Would Your Characters Do That?

One of the things I am always looking for with submissions are characters that are believable. I frequently say that I want stories with characters that are "real." Of course, when I say that, I get a lot of writers who think I want non-fiction stories, or stories that are based on truth and they simply change the names to protect the innocent, which is far from what I want. I am really talking about characters in your stories that would actually act and behave like people we would honestly see in the real world. These are people who could be our neighbors (or if you are writing about rich people and we happen to be rich like them).

To accomplish this, we have to constantly ask ourselves, would our character actually do that? Would they behave that way? I know you as an author want them to do that, but would a normal person behave that way? Let me give you a few examples that I often see.

In romantic suspense novels where the heroine is running from a sexual predator... would she really be interested in getting involved with someone right there and then romantically? Probably not.

In those same suspense novels, would the cop or detective likely get involved with someone who might be a potential suspect or linked to the case? Probably not because would that cause that case to be thrown out should it go to court? Yep!

Let's take some women's fiction tropes our for a spin... would you really give up your law career because you are tired of it and move to some small town and open up a bakery selling cup cakes because you just watched the Great British Bake Off but you really don't know how to bake? 

Would you honestly go and redo an old house because it was your great grandmothers and try to DIY it without having a sense of how to pick up a hammer but you do have sentimental value in the home?

Would you really decide to quit your job and start a relationship with an old flame from high school just to fulfill his or her dying wish to be together one last time? 

Yes, these are extreme and I am sure there are some of you who might say yes, or there are some of you who said, "I read a story like that and it was well written"... but what we are talking about here is realism. 

In literary criticism, there is a theory known as READER RESPONSE THEORY. Essentially, the reader brings meaning to the text. To do so, the reader has to connect to the story. If you have stories that are so extreme, or characters doing things that are not realistic, then you will have a hard time to sell that story.

So, your task today, check to see if your character is being believable.