The Element of Surprise

I recently started a new project at my day job, with a new team of coworkers. Naturally, the writer in me began studying these people in search of writing fodder. After just a few interactions, I could paint a picture of my colleagues’ personalities in broad strokes. Character A: confident and self-assured. Character B: easygoing and detached. Character C: quiet and observant.

I thought I had my new colleagues figured out. But as I got to know them better, they began to surprise me. Though always comfortable with his work, the confident coworker was insecure in many social interactions. When our project took us out of his comfort zone, the easygoing coworker became suddenly anxious. The quiet coworker cracked a rude joke that made me laugh out loud—not just because it was funny, but because it was unexpected.

Real-life people are capable of great unpredictability and surprise. Their behavior shifts depending on where they are, what they’re doing, and whom they’re with. They’re also capable of adapting—learning from previous experience and changing their behavior accordingly.

This should be true of your fictional characters as well. Make them surprise your readers. Vary their behavior depending on the situation. Add traits, hobbies, interests, values, and beliefs that feel unexpected or even contradictory. Have your school bully show kindness toward the new kid at school. Make your tough-as-nails heroine quake with fear when forced to speak in public. Invent stressful scenarios to push your characters to their limit, then see how far they’ll bend before they break.

The element of surprise will make your characters not only more realistic, but more interesting and compelling. When a reader sees a character do something unexpected, they realize there’s more to this person than meets the eye. They read on to learn more about the character, to understand them better, and to see how they’ll react to new situations.

That being said, keep in mind there’s a fine line between surprise and disbelief. If a character’s qualities are so diametrically opposed that the reader can’t believe them, this technique will fall flat. But in my experience, real people—and thus fictional characters—are capable of great surprise. Your job as a writer is to capture that on paper in a way that feels authentic.

How have your characters surprised you lately? Let me know in the comments.