In any
situation, there are choices to make. Sometimes it’s clear which is the best to
make, while other times there is no clear “right” answer. We often grow up
believing that there is a nice, easy Right and Wrong, but then we discover that
life isn’t so simple. Most decisions have potential good and bad side-effects,
regardless of the intended decision.
This piece
of knowledge is of the utmost importance to writers – as well as any other
purveyors of story-based entertainment. Our instincts when giving choices to
characters is to provide them with a clear-cut decision. This is because we
want the readers to be on the character’s side. When the character makes a good
decision, it makes them more heroic and likable. A bad decision is also useful,
because the readers can then bemoan the choice and have an “I told you so”
moment when it blows up in the character’s face. It’s also easy, and caters to
that side of us that still believes in a simplistic Right and Wrong.
However, if
we indulge that instinct, we lose a lot of reality from our stories. They end
up feeling a lot like fairytales and it’s more difficult to sneak in plot
twists. Besides, how hard is it for a character to make a decision when the
outcome is fairly obvious? Our heroes need to face challenges, otherwise there’s
no point in having a story, and every challenge comes with choices to make. So
we enter the grey area...
The grey
area is challenging to create within a story world. The reason for this isn’t
simply because it’s more complicated, but because we, as the creator, know what
direction we want the story to go after the choice is made. This gives as a bit
of tunnel vision as to the possibilities surrounding any given decision –
because we already know what the results are going to be. To combat this, we
need to take a step back and look at the bigger picture and see if we can drop
in more consequences to any given choice.
Let’s use
an example. Say that the hero must make a decision whether or not to go on a
mission that will help fend off an invading army. For a heroic character, that’s
already a simple decision. So, how do we make it more complicated? The easiest
way is to add a compelling reason to not fend off the invading army, such as a
love interest that needs rescuing. Suddenly, the decision got way more
complicated. It went from saving the nation or not to saving a nation or saving
a loved one. Each option has a clear positive side, as well as a clear negative
side.
However, we
still know how that story is going to turn out. As long as this isn’t a tragedy,
the hero is going to save the love interest, then deal with the fallout from
the invading army. It’s grey, but still not quite grey enough. So, we add more
depth to the choice. A close comrade of family member is fighting in the war
and may die based on this decision. The love interest is ill and can’t possibly
wait until the war is dealt with. The hero’s presence at the battlefront will
strike fear into the hearts of the enemy, but the word of their deeds will
spread to those holding the love interest and they will respond in some way.
Rescuing the love interest will mean all the hero’s dreams will come true,
except they will have lost everything they ever fought for.
To increase
how grey that grey area is, we can add in other choices as well; going to the
front and sending someone else to rescue the love interest, but can the person
be trusted? Betraying the homeland and joining the enemy to end the war quickly
so the love interest can be rescued. The more branches there are, the more
compelling the decision will become. And the key is that no decision can be all
good, because even the best decisions have negative consequences, even if they
aren’t visible at first. Of course, the reader doesn’t need to know all the
consequences – those can reveal themselves over time. In fact, some uncertainty
in the results of a decision can make it all the more compelling.
So often,
we think of choices as a two way switch. This or that. But to make a choice
truly compelling, we need to change that thought process. We need to think of
each decision as a web that keeps branching out into more and more consequences
(both good and bad) the further we get from the point where the decision was
made.
Check out my YouTube channel where I tell the stories of my D&D campaigns.
Also, make sure you check out my wife's blog and her website.
If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.
