Every good action deserves a reaction! Reactions are how your readers gauge how it’s going. Let’s say one character says, “I took care of it.” It’s one thing if the response is, “Great, thank you!” But if they reply with, say, “What do you mean? They were the only family I had left!” Well, now that’s a different story.

BEYOND PHYSICAL REACTION

First things first. An action is not the same thing as choreography. Yes, a body doing something is technically a physical action, but here I’m talking about actions with impact. If someone gets up to close a window, I won’t necessarily react. They’re just doing a thing with their body. Not all physical actions warrant a reaction.

But if someone stalks across the room and slams a window shut, that will get a reaction out of me! I’m reacting because I’m affected by the action. If I write this as a reaction, though, it feels a bit thin:

She stared.

Okay. Staring is a reaction, I guess. Right? But does it tell us anything? Not really.

A full reaction goes beyond a physical response like, “She stared” or “Her eyes blazed.” (In fact, I would encourage you not to make your characters’ eyes do that much work. )

Instead, use a combination of physical clues, dialogue, and rich interiority . Indicate both how it’s going and what comes next. A full reaction to a slammed window might be something like this:

She stared. He never slammed anything. Something must be wrong, and she had a sinking feeling it was because of something she’d said. “Hey, um, is everything okay?”

Now, with a little dialogue and interiority for context, that lonely physical action side dish has become a full meal.

List of Character Reactions

So, if you’re stuck wondering how your character might react to a situation, you can check this list for ideas. You’ve heard about active protagonists. These are active reactions! We’re going beyond physical things bodies can do here to address actual intent.

Here are some possible reactions (bonus points: these double as actions!):

positive reactions

negative reactions

annoy
attack
avoid
blame
bully
criticize
dismiss
guilt
humiliate
lie
manipulate
mock
scare
scold
tempt

admire
advise
apologize
clarify
confess
give
help
empathize
encourage
flatter
forgive
praise
soothe
support
thank

Action, Reaction, Repeat

Building actions and reactions between characters will inevitably strengthen their relationship and in turn, their characterization. A character who doesn’t react at all is seen as cold or maybe actually dead. For living, breathing characters who have something at stake, remember: action, reaction, repeat.

Get more in-depth on character creation and interiority with on-demand videos and classes at Good Story Learning.