Warriors Fanfics: Specialized Writing Guide

Out of Character Moments

June 30, 2019

This section focuses on what to do when writing a character acting out of their usual tropes and tendencies. It is something many professional writers struggle with as well, and is a very difficult concept to use to one's advantage. It is a literary double-edged sword.

Writing someone out of character is like a wildcard. You only want to use it as a last resort, or when you really, really want a scene to resonate with your audience; this trope is usually used to force a reaction or event. Skilled writers can use it to bring out the best traits in a character; it sounds contrary to having an out of character moment, but it is not. I should start this off by reminding you that I am an amateur writer, too. This concept is simple to understand but hard to master and by no means have I mastered it.

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WHAT IS BEING "OUT-OF-CHARACTER"

An out of character moment (also known as breaking character) is where a character acts out of their established personality, morals, beliefs, etc. in a conscious effort by the author to move the plot out of a dead end. A character who is revealed to be working as a double agent for another clan or shows their true asshole side is not out of character. Rather, they are showing their true natures and hidden motives in a surprise to both other characters in the story and the readers. A real out of character moment involves a character doing something that said character would otherwise not do. In any circumstance. At all. Remember that this is a trope rarely used. It is planned by the author and is only done on accident if the author really was not paying attention to what they wrote previously. And even then a quick reread of what you wrote will reveal it. During a moment like this, the character's personality morphs into something (usually) opposite of what they were before. While our double agent is not out of character, our socially anxious cat who perfectly seduces her way into the heart of another warrior for info, only to never display or explain this 'super seduction' ability again, is out of character. That is an important difference.

You know what, now for the why. As I mentioned, out of character moments are used by authors as plot devices to pass through a literary brick wall, sometimes one of their own makings. We will use Firestar for example. What if StarClan had turned on him, just him, and Tigerstar and the Dark Forest were just not problems. What would he do if he saw a StarClan cat (particularly Spottedleaf) attacking Sandstorm or another cat he cared about in our theoretical alternate universe? Even if he won, he is put in a tough spot. The Erins did not write Firestar to be the bad guy, nor did they write him to question faith or the good in other cats. If StarClan cats come down with the intent to kill, assuming everything that happened in the prior three arcs to Omen of the Star happened as is, then he would have no answer. The logical choice for his character would be to step down as leader and take whatever punishment StarClan saw fit for him. This would make him lose his place as the main character, though. The authors have written themselves into a corner. The only choice would be to go out of character and renounce StarClan and try and keep hold of power for the sake of keeping him in the story...

See how hard that was? Look how far off the rails I had to take the Omen of the Stars arc to bring Firestar to an out of character moment. This is often how difficult they are to do and why they are so rare in fiction. What are the odds that all of that happens? That the Erins would forget so much of the prior stories and worldbuilding that they would have to band-aid it so viciously? It is almost unheard of.

Though earlier, I did state their was a way to use them to your advantage. Extremely rare, but it happens.