Alexis Feynman's Guide To Writing Proactive Characters

by Alexis Feynman

Writers tend to make a lot of noise (and text) about writing proactive characters. Without them, they say, stories tend to become dull and repetitive, and readers lose interest in the material and characters. And that brings up some important questions for the aspiring writer: What is a proactive character, anyway? How does one make sure a character isn't another damsel in distress? And what is non-proactive character and what does it look like?

To begin answering these questions, I'm going to take a look at a few different pieces of the puzzle. We'll start with proactive actions, which are the cornerstone of a good character, and then look at how to apply them once you're actually writing a story, with plenty of examples to help you understand what is, and isn't, considered proactive.

Table of Contents

What is a "proactive action?"

In order to be considered proactive, an action to fit two criteria:

1. The action must presents risk to the character/characters taking them.
2. The character/characters must deliberately, consciously, and personally choose it.

Let's take a closer look at these items, starting with the first: The action must present a risk. Risks do not necessarily need to be real or tangible, as long as they the characters perceive it is there, but the characters must be aware that by persuing these actions there will be trouble for them. It need not be severe trouble - even a minor inconvenience, if unpleasant enough, can serve as an effective deterrent.

Here are a few examples of risks that characters might face:

Simply facing risk is not enough, however - plenty of passive and reactive choices provide risk as well. In order for any given action to count, they must personally choose the action for themselves. This means that they must decide against at least one separate option that is equally available and acceptable, or at least appears to be.

For example, a character deciding to enter the military may be considered proactive if the character has other (actual or potential) life plans that could be explored, the character's society (or social circle) is not overwhelmingly encouraging of the decision, and the character is not being motivated by a personal goal, such as the pursuit of revenge or romance. If, however, the character is exposed to pro-war propaganda on the regular and has no outstanding reasons to avoid joining (health issues, discouragement from a respected figure, strong fear of service, etc.), this would not be a proactive action.

If an action isn't proactive, what is it called?

Non-proactive actions fall into the category of either "passive" or "reactive". Unlike proactive actions, characters take these actions not because they have made a conscious choice to, but because either their situations made the action necessary, or simply because they're the most reasonable-seeming course of action. For example, going to work on a normal day could be considered a passive action. Staying home on a workday because you're in bed with the flu, on the other hand, would typically be considered reactive.

It's important to note that passive and reactions are not, in and of themselves, a bad thing. In fact, there will be plenty of moments in the story where a proactive action would not only be pointless, but completely inappropriate for the situation at hand. As long as your main characters are aware of the world around them and have a sense of responsibility, there will be plenty of moments when they change - or continue - their courses of action based more on external influences than their own conscious decisionmaking.

When should my characters take a proactive action?

There's no exact science for figuring out the right number of proactive actions for any given character. Very often, it's going to depend on several different factors, including the length of the story, the number (and identity) of characters involved in a given scene, and even the genre. Generally, when deciding whether to take a proactive, passive, or reactive action, you should ask yourself the following questions:

If you liked this, you might also be interested in:

Reasons Your Character Might Be Boring
The Case For Killing The "Blank Slate" Character
Basic Tips For Writing Better Ensemble Casts
On Writing Likeable & Useful Sidekicks

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