When your characters are wrong

[DokiDokiTsuna]

Are you okay with having your characters speculate things that aren't actually true, and don't lead anywhere?

Not stuff like, "OH MY GAH I'M GONNA FAIL MY GEOMETRY TEST!!!1!" and then they pass.
I mean stuff like "What if the Duchess left the country because she had something to do with the murder of her husband??" but it turns out that isn't correct and the character doesn't even find that out directly by going to investigate, it's just 'revealed' later on.

I'm knee-deep in a script that's full of misdirections like this, and I can tell it looks like I'm just trying to jerk the readers' expectations around. ^^; But I'm not...my rationale is that my characters are their own people, and if it's something they would reasonably suspect (especially in a serious situation), then why shouldn't they say it? Even if it doesn't necessarily contribute to the story momentum...Is that bad? Should I not do that anymore...?

[JeanGuillet]

this is the entire conceit of mystery fiction. Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson try several theories out that aren't true, but by exploring the dead ends, they eventually manage to find out the truth. Sometimes it's because they investigated, but sometimes it's because 'plot twist' info revelation. Don't worry about it.

[DiegoPalacios]

This is an amazing chance for either a reveal for the character or for a hillarious comedic moment. Just because the audience knows something it doesnt mean the characters know.

Ex: the Mc`s mother died in between during the protagonist journey to find a cure for her illness, and after all the struggle he went to, the audience realizes in the moment he finds the cure, it was all for nothing, but seing the hopes of the character, and knowing they will be crushed can be a powerful and ironic tragic moment.

[Drewbie]

I feel like they need to find out to progress the story (If they are the main character) and for the readers to not get too frustrated with the character for BEING wrong. And honestly you probably SHOULD play it off as if you are trying to jerk the readers around (If it's first person at least) if it's third person then maybe it would be irony where the reader knows but the character doesn't. But if them being wrong is just there because the character can see it as wrong and it doesn't contribute to the story or development one bit it might actually end up hurting your story. The main thing that would fix this is how you reveal it. If someone jut magically knows it then that might seem like a mess up on your part. What you are doing can make the flow of your story tricky so if you do decide to go ahead with it be sure to pay extra attention to the flow

[borzoiteeth]

Other than it being the backbone of several genres, for me, a proper designed world will be full of characters like this. It brings about a good taste of realism and other fun possible plot puzzles to solve.

Diego brings up a good version, but another favourite of mine is the accidental fulfilling of destinies. When enough people believe something is going to happen that due to their actions the "fate" becomes true when it didn't have to be.

My personal rule is unless your characters are gods or have 4th wall powers no one should ever perfectly have all the facts.

[Iris-Grimoire]

As long as there's a balance of what the reader knows and what the characters know. As already said above, it can get frustrating if your characters are missing key info, but it's REALLY driving if the reader knows the characters were misled and are working towards a dead end - it's tragic, it's sad, when they get to that point it's all going to crash down on them. It's like a liar revealed but it's not forced most of the time, because they really would not know any better.

A good thing to keep track of is making the "evidence" apparent to the reader. A character might pick up a missing person's shoe next to someone's house and assume the owner is kidnapped them, but in fact the missing person was attacked on that road and ran away leaving the shoe behind. The accuser isn't right, but they're not being unreasonable either.

A personal example from my comic, super vague spoiler, but a lot of characters get misguided due to assumptions and thinking the situation over too hard. They're so used to a subversion, illusions and disguises, that they don't notice the answer is simple, and because they keep finding evidence to this "obvious" plan, they'll dismiss something that hints at the real solution, because of confirmation bias.

[dawgofdawgness]

Well yeah, your characters should occasionally be wrong- just like in real life. “Wrong” can come in different forms, whether it’s a misguided mentality, a “this plan will TOTALLY work!”, a “of course she won’t mind if I miss her concert”. As long as their wrong opinion/idea is understandable/justified, it would totally make sense for your character to mess up once in a while.
If it’s not justifiable, a wrong character decision (especially an important one) can also be seen as “stupid” and you could end up creating conflict that seems easily preventable... which can cause the audience to lose respect for the character. so you gotta be careful there.

[keii4ii]

if it's something they would reasonably suspect (especially in a serious situation), then why shouldn't they say it? Even if it doesn't necessarily contribute to the story momentum...Is that bad?

Just because something is canon, doesn't mean it should be in the story.

Though on the other hand, just because it doesn't directly contribute to the plot moving forward, doesn't mean it can't enrich the reading experience. So it's up to you?

[PaulieBlade]

I'm exactly like you, OP. My characters are wrong all the time, but not because I want to mislead the reader. They are wrong because they are human beings in a shitty situation.

[Maps]

Oh yes. I have a character who has speculated about why he was taken as a prisoner to another country and he is completely wrong (though his theory makes sense). But the real reason was hinted in a chapter before (which my readers are catching on to). I just wanted to frustrate my readers that he hasn’t figured it out yet like they have

[baasinsimple]

Yeah, but I try to balance that, because even if I don't seem to give a shit about a lot of things I should, more than anything else I try to balance the wrongness. They have to have a reason they think that way and as long as they have that, it's fine as long as the right solution can be figured out by the reader

[DiegoPalacios]

Completely agree, everyone makes mistakes, but if these mistakes are out of character, it will backfire in storytelling terms.

Just to add to what you said:

Here are some examples of in-character mistakes:

1-Steve trust the creepy stranger because he is reeeeeeeeally naive

2-the village idiot does something stupid.

3-Joe is smart, but has a massive ego, so he makes a stupid bet against a jerk who mocked him to prove himself.

Examples of out of character mistakes:

1-why is the skeptic dude trusting the creepy stranger when he talks about squid people?

2-isn`t Charlie supposed to be a genious with an established common sense?, why did he ate glue?

3-why is the humble and rational girl not admitting her mistakes when she got proof of it?

[thecrimsondm]

I use this method for a lot of comedy. I find letting the characters go a bit crazy sets up an expectation, which is easy to subvert.

[winterpenwell]

Definitely! There’s nothing wrong with misdirecting your protagonist. Readers are smart, so it’s always fun to surprise them.

[Wumbl]

My characters are wrong quite often. It makes for good comedy, and it also allows for a good and organic way to introduce plot twists, exposition or even action scenes.

It makes them way more relatable too, if they get things wrong.