write something too different, something which takes your readers by surprise may cause them to feel betrayed, or disappointed in the characters they had been rooting for.

Setting the tone of your story clues the readers into how characters will respond to events. If a story is comedic, this allows for light-hearted reactions even when things are going badly for them. Alternatively, if a story is serious in tone, the character’s reactions will be more sincere and grounded.

Show Thought Processes and Internal Conflict

Sometimes a character’s reaction isn’t immediate; it involves a moment of internal conflict or decision-making. It can be helpful to show readers your character’s thought process as they struggle to make a decision. This will help readers to understand why a character reacts the way they do. Dialogue is a particularly useful tool here as your character can discuss their thoughts, and this in turn creates an opportunity for a different reaction from another character. Moreover, if these characters have different opinions, you can create tension and conflict in the scene.

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