What is believable is unbelievable?

Discussion in 'Character Development' started by sprirj, Jan 18, 2017.

  1. Red Herring

    Red Herring Member

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    Every human being has internal motivations, desires or reasons for doing things; some might be strong and others a flicker, but it's there. We're not automatons, we're living things with neurons and chemicals. There's a cause and effect in our bodies that make us do things; so I can't believe that someone would do killings without having any reason(s) for them.

    So reading the rest of your posts, I'm guessing that you meant external motivations; ie. a person kills their spouse to claim life insurance. Your character murders people who have no connection to him/her, thus "no motive" for why he/she is killing them. Am I understanding you correctly?

    Sympathy or likability will be a different matter; I don't think people will want to read about a character that goes around murdering people for reasons we can't empathize without having some sympathetic qualities; maybe he's had a tough upbringing, maybe he's conflicted and guilty about his actions. Perhaps the protagonist is a villain and you have a side character that is the hero.

    But that's up to you. To me, if you can answer and emphasize why a character does something then you have one of the most important foundations for a believable story.
     
  2. newjerseyrunner

    newjerseyrunner Contributor Contributor Contest Winner 2022

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    I find it possible to sympathize with murders if they aren't fully aware of what they are doing or even fight against the behavior, but are forced to by other factors in their psychology. There was an episode of Criminal Minds where there were two murderers, one of which was too dumb to understand what was happening. There was another where the murder believed that he was being hunted and his victims were all in self defense.
     
  3. sprirj

    sprirj Senior Member

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    Thank you for the responses.

    I guess I'm trying to see how far I can push a character. Can he be totally void of motive, emotion, but still be driven to do wrong, and then can a reader still relate. Or is the only way to be likeable is to be able to see a bit of ourselves in someone?
     
  4. Reed R Gale

    Reed R Gale Member

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    Well...

    If you want to do something like that, I'd say its pretty experimental but doable. I'd make them the main character, but not the PoV. Show from other people's perspectives this person and how baffled they are as they try to come up with rhyme or reason or motive for why they do what they do... but come up short every time.

    It would be hard to tell an overarching story that way, but it's possible... maybe have some investigator on their trail that's trying to piece together their motive to determine their next move. That would give you a relatable character that acts as the recurring PoV that allows you to get 'intimate' with the MC.

    But I guess what I'm hinting at is that it seems very hard to tell things from this character's perspective because, well, they're very alien in nature to us. Making the story about 'understanding the ununderstanable' from the perspective of normal (enough) characters technically makes your MC you want the focus of the story--and I would argue the MC, even if they are largely the driving force instead--and give readers someone to latch to.

    Is this too far from what you're looking for? @sprirj ?
     

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