Writing a Quiet, Cerebral character

[Dune Rhur]

How do you write such a one without seeming robotic? Not that the character doesn't have thoughts and emotions, just that he's not prone to outbursts. Internal monologues, I suppose?

 

[James Justice]

I would recomend moments where they pretty much "zone out," be it looking out the window, just day dreaming or what have you that causes the reader to be able to see into the inner monologue. I would also recomend introspection, triggers that cause this ((looking at a flower makes you think of that time you fell in love with that girl on Zeltros or the meaning of life)), and always be looking at the philosophical or sciencey things in the world IC-ly.

Give a free access to thought processes, reasoning, and the like; do not write behavior-based but cognitively. I would have when they come out of their thoughtful reverie a brief statement either contradicting what they thought, summarizing it, or dismissing it depending on the mood or what your going for.

Cheers, happy posting, and kuddos for writing a different type of character!

[member="Dune Rhur"]

 

[Matthew(Rogue)Drevur]

Ive never thought of making one, my two characters Larry Cheswa and Rogue are both fighters, Larry is more quiet due to being a soldier, but Rogue is insane due to him being shot in the head almost twelve times during a battle, losing his eyesight, and having no company but a droid on his ship, as well as the trauma of being taken away at age 8, which leads to a more talkative, emotional character that does whatever comes to mind (He almost got killed several times caus of that). I would say do what James did.

 

[Grrwunhoooll Agaburry]

[member="Dune Rhur"] Its easy. I pretty much just nod and hum when talking to others and talk to myself in my head.

 

[Trenchcoat Man]

[member="Dune Rhur"]

Steal a page from Cormac McCarthy. He neglects to provide quotation marks around dialog, so it gives everything a meditative, dreamy quality. It allows the character's thoughts and words to become kind of the same action, and what is said from what is not said left to interpretation (typically validated by whether or not a character says something back). Obviously, when dealing with others, it will need to be clear when they're supposed to be hearing something...

But yeah, I reckon what I'm saying is that you make all the dialog one-way and internal, like musings of you, the writer --- and when your character finally wants to be heard? Make it short and succinct.

 

[Blank Slate #4]

Most important thing to take into consideration when writing a character that is prone to certain behavioral patterns such as monologues, inner-thoughts, anti-social conduct, or anything of the sort is to avoid the common literary pitfall of making them into a smarmy, self-centered, self-determined superiority complex, omniscient, annoying prick that cannot interact properly in a normal society cliche one can see readily in film and literature depending on what you fancy perusing. That's not to say any of those traits are bad and should be avoided, even being omniscient in a field is something you can argue in favor of depending on how the character itself is build. What's important to know is to avoid the combination of traits and mannerism that makes him the equivalent of the Tech Specialist in a low budget cop show that tries to take itself seriously.

A person that is an introvert or anti-social doesn't automatically make them a person that cannot handle complex social encounters outside of uttering a good morning to his neighbors. It can simply mean they prefer a more quiet and monotonous life / method that allows them to work on their own / be with their own thoughts instead of working with others in a group / having to complement a discussion held in a group. They could easily handle most type of social encounters because being intelligent and prone to self-reflection / inner thoughts doesn't make you a walking embarrassment in public. If you play it right you can even go as far as using their intelligence / cerebral-leanings to make them a person that feels that ease and natural in a group or social encounters, someone who does not have the innate charisma of a leader yet is able to mimic it extremely well through acting and psychology, while still preferring less intrusive / more solitary encounters. You have to make sure to not fall into the other extreme either in that case, less you run the risk of unintentionally turning the character itself into a giant prick from an IC perspective.

Basically, the bottom line is to always keep in mind that regardless of how a person prefers acting when it comes to social encounters or mere mannerism, we as humans have this natural instinct to infiltrate and integrate the communities surrounding us, hiding or pushing away the less unwanted or unimpressive parts of our personality and mannerism in favor of highlighting the more appreciated and enjoyable traits. The amount we actually hide / push away depends on a case by case basis but the general gist of it will always be there, even in the case of an extreme nihilist. Just as well, never push a character into one extreme or another when it comes to their mannerism or personality, as an inspired character is merely a mixture of various nuances rather than a few hand-picked ones kept separate in their entirity.

Hope that helped, doubt I made much sense in my exhausted state. Also listen to [member="Trenchcoat Man"] in regards to McCarthy. If you can pull that off, you already got half of your issues resolved.

 

[Jarven Zexxel]

[member="Dune Rhur"]

Just inject a little humanity every once and again. Maybe something happens that breaks your normal calm and sends you into a tizzy. Maybe you have a humorous monologue in your mind that can be appreciated OOC. I usually find ways to inject humor into my post, whether it can be appreciated IC or OOC.

 

[Ellie Mors]

How do you write such a one without seeming robotic? Not that the character doesn't have thoughts and emotions, just that he's not prone to outbursts. Internal monologues, I suppose?

What kind of a personality is the character? I tend to make my quieter ones a little more towards the dark, cruel, sadistic side of life. They make their thoughts and habits known to the reader, as if the reader were watching life through the eyes of the character, and actually speak very little. My previous Sith Lord, Silara, for example, often held entire conversations in her head. Not the old "Should I get this or that" kind of thing that anyone might find themselves having with themselves at some point or another, but deep existential thoughts and internal turmoil and arguments between two different personas.

 

[Dune Rhur]

[member="Braith Achlys"]

Scholarly, bookish, cerebral. Not cruel but more apt to logic than feelings.