The art of smarts. Why is it so difficult to write intelligent characters?

[Lloyd]

Writing good characters is hard in general, but one of the hardest things to convey is intelligence. You have to strike a fine balance. Make your character solve difficult problems too quickly and easily will leave readers feeling like the solution was an asspull. The most common way of dealing with the asspull problem boils down to this; the solution is forshadowed -> problem is presented -> character solves problem. If the solution was already foreshadowed then it isn't an asspull right? All this ends up making intelligent characters very formulaic. There is also the problem with stupid writers, who are unable to unable to understand intelligence. They end up using asspulls to the point their character basically has magic powers.

 

[greyblob]

because most people are stupid. and if you're presenting a puzzle, you don't just show the before and after. you need to at least show a few steps of how you got there.

 

[SailusGebel]

An intelligent character can't be more intelligent than an author.

 

[Lloyd]

An intelligent character can't be more intelligent than an author.

because most people are stupid. and if you're presenting a puzzle, you don't just show the before and after. you need to at least show a few steps of how you got there.

Sorry i wasn't entirely finished i accidently posted early.

 

[TotallyHuman]

Depends. I can easily suspend my disbelief at some things and get "yes, this character is pretty damn intelligent", even when they aren't and it only takes a few moments to figure it out.
If you're writing sci-fi, then it's really not that hard at all, if you just have them crack problems that nobody (readers and maybe author included) understand.
The real hard part is writing intelligent characters who are intelligent in settings that the readers can understand and follow.
It's not even because the author isn't intelligent. It's just that fictional intelligence has to be flamboyant. The solutions the character must offer to look smart must be very unique and creative. It has to look superintelligent.
Most intelligent people I know aren't that different from a normal person. But most real world intelligent solutions are obvious in hindsight (if a super genius with supergenius solutions way out of the box was required for every problem, Universities teaching future professionals out of muggle wouldn't exist) and reading about an intelligent character offering such solutions can seem like intentional dumbing down of other characters instead.

 

[NotaNuffian]

I often hear writers on how they write "complicated" problems, both in fighting and puzzle/ political solving.

They first make the solution, then build the problem for it. Why? Because it is easier to do so by comparing what your current character is capable of, what their projected power scaling will be and then create a plausible tension that the readers might find intense and when the character solves the "difficult" problem, the readers will feel the sense of accomplishment even though all they do is read a fictional character doing something.

Unless you build a character from the ground up and have all the problems pre-prepared for the character to solve, then an intelligent character like Sherlock might pop up. If not, it is a bit improbable for the current online writers as most of them are on the fly and have little plans or just having the major skeleton prepared and the little dashes of ingenuity here and there to showcase how smart the character is. How intelligent the charcter is not the main point in this case and it does leave holes here and there.

 

[Jemini]

The key to writing intelligence is actually quite simple. Intelligence is all about problem-solving ability. It is their ability to solve problems that makes the audience perceive them as intelligent.

In order to show off their problem-solving capability, you need to lay out the problem like a puzzle and lay it out in a way that the audience can follow. Then, you give the character's solution by having the character work their way through the problem one step at a time, and every step should seem perfectly reasonable to the readers.

EDIT: Of course, the intelligence of the author helps a lot. I have a plot-line set up for my story where my MC needs to get one nation to declare war on another. They do so by telling the nation they want to instigate the war about a silver mine that happens to be located along one of the nation's major trade routes. The mine creates a boom-town, the boom-town starts buying up all the food the trade-wagons bring in, and an unrest starts to rise in the capital. This means the king needs a way to solve this problem, and they very conveniently happen to have a lot of money to throw around with this new silver mine. So, they start gearing up for war.

Knowing about cause and effect relationships like that tends to really help in writing smart characters.

 

[Ununique]

Writing good characters is hard in general, but one of the hardest things to convey is intelligence. You have to strike a fine balance. Make your character solve difficult problems too quickly and easily will leave readers feeling like the solution was an asspull. The most common way of dealing with the asspull problem boils down to this; the solution is forshadowed -> problem is presented -> character solves problem. If the solution was already foreshadowed then it isn't an asspull right? All this ends up making intelligent characters very formulaic. There is also the problem with stupid writers, who are unable to unable to understand intelligence. They end up using asspulls to the point their character basically has magic powers.

There's this genre of writing called rational fic, it tries to make character motivations and behavior correlate properly and logically, and most fiction associated with that philosophy also includes levels of intelligence that the reader can understand. Sources include this link to a blog summary which tries to codify how one can go about making intelligent characters.

Something to note is that in order for the character to be truly intelligent or perceived that way, you also have to put in the leg work of creating an intelligently crafted world, meaning a lot of it has to stand to scrutiny in order for the logic to hold up.

For further research there's a tvtropes page and a reddit subforum.

As for me I'm a dumbass so take everything I say with a grain of sand.

 

[Lloyd]

There's this genre of writing called rational fic, it tries to make character motivations and behavior correlate properly and logically, and most fiction associated with that philosophy also includes levels of intelligence that the reader can understand. Sources include this link to a blog summary which tries to codify how one can go about making intelligent characters.

Something to note is that in order for the character to be truly intelligent or perceived that way, you also have to put in the leg work of creating an intelligently crafted world, meaning a lot of it has to stand to scrutiny in order for the logic to hold up.

For further research there's a tvtropes page and a reddit subforum.

As for me I'm a dumbass so take everything I say with a grain of sand.

Probably the best and most substantive answer here. Just explaining a character solving a problem isn't enough to cut it, and it still leads to the readers feeling like you asspulled if it doesn't make sense. The most important aspect imo is keeping the logic well grounded and the mechanics of the world consistent.

 

[Zirrboy]

Another factor is reader willingness.

(With some exceptions, like self insert) an arrogant character will make readers look at their actions more questioningly, be it a general "better than you" statement or another character the readers are attached to being sacrificed to make them smarter in comparison.

 

[CupcakeNinja]

Writing good characters is hard in general, but one of the hardest things to convey is intelligence. You have to strike a fine balance. Make your character solve difficult problems too quickly and easily will leave readers feeling like the solution was an asspull. The most common way of dealing with the asspull problem boils down to this; the solution is forshadowed -> problem is presented -> character solves problem. If the solution was already foreshadowed then it isn't an asspull right? All this ends up making intelligent characters very formulaic. There is also the problem with stupid writers, who are unable to unable to understand intelligence. They end up using asspulls to the point their character basically has magic powers.

Just go step by step on how the character deduces the solution. I think there are several Sherlock Homes type of stories that do this well. The series with Benadict Cumberbatch, maybe?

Other types of problems, like a winning military strategy during battle, you can find from other kinds of stories. Sherlock is more for mysteries.

I dunno, I always say just take examples from your favorite authors. How do THEY write their characters? And show their intelligence?

 

[Lloyd]

Another factor is reader willingness.

(With some exceptions, like self insert) an arrogant character will make readers look at their actions more questioningly, be it a general "better than you" statement or another character the readers are attached to being sacrificed to make them smarter in comparison.

There is a certain charisma in arrogant characters though that can make them seem smarter. Just as long as they can back it up.

Just go step by step on how the character deduces the solution. I think there are several Sherlock Homes type of stories that do this well. The series with Benadict Cumberbatch, maybe?

Other types of problems, like a winning military strategy during battle, you can find from other kinds of stories. Sherlock is more for mysteries.

I dunno, I always say just take examples from your favorite authors. How do THEY write their characters? And show their intelligence?

Do you seriously think the series with Benadict Cumberbatch was good writing? That is probably the best example in the mainstream of a poorly written "intelligent" character. Series must of been written by retards.

 

[Anon_Y_Mousse]

Imo, intelligence characters rely on the presentation of the author. Badass intelligent characters tend to look more intelligent to readers than "weak-willed" characters of equal intelligence. Things have to make sense, yes, but looking cool and making sense goes a long way

Actual intelligence of the author helps, but if you got at least basic human intelligence and willingness to do research, it lies more on creativity.

 

[Lloyd]

Imo, intelligence characters rely on the presentation of the author. Badass intelligent characters tend to look more intelligent to readers than "weak-willed" characters of equal intelligence. Things have to make sense, yes, but looking cool and making sense goes a long way

Actual intelligence of the author helps, but if you got at least basic human intelligence and willingness to do research, it lies more on creativity.

No amount of research can overcome a 10IQ point gap. I think I read somewhere that 10IQ points difference is all it takes for people to not understand how someone else thinks. This is why a lot of really smart people seem crazy to normal people. You can kinda work backwards i think, but probably not forwards as far as intelligence is concerned. Like you can kinda understand on a technical level if you are smart enough.

 

[CupcakeNinja]

The key to writing intelligence is actually quite simple. Intelligence is all about problem-solving ability. It is their ability to solve problems that makes the audience perceive them as intelligent.

In order to show off their problem-solving capability, you need to lay out the problem like a puzzle and lay it out in a way that the audience can follow. Then, you give the character's solution by having the character work their way through the problem one step at a time, and every step should seem perfectly reasonable to the readers.

EDIT: Of course, the intelligence of the author helps a lot. I have a plot-line set up for my story where my MC needs to get one nation to declare war on another. They do so by telling the nation they want to instigate the war about a silver mine that happens to be located along one of the nation's major trade routes. The mine creates a boom-town, the boom-town starts buying up all the food the trade-wagons bring in, and an unrest starts to rise in the capital. This means the king needs a way to solve this problem, and they very conveniently happen to have a lot of money to throw around with this new silver mine. So, they start gearing up for war.

Knowing about cause and effect relationships like that tends to really help in writing smart characters.

Knowing your history can really help with this kind of thing too.

 

[Anon_Y_Mousse]

No amount of research can overcome a 10IQ point gap. I think I read somewhere that 10IQ points difference is all it takes for people to not understand how someone else thinks. This is why a lot of really smart people seem crazy to normal people. You can kinda work backwards i think, but probably not forwards as far as intelligence is concerned. Like you can kinda understand on a technical level if you are smart enough.

You can juxtapose a scene in your story with a historical moment, history is full of smart people, just that we have hindsight to better understand them. Just make sure to have proper context.

Intelligence is shown through making quick decisions. Writers have all the time in the world. You know how you think of a great comeback 3 days or even a year after an argument? Yeah, it's like that.

Sure you can't think like someone 10IQ above you, but what you're trying to do is convince the readers someone is that smart. Difficult, but doable.

Edit: Also you can reflavor scenes from other books. I do it a lot, mostly from hentai doujinshis. Best part is its almost untraceable cause who the hell would point out ripped scenes from hentai doujins in a non-erotic story.

 

[Lloyd]

You can juxtapose a scene in your story with a historical moment, history is full of smart people, just that we have hindsight to better understand them. Just make sure to have proper context.

Intelligence is shown through making quick decisions. Writers have all the time in the world. You know how you think of a great comeback 3 days or even a year after an argument? Yeah, it's like that.

Sure you can't think like someone 10IQ above you, but what you're trying to do is convince the readers someone is that smart. Difficult, but doable.

Edit: Also you can reflavor scenes from other books. I do it a lot, mostly from hentai doujinshis. Best part is its almost untraceable cause who the hell would point out ripped scenes from hentai doujins in a non-erotic story.

Those are okay strategies but they boil down to copy other smart people / just brute force using time to your advantage.

 

[Anon_Y_Mousse]

Those are okay strategies but they boil down to copy other smart people / just brute force using time to your advantage.

Sorry, I have Chinese ancestry. *Cough* I mean if it makes it work, then it makes it work. If you twist it to the plot of your own story it essentially becomes viable.

 

[Lloyd]

Sorry, I have Chinese ancestry. *Cough* I mean if it makes it work, then it makes it work. If you twist it to the plot of your own story it essentially becomes viable.

Its good. I was only ask rhetorically to start a conversation. I think Im already fine at writing big brained genius characters.

 

[KiraMinoru]

These days I like to think of intelligence in fiction as nothing more than an illusion based on the art of deception. Can you deceive not only others, but yourself as well? If you as the author cannot be deceived by your own character, there was never anything intelligent about what your character did.

For example, you might write something inconsequential your character did only to be surprised when your character reveals to you why he did such a thing later on.