Reaction

When characters achieve a goal (or more likely, fail to achieve it), they experience some kind of reaction to it. The bigger the stakes, the bigger the reaction.

Consider a teenaged boy, Frederick, who wants to ask Kendra to go to the dance with him. He gets advice from friends, rehearses what he’s going to say, and eventually musters the courage to finally ask his big question. Kendra says that she’s already going to the dance with Justin.

Ouch. Frederick’s going to feel something after Kendra’s response. Perhaps he’s jealous toward Justin. Maybe he’s angry at Kendra. He may even be disappointed with himself for waiting so long to ask her). In any event, Frederick needs to absorb this information.

On the other hand, if Kendra said yes to Frederick, he might be over the moon, skipping down the school hallway, anticipating the dance Saturday night.

The reaction step in a scene gives you a chance to show how your character responds to the major change that occurs in the Outcome (aka Disaster) step.

Why Reactions are Important

Emotional reactions are important because it makes your characters more human. Unless they are unemotional robots (or action heroes), your characters need time to digest important information and events.

Readers, too, might empathize with the wins and losses of your characters. Describing your characters’ feelings gives your readers an opportunity to celebrate or commiserate together.

How People React

Imagine that a Sally’s son dropped a glass on the kitchen floor, shattering it.

What happens next?

A) Sally flinched and got angry at her son for his clumsiness.

B) Sally got angry at her son for his clumsiness and flinched.

Option A reads more naturally. That’s because people react instinctively first and emotionally second. A flinch, a wave of nausea, jumping back, shielding one’s eyes, are all unconscious reactions to some stimulus. They are the first type of reaction. Not all events trigger an unconscious reaction.

Emotional reactions come next. Some characters express their feelings openly, others control them tightly. Even those characters who are stoic and appear calm and collected on the outside still experience their emotions on the inside.

Although characters may not experience all of these reactions, they always occur in a specific order.

Unconscious/ Instinctual Reactions (flinching, wincing, ducking, jumping back)
Emotions (in Sally’s case, anger)
Thoughts (I should have caught the glass)
Speech/Action (“Step away from the broken glass.”)

Check out strategies for showing (and not telling) emotional reactions.

Note: that both the instinctual and emotional reactions (at first) are non-verbal. They happen automatically and quickly. Verbal reactions (and clearer thinking) occur in the next stage of the scene, Dilemma.

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