The Right Way to Go About Miscommunication

I have a bit of an odd topic this week but it’s something that has been on my mind often recently. Miscommunication is a common trope and the majority of the time it tends to infuriate readers and sometimes in the bad way. Like-will put the book down and never pick it back up-way. We don’t want that. I’ve combed through some of my favorite shows and media that excel with this trope to talk about how to include miscommunication properly. 

First, why even use the trope? Miscommunication is a common everyday occurrence. There are a million ways a person can misinterpret someone’s words or intentions and it allows drama into the story. It’s a way of shaking up the storyline and potentially drawing on a character's weakness. 

  What you don’t want to do is carelessly throw miscommunication in a situation where the problem can easily be solved. This is a really easy way of annoying the reader. If it’s a simple fix, it will seem lazy and unrealistic. The problem itself needs to be complicated enough to where a character couldn’t easily solve it (it can be either an external or internal problem)

It should also make sense given the character’s personality and situation. My favorite example of this is Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation where Lan Wanji’s offer of help and companionship is misinterpreted by the protagonist, Wei Wuxian. At this point in the novel, the two are not close and Lan Wanji is known for being as “cold as jade” and also very annoyed with Wei Wuxian’s carefree behavior. Wei Wuxian at this point has done what he could to survive and struggling to balance dark energy, making his mind more prone to assuming the worse and getting angry. This makes the pair have a heartbreaking miscommunication but it’s done in a way that is completely believable. A way to think of it is if a character is doing something out of their normal behavior is often ground for being misunderstood. 

Going along with that example, your character’s situation can also lead to miscommunication. Maybe there is a secret that a character cannot reveal for whatever reason, this is a prime time for another character to misunderstand their intentions and assume the worst until the truth is revealed. I see this often in romance novels where the character is with someone who they don’t love for some kind of benefit and the love interest assumes they care for the other person instead of them but really, that’s not the case. 

Another great opportunity to set up a miscommunication is at the initial meeting of a character. Characters are complex and oftentimes we don’t know everything about the character when we first meet them. The reader and narrator make assumptions about other characters and then adjust as they get more information. If your goal is for them to falsely assume something, have the character have some sort of clue that would suggest their assumption is true. I’ve seen this often with an intimidating character being assumed to be dangerous when that’s not necessarily true. 

Ultimately, just makes sure that if you’re choosing to use this trope that you have a good reason and is utilized in a believable and realistic way. 

That’s all for this week–Kamryn will be in next time talking about movie adaptations so be on the lookout for that! As always, write-on!