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Pirateboy
Apr '24

In my novel, the MC is meant to be the smart one so I just try to show how the MC can arrive at conclusions from the mildest of things that are observable to the normal person. I don't want my MC to be the 'know it all' because that is not realistic and it is boring. You cannot know everything and thus the only weapon you can use to out smart others is an open mindset or a crazy one and using your creativity to the limits.

How do you guys do it?

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    Apr '24

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Leyelle
Apr '24
1

My characters that are very smart aren't inherently supposed to 'appear smart' generally, and it's just inferred by facts about them.

Ex: Mrs. Moon owns her own business and has never struggled financially. Since as far as we know, she wasn't born rich (she most definitely wasn't) readers are left to realize that it was her own skill/intelligence that brought her success. My MC, Alicia, has mentioned before that nothing Mrs. Moon does goes awry, and she has a near god level of organization and success, so the fact that she is smart comes through pretty clearly, though it's never stated that she's particularly smart.

Technically, all three of my main characters are actually pretty smart, but since one of them being smarter than the others isn't relevant to the story, it's not dwelt on. Kattar has been able to read since he was four (almost five) years old, simply because he was bored being alone almost all the time, and decided it would be more interesting if he could read. Alicia has successfully run her own business since she was in her mid teens. And though she was initially assisted by Mrs. Moon, she now runs the business herself and has managed to make a living off of her art, and keep her business well above water, which also requires a lot of intelligence.

TheArtistMinty
Apr '24

Depends on what you mean by smart. There's many form of intelligence, and they're differently valued.

An underrated one that's very apparent and essential for example is emotional intelligence.

Different facet of 'intelligence' are displayed differently, and not the same way from person to person.

To me, a real smart person, they only really say what they need to say to influence a situation. They don't just talk a lot just to be perceived as 'smart', that's someone who's insecure and the type to say "I'm the smartest in the room." without irony.

By the way you ask your question, the simple answer is you can't. It's like Sherlock Holmes, if you really think about it, the conclusion he arrives to are... nonsense, it's mostly luck. But audience can suspend their disbelief enough if it's at least some convincing to it.

The reality is, if you have a team of detectives, or a team of forensics, it's a group effort, they're a team. And if no one notices anything, it's quite rare for someone to 'notice' something unnoticeable, and for that to happen case after case after case. No, that's unrealistic. But again, fiction, Sherlock Holmes, you can still write it like that, and it's still fun enough.

The long answer is, you can, and you need to set things up properly for your character to arrive at said conclusion. But the issue is, you have to also think about, why other characters didn't arrive at said conclusion.

Slumdog Millionaire, for example, does this in a wonderful way, as each answer the character knew and each was represented with a flashback. It was all luck in a way.

Now back to intelligence. Look. The point of language is to communicate. To communicate well, you need to know your audience. E.g. You don't explain something to a 5 years old the same way you would explain it to a PHD student. There's fun videos on Youtube regarding "Different complexity of explanation to 5 years old to 30 years old."

Similarly, if a character is just using big words, they are either 1. They do think like that, and they can't regulate themselves well enough in conversation to moderate their word choice for said conversation to have clarity. Or more often, 2. they are trying to sound smarter than they are. In real life, the latter is more common. As for the former, any smart person would realise communicating by using big words that are lost on the person being spoke to is nonsense, it communicates 1 thing, "I know more words, I'm smarter, haha."

I don't know what you mean by "meant to be one of the smart one." Or how you want your character to be perceived regarding 'smart'. If you mean by solving cases and arriving at the correct conclusion, you have to be tangible. Knife + Blood = Murder.

If you mean, smart as in like, being able to understand other characters well, communicate with them well, work with them well, being able to put others first well, etc. Then you show it through character actions and thoughts. Thoughts minding how others character want to be treated.

Different audience will perceive intelligent in diverse ways. Me, for example. I think it is extremely wise, to know one's limit. No one can be an expert at everything, and it's wise to place certain trust in said experts when the topic at hand is beyond one's one expertise. That's a quality of a 'smart' person. Etc.

"The more you know, the more you can understand others, but the less they can understand you. It's simultaneously lonely and wholesome."

kyupol
Apr '24

1) draw them with glasses

2) make their default body language confident.

3) being a man / woman of a few words. No long winded dialog always straight to the point.

skidiggy
Apr '24

I use a few things to imply intelligence for my characters.

  • "Inch-deep, mile-wide" general intelligence: character knows a little bit about everything. Great for "Trivia Night" at the local hot wings joint.

  • The "Um, Actually..." guy: corrects others, has an absurdly deep understanding of a niche topic, to the point of if being overbearing. Ties every conversation back to specific topic of expertise. (Warning: NOBODY likes this guy.) :joy:

  • Mastermind: usually a villain or a protagonist in my stories. They are often several steps ahead of the opposition, and present more as "clever" than "smart." Characters like these are adaptable, quick-witted, and might be a little arrogant.

  • The Tortured Genius: too smart for their own good, their intelligence has made life difficult for them socially or in their community through a series of misunderstandings or awkward encounters. Whether good or evil, this character suffers from being too smart to deal with, and unable to cope with a "normal" life among peers. Often holed up in a laboratory or library, lamenting their existence while continuing their research.