𝖶𝗋𝗂𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖳𝗂𝗉𝗌 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝖫𝗈𝗌𝖾𝗋𝗌

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧'𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠

You know how annoying it is when characters could solve their problems by just communicating better (or by communicating at all)?. You get frustrated and call it unnecessary drama, but then you think about how many real life problems could be solved if people would just talk. Few people in real life communicate frequently and effectively, so it's funny how accurate that fictional "cliche" can be.

Spitting out feelings is hard. Talking about problems is hard. A lack of communication can be realistic, but stories can't always directly mimic reality if they want to be good stories.

Imagine if dialogue truly included all the "uh"s, backtracking, corrections, stammers, forgotten words, etc. of realistic speech. Not only would it be a total pain in the ass to read, it would take up so much of the text that the story would barely have room to flourish. Oftentimes, adding more reality to a story can help increase its quality, but there's a difference between acceptable breaks from reality vs bad storytelling.

So why does so much communication-oriented drama in fiction fall flat or make it seem like the drama is just added for fun? It doesn't explain why (or the "why" is a poor reason). It's perfectly realistic to have characters not communicate properly, however you have to show the readers the reason why and make sure that reason is a good one. Why does the character act this way? What's stopping them from talking? And most importantly, the reason why they eventually talk needs to be up to the same standard.

There are some factors that determine if lack of communication in a story is a genuine and understandable problem vs a cheap way to add tension. Many of these overlap with each other:

• 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 If you present a character as someone who is good at communication, but then they refuse to communicate for one specific thing, it's going to be frustrating to read and seem unrealistic. Now, that's not to say that this character can't have some specific reason to behave differently in that instance-- but you have to show that reason to the readers. Not every character can get away with having communication issues without it being annoying or looking cheap. Sometimes, even for the characters where poor communication makes sense, it's easy for readers to find them to be annoying so craft them carefully.

• 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐭 Lack of communication that stems from a character being unable to show their feelings is a form of conflict, usually inner conflict. Inner conflict is the driver behind stories using the "character vs self" model, also often known as "character-driven stories". It can show up in more plot-driven stories, however you have to be careful because writing in a genre is a promise to your readers that you're going to deliver a certain type of story. Not all genres can explore communication issues caused by personal problems and not all plots are equipped to work with them.

• 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 Some issues are more forgivable to not being resolved as quickly than others, but your readers need to be told why it's not a simple fix. Don't be afraid to explore the potential consequences that are holding the character back. The reason(s) needs to make realistic sense, be understandable for who the character is, reasonable to the situation they're in, and add to the story in a meaningful way

• 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞 If a character is just shy and they never learn to work through it, especially if they don't even try, then the communication tumor is much more likely to be seen as annoying, boring, or the story as stagnant. When something is constantly an issue but it's never addressed, the writing is significantly more likely to be seen as cheap-- particularity if this issue is part of the main plot!

• 𝐆𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐥𝐞 Because the reasons for poor communication can be never-ending, the ways it can be resolved mirror that. The point at which a character learns to work through their communication issue is a climax of that particular issue and plot, so don't treat it like some throwaway concept. The bigger the communication issue, the bigger the climax.

Your characters may not be amazing communicators all the time, but to avoid creating cheap drama you need to show readers the reasons for the poor communication, why those reasons matter, and give a satisfying conclusion to the conflict.

Bad poor communication in a story uses it as a plot tumor or an excuse for an event or reaction.

Good poor communication in a story treats it as an exploration of character with something to add to the story as whole.

Communication issues are conflict, not excuses for something to happen or not happen. Treat the conflict properly and it can add depth to a character and plot, with a good splash of realism, but treat it poorly and your story will be poorly crafted. Reality, in this case, needs to be handled carefully to benefit a story

𝐜𝐫; 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐝