1. MilesTro

    MilesTro Senior Member

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    Stupid Characters

    Discussion in 'Character Development' started by MilesTro, Sep 19, 2007.

    In comedy, if you make your characters stupid, how would your readers relate to them? How stupid can you make your characters stupid? Really stupid, or not too stupid. :D
     
  2. Cogito

    Cogito Former Mod, Retired Supporter Contributor

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    My suggestion, don't make your characters stupid. Make them as smart or smarter than average people you know, but let them make the same kinds of stupid mistakes as all us mortals do.

    Then your readers will relate.
     
  3. MilesTro

    MilesTro Senior Member

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    What if they act stupid, but they are very smart. Like tricksters?
     
  4. Karpi

    Karpi New Member

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    my characters i use with this i go with smart but lazy
    people tell me these are their favorites usually
     
  5. MilesTro

    MilesTro Senior Member

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    I have one smart character, the others are not so intelligent.
     
  6. Karpi

    Karpi New Member

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    that could be difficult.
    i would just treat them ilke normal people, but the one says intellegent stuff
     
  7. MilesTro

    MilesTro Senior Member

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    Okay. They're animal type characters.
     
  8. Karpi

    Karpi New Member

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    like dont make them say anything smart, besides the one
     
  9. MilesTro

    MilesTro Senior Member

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    Okay.
     
  10. Funny Bunny

    Funny Bunny New Member

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    I like smart but lazy
     
  11. MilesTro

    MilesTro Senior Member

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    Well he's also a comedian.
     
  12. crashbang

    crashbang Active Member

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    you could have your characters think they know what theyre talking about when the average reader know they're talking complete twoddle. that way its like a 'the audience is in on the joke' type thing.
     
  13. MilesTro

    MilesTro Senior Member

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    That sounds good.
     
  14. crs

    crs Active Member

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    I don't think there's anything wrong with stupid characters, stupid plots (by that I mean the situation is stupid, becuase the character is dumb enough to get himself into it), or even stupid, unreliable narrators.
    Stupidity and comedy have always gone hand and hand. Dumb is funny because it's non threatening. It's something we all fear, and unlike jokes about Y2K, or the cold war, it's something that will never go away.
     
  15. EyezForYou

    EyezForYou Active Member

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    If you make your characters dumb--you will fail as a writer.
     
  16. crs

    crs Active Member

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    Of Mice and Men? Granted I understand that people don't want to hear the prespective of people who aren't as intelligent as they are, and I can see the difficulty in writing an entire novel about an idiot as the main character. But I think even than a skilled writer could pull it off by conveying the message in the environment.
    I think anyone who manages to pull it off,will attract a lot of attention as well. It's not something writers often do, so orginality would not be difficult.
     
  17. MilesTro

    MilesTro Senior Member

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    I think it depends on how you write the story.
     
  18. EyezForYou

    EyezForYou Active Member

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    Being dumb and being mentally handicapped are two different things.
     
  19. Domoviye

    Domoviye New Member

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    Very true Eyez.
    When I see a dumb person make a fool of themselves (sometimes with my help) I have a good laugh over it. When I see someone who's mentally handicapped make a fool of themselves (on tv, or places I can't intervene) I feel very sorry for them. Use this carefully.
     
  20. crs

    crs Active Member

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    I wasn't saying anything about the handicap being funny, just that unintelligent characters can be used effectively.
     
  21. Anthony James Barnett

    Anthony James Barnett New Member

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    I agree with Domoviye (where did you get that name?). I also think that when a 'clever' person makes a fool of themselves, it's even more funny.

    Anthony - Profile of an Author
     
  22. MilesTro

    MilesTro Senior Member

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    Yah it's not funny if a person born with a disability. But a normal person becoming retarted is funny.
     
  23. ValianceInEnd

    ValianceInEnd Active Member

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    I think that having any character just be stupid for the sake of being stupid is a strech. Make them more like oblivious or arogant assholes to make somebody stupid that's more real as we all know people like that. Unless it's like Vash from Trigun who purposely acts dumb so people don't suspect he's the infamous wanted criminal he really is.
     
  24. B-Gas

    B-Gas New Member

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    There's one character in a book called the Ghost Road that's actually stupid- and it makes it all the scarier because it's set in the First World War and he's part of the War Office. If you can get your stupid character to drive home a plot point, then it works well; otherwise, you're probably better off making some other character make a couple of the mistakes that he/she/it/etc. was meant to make.
     

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