Writers Tricks of the Trade MARCH-APRIL 2015 | Page 28

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ARGUMENTS MAKE YOUR CHARACTERS SEEM REAL (CONT'D)

REVEAL CHARACTER TRAITS THROUGH ARGUMENTS
Some people love to argue and others avoid a confrontation at all costs.
Consider whether your argumentative character is one of those jerks with a
chip on their shoulder. Someone who professes to know everything and just
loves to come out on top through challenging others. The flaw can be that this
person is rarely right. Perhaps the illusion of expertise is only in their own
mind. This can produce humorous results, disastrous scenes, misplaced
romantic or professional assumptions and actions. On the other hand, if this
person truly is highly knowledgeable, it will influence the actions of the other
person or persons because they respect this character’s opinion when backed
up with fact.
Then there are the people with calm or insecure natures, who rarely challenge
anything. It takes a lot to rev them up. If the character is one of the calm, salt-ofthe-earth types, they generally strive to find something positive in whatever is
said, but if they actually do object it could be in one of two ways. Because of
their nature, whatever it is might be objected to in a gentle, reasoning manner.
But what if they finally lose their temper and their reaction is light years away
from their normal demeanor. Your imagination should fill in the blanks here
relative to the lively scene that might unfold. They have gotten in touch with
that strong person deep inside their soul.
If they don’t object because they are timid and insecure, it’s easy to use this
device to reinforce what may have happened to them in the past to cause this
need to acquiesce.

YOUR TURN
Try to use the power of an argument or altercation in places where it will pack
a punch and move the plot along. Don’t forget arguments are also a good device
for revealing bits of back story.

MAR-APR 2015

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WRITERS’ TRICKS OF THE TRADE