[Closed] Advice for writing my emotionless character

[ar-ninetysix]

@NickRowler

I get where you're coming from, but being indifferent isn't a part of who he is.. He cares about people, but he doesn't know how to express emotions.. so, I don't know, maybe it's somewhat contradictory? "Emotionless" might actually be the wrong word for what I'm imagining him to be. Either way, it's not a conscious decision he makes.

@mariusthered

Yeah, I'd say it's a fine line. It could easy fall into misrepresenting, but I'm trying to be very careful about how I write the character. I don't wanna focus on making him out to be a tragic character. I wanna make it a thing where yes, he'd have a disorder, but it doesn't define him. I want him to a success story while also having.. whatever he has.

[NickRowler]

So he's emotionally/socially inept. But that rides very closely to being awkward which might come off more comedic. Like with Resasuke from Aggretsuko.

[Kamikaze]

To be honest, if you're concerned about writing a character with a disorder that you don't have, the best way to not come off as a giant jerk is to spend a LOT of time educating yourself and listening to people who have that disorder. Reddit, Youtube and Tumblr are great for this. There's loads of communities online for you to look through, read the experiences of and begin to understand more.

However. Here's my question to you: Do you need to write this specific character or do you want to?

You don't have to answer it to me, but think about it and answer it for yourself. You make come to a conclusion that could surprise you.

[ar-ninetysix]

Emotionally/socially inept doesn't sound right either?? Maybe I'm just being picky with the terminology! Let me lay some stuff down to clear this up even more lol

• He cares about his loved ones
• He's selective about how much he cares for specfic people, case in point, he cares about his brother the most
• He's basically emotionally numb and indifferent towards total strangers
• His emotions are a mystery to himself, but he has his own understanding how other people feel. Sort of like patterns he's noticed while growing up, i.e. "I get that you're sad because no one showed up to your party, but I don't know what that's like, so I'm gonna get involved and say the wrong thing"
• While he may not be the best at expressing emotions, he does have dynamics with certain characters
• Those dynamics and stressful situations end up making his emotions bleed through a little in conversations
• Socially inept sounds like he can't pick up on social cues, that's not him lol this is the one regard where I feel he's pretty normal.

[ar-ninetysix]

However. Here's my question to you: Do you need to write this specific character or do you want to?

Could you go more in-depth on this? I get what do you mean by want or need, but if this something I have to reflect on.. I wanna be able to reflect on it well. It's kind of a vague question, in my opinion

[Kamikaze]

Alright let's rephrase it.

Why are you the person who should write this character? Go deeper than "because I created this character." What are you trying to say with their story? Is what your trying to communicate through their story something you think NEEDS to be said, or something you WANT to say?

[hjfsdh2222]

This sounds like Yandere sim lol:3

[ar-ninetysix]

I've settled on giving my character an ambiguous disorder,.Now, uh.. as for what I'm trying to say with the character now.. "It's possible to be born with whatever type of disorder and manage to be successful." That's what I'm going with. I've seen and read about stories that deal with sympathizing this sort of character, but they don't try to make an effort to expand on them going for huge ambitions (from what I've seen anyways).

So, yeah. An underdog with a mental condition who wants to aim as high as he can and become a leader in the process.

[ar-ninetysix]

If you say so! I've never played it or seen anyone playing it, so I wouldn't know lol

[SleepingPoppy]

Emotionally/socially inept doesn't sound right either??

Why not just go with anxiety? Many people have anxiety, it can affect a person in unique ways without them necessarily being awkward. (I have anxiety, I'm shy, and I'm usually not awkward)

• He cares about his loved ones
• He's selective about how much he cares for specfic people, case in point, he cares about his brother the most
• He's basically emotionally numb and indifferent towards total strangers

It's normal to love the people you're close too and have time to get to know them. Caring about and prioritizing their feelings while having little empathy for strangers can just be part of his personality. Also, caring about strangers/people you don't know well requires internal energy, if he's dealing with anxiety, he might intentionally shut himself off from unnecessary people things, because he can't cope.

Basically for an anxious person, being numb and shutting down can be coping mechanisms.

• His emotions are a mystery to himself, but he has his own understanding how other people feel. Sort of like patterns he's noticed while growing up, i.e. "I get that you're sad because no one showed up to your party, but I don't know what that's like, so I'm gonna get involved and say the wrong thing"

Maybe you're making him too emotionally illiterate? While the reality is that emotions are very complicated and can be affected in complex ways, I foresee issues conveying "I get that you're sad, but I don't know what sad actually is, so I don't want to do anything to make it worse!" Conversely, it's way easy to convey, "You're sad! I understand that, but I'm anxious I'll some how make it worse, so I'll do/say nothing!"

I think it's easier for an audience to empathize with being anxious and not knowing what to do, rather than saying he doesn't experience sadness. Especially since you've said he does experience emotions, he just has trouble connecting the dots. (Right? I'm doing my best! I'm no psychologist!)

And if none of that is helpful, just ignore me.

Edit: Alternatively, just write him the way you imagine him, and worry less about the details.

[ar-ninetysix]

Don't worry about it, this one character's outline is messy lol but yeah, that's basically it. He's got trouble connecting the dots. Eh... I can just write him out the way I want at this point lol I got all the advice I feel like I needed

[SleepingPoppy]

Okay, good luck! And for the record I love quiet/reserved characters, so I'm sure there are others that do too.