Passive...

[DeaSis]

I need help.  I have noticed in my writing that most of my main characters are passive.  They tend to have things happen to them, observe what's going on, internalize he situation, and make decisions after.  I need to make active characters!  Does anyone have any advice for me?

[FishStampede]

Well, passivity in and of itself is not a bad thing. One of my mains is extremely passive, but that's one of her character flaws. Hamlet as a character was defined by his inability to act, and that's normally in the top 5 Shakespeare plays.

A character being overly passive often comes in my experience from them considering their actions too much. They think about what they're going to do well before they actually do it.  For my other character, who is much more active, I often find the best thing to do is ask myself "What could she do that would make things worse?" Then she does it.

[the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh]

I suspect that, provided your ideal reader is not a trained soldier or a hormone-pumping adolescent, thinking things through rather than reacting immediately is liable to add to plausibility and make it easier to identify with, fwiw.

[Paynesgrey]

DeaSis, is the issue that your character, as a trait is passive, or that your story feels like it's more about stuff happening to the character, rather than your character going and actively doing things?  (Not necessarily kicking in doors, but pursuing goals, interacting with people, etc?)

[DeaSis]

I think I was too general in my plea.  My problem is that as a writer, the majority of my characters in all of my stories tend to be passive.  More of an observer who gets pulled into events and tries to make sense of them.  It's an extension of me as a person, I think.  So so all my main characters have this side to them. 

I guess I'm looking for tips on approaches to writing, a mindset that drives the undercurrent, so that I can make steps toward fixing this problem in all of my writing going forward and not trying to fix just an individual manuscript.  I don't know if that makes sense to anyone. 

Some genres rely on a kind of passivity.  Mysteries need a detective who takes in a scene, collects clues, follows up with detail - makes and tests theories for interrogation - but largely lets the evidence do the driving.  Romances tend to be all about the "feels". 

But my sci fi stories always get nailed by my writer's group for the passive characters.  Have I internalized this too much?  Maybe. 

(I just typed and erased two graphs of whiny introspection full of parallels with my characters and the real life I live of being a stay at home mom to kids that are in college and high school.  Life choices that make me the pit crew for my family who go out into the world.  I just saved you from your eyes glazing over... your welcome:)  *sigh's and laughs at self* 

[the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh]

I think I was too general in my plea.  My problem is that as a writer, the majority of my characters in all of my stories tend to be passive.  More of an observer who gets pulled into events and tries to make sense of them.
(...)
But my sci fi stories always get nailed by my writer's group for the passive characters.  Have I internalized this too much?  Maybe.

Maybe indeed.  For one thing, there are plenty of examples of successful stories where people get drawn into events and only try to make sense as they go along, from The Hobbit to Hitchcock.  For another, if you're introducing an SFnal world to a reader, the reader is going to be figuring it out and making sense of it as they go along, and a character doing the same is a good entry point - which is why so much SF uses people transported to unfamiliar worlds, or kids leaving their home village for the first time, or POV characters who otherwise have a good reason for needing things explained to them.

[LizW65]

One of my favorite fantasy novels of all time, Neil Gaiman's American Gods, features a protagonist who is almost completely passive right up to the end of the story.  A passive character who is finally persuaded into taking action can be very compelling, IMO.

[DeaSis]

Then, maybe I have internalized it too much.  It's one of those classic cases of "any strength pushed to the extreme becomes a weakness" sorts of things then.  Having an intimate writer's group is good for being able to have a core of people who are always on your side and wanting to help you be better.  But there is also the weakness of wanting to please them and write to them instead of to what pleases yourself. 

Thanks for the comments guys, you've given me something to think about.

[Quantus]

I definitely think you write what you like, not what other say you should write, as a general rule, and as others have noted passive characters often work well (though they are usually paired with some much more active character that sweeps them along in their wake).  That being said, if its a rut you would like to work yourself out of for your own sake, maybe you need to force yourself into it.  Work a scenario where passive does not work, where the MC /has/ to be there driving force, or maybe one where the MC is the "a trained soldier or a hormone-pumping adolescent," a Man of Action, or overblown hothead, somebody that lends themselves to the driver's seat of the scene more innately.  Find a story that forces you to kick yourself out of your comfort zone for its own sake.  It doesnt have to be long, or complex or polished gold, just set out to write a few scenes that are as close to the polar opposite as what you are find yourself defaulting into.  It might suck, but it would probably be a useful exercise

[the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh]

Work a scenario where passive does not work, where the MC /has/ to be there driving force, or maybe one where the MC is the "a trained soldier or a hormone-pumping adolescent" or some such overblown hothead.

If I came across as thinking trained soldiers are overblown hotheads, I apologise; I had been looking for an example of a profession where someone might plausibly have been trained to act immediately and decisively rather than to be reflective.

[Quantus]

Same here, I did not mean to imply that regarding actual soldiers, and interpreted the soldiers as simply examples of men of action who tend toward an active role and drive a given situation more than others.  The Overblown Hothead description was aimed at the steroid-pumping adolescents portion of the statement, a group expected to more often act before thinking, but I should have been clearer.  In either case they would not be passive characters, and would lend themselves a proactive role, whatever the circumstances.

[Paynesgrey]

Police, fire, trauma teams as well as military would qualify in the "trained to immediately and decisively over-react to be on the safe side" category.  Same with bodyguards and maybe air-traffic controllers too, come to think of it. 

DeaSis, Quantus has some good advice in that practicing writing action/activity scenes would be of help.  And remember, talking, investigating, researching... those are all Action as well.  Doctor Who doesn't go around kicking asses and busting heads, but "passive" is far from how I'd describe him.

Write how you like, but push at the edges of your comfort zone if for no other reason to be sure you can make a polished product when you do have those scenes requiring action.

[o_O]

I need help.  I have noticed in my writing that most of my main characters are passive.  They tend to have things happen to them, observe what's going on, internalize he situation, and make decisions after.  I need to make active characters!  Does anyone have any advice for me?

One suggestion would be to try to write a character who simply cannot understand what is going on without trying to affect (stop, accelerate, redirect) whatever it is they're trying to understand.

[DeaSis]

Is there a protected place on this board, a workshop area where I can write a scene to practice it and get feedback from any takers?

[Galvatron]

I dont think there is a place on the board for it, though I am somewhat new here so I might have missed it.

But I'm sure there are some people that would be plenty willing to read a practice scene for you and give you feed back if you sent it to them.