Why are my characters so snarky?

[Naruzeldamaster]

I hesitate to call it 'snark' or anything that's remotely negative. But a lot of my characters tend to just...naturally bounce off of eachother. Especially characters that I intend to be rivals.

A lot of my favorite scenes are scenes where characters are teasing/joking with eachother, and becoming better friends as a result. But I feel like that can't be the only reason cause no matter what personality I give them they end up having this natural chemistry. It can be a good thing but it's annoying when I want to do an enemies to lovers story.

A lot of this 'snarking' though isn't really mean spirited, even when I'm writing villains. It's a habit I've been trying to curb (you guys have commented that I rely on this too much a few times) but even when I try to resist it, some scenes just come off that way.

 

[pmmg]

Well, male bonding often entails a lot of posturing.

 

[Fyri]

Perhaps the word you're looking for is wit or banter? Or even... witty banter. XD

Balance is important here to set the desired tone. I'm guessing most feedback has been about how it makes it feel cheesy/cliche/too much like a marvel movie?

It's fun to have this, but perhaps the important thing is to make sure your characters are unique and realistic. I mean, not everyone has wit and not everyone has the same humor. If every character is sharing the same trait and that trait is overplayed in each scene, it's possible that they don't have a unique enough voice or personality.

I have sarcastic characters, but in different ways. One is dry/judgemental/mean sarcasm--usually toward people he hates (mostly everyone). Another is playful and teasing--only toward comrades. Another is just grumpy and tries to make himself seem cooler, but often opens himself up for sarcasm from anyone else--especially the girl who enjoys calling out his stupid arrogance.

Some people are only snarky toward certain people or situations or in certain moods. Maybe look into that as well!

 

[skip.knox]

What follows is my own opinion, and is perhaps no more than my opinion of my own writing. *shrug*

Snark is easy to write. Maybe too easy. Sarcasm, and indeed negativity in general, is easy. I learned this first when grading essays and term papers of my history students. I learned it again when I participated in critique circles. It's far easier to point out mistakes, weaknesses, foibles, than it is to talk about strengths and other positive traits. Of all the negative kinds of writing, snark is the easiest, even the laziest form.

I watch for this in my own writing. Wisecracks and disses are not absent, but I do try to put them to the test. First is this needed, is it doing some work? And second, is this masking some more serious emotion or issue, and would it be better to address that directly?

That second is much harder to write. For me, I think it's because it exposes me (at least in my own eyes) to more serious criticism. A simple shot, especially if it's humorous, is going to be passed by most readers without comment. But if I have a character who makes a serious, seriously-intended, comment to another character, one that produces hurt or confusion or despair in the other, then I'm more involved. I find it difficult not to be affected by the emotions of the scene I'm writing, and this is the more true the more serious the matter.

This extends to comedy, btw. Here again, a clever wisecrack that produces a smile or a giggle is one thing. But writing a truly funny character is something far different. Or writing a fully comedic scene. That stuff ain't easy.

So, why are my characters so snarky? Maybe it's because you are unsure about digging deeper. Maybe I'm all wet. But you might look into it.

 

[Finchbearer]

‘Snarky’ to my understanding only has negative connotations. Perhaps like Fyri suggests, you mean something along the lines of banter? Male on male banter is more the type - to my personal observations - that often gets taken too far. What kind of snark do you mean? Could you provide an example?

Often enemies to lovers relies on a basis of initial misunderstanding.

I have quite a taste for dark or black humour and satire. Not read many books by authors who have successfully achieved this, but of the ones who have, we are talking literary top of the game writers.

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

Perhaps the word you're looking for is wit or banter? Or even... witty banter. XD

Balance is important here to set the desired tone. I'm guessing most feedback has been about how it makes it feel cheesy/cliche/too much like a marvel movie?

It's fun to have this, but perhaps the important thing is to make sure your characters are unique and realistic. I mean, not everyone has wit and not everyone has the same humor. If every character is sharing the same trait and that trait is overplayed in each scene, it's possible that they don't have a unique enough voice or personality.

I have sarcastic characters, but in different ways. One is dry/judgemental/mean sarcasm--usually toward people he hates (mostly everyone). Another is playful and teasing--only toward comrades. Another is just grumpy and tries to make himself seem cooler, but often opens himself up for sarcasm from anyone else--especially the girl who enjoys calling out his stupid arrogance.

Some people are only snarky toward certain people or situations or in certain moods. Maybe look into that as well!

Ye, I feel like it's more like banter, not always like we see in marvel movies, but still banter. Mostly just 'oh they instantly get along even though they are meant to hate eachother' That was the problem with Hound and Fox (it's a working title), the two protagonists are meant to sort of do that 'rivals/enemies to lovers' riposte (I think that's the right word, correct me if I'm wrong) with eachother, but when I finally sat down to write the thing they INSTANTLY got along, so I had to re-arrange some character traits for both protagonists and make certain ones more extreme (for the other person involved) to make them get under each-other's skin more quickly, but still have that 'oooh You, YOU, I can't STAND you I know we're supposed to work together because plot but UGH' rivalry for a bit.

I think I'm addicted to banter because it gives the characters a chance to relax/breathe before more serious toned scenes happen. What you and Finchbearer mention about too much of it demolishing the tone is what I'm trying to curb. Even though my side project is at it's heart a comedy, I want it to be a good bit more serious than Hound and Fox when it needs to be. I find that the banter itself comes naturally to me (Maybe it's from seeing lots of moments like this in anime and other media that I kinda got a feel for it)

What I find interesting about the banter is that it typically equates to the character 'sizing up' the person, like we see in romantic comedies. Sometimes it goes well, other times it winds up with the ladies boot in the guy's face. Honestly I think I notice that my female characters tend to be more energetic / witty than my males. Even the ones intended to be stoic in nature.

The character that I'm writing now has just lost her memory entirely so basically her brain/mouth filter (for her original personality) is off, and she's more freely able to banter than when she had her original personality. Her real personality is much more serious/cold but that's because she thinks that is how she has to be to do her research. She quickly establishes a connection with her 'past' self and her past self is amused and intrigued at the changes in her personality. She even tells the 'new' version of her that she needn't worry about getting back to her 'old' self because if she can manage the same research all the same, it'd make no impact on efficiency.

 

[Finchbearer]

The thing about banter though is that it’s usually only done with people who know each other well enough to not offend. Two people who are just getting to know each other might have banter but unless they are both very outgoing or brazen or dumb.

 

[Super Fantasy]

Try mixing up character traits, or make one character snarky and witty, while another is a introvert and shy.
Characters can have many traits.

 

[Fyri]

The thing about banter though is that it’s usually only done with people who know each other well enough to not offend. Two people who are just getting to know each other might have banter but unless they are both very outgoing or brazen or dumb.

Eh. I think this can be bent though.

People always think I know random strangers because I have jokes and banter with them. Fair, I am very outgoing. Though, sometimes I'm just bored or nervous. My friend is not outgoing and has witty banter with strangers because he's brimming with social anxiety and silence disturbs him.

So, at that point, it could help to make sure you make the POV character's inner motive for their responses unique. Maybe they're angry and want to tear the other person down. You might ensure the tone is right by taking a closer look at the feelings/rising feelings behind each remark and making sure the dialogue does something beyond simply being fun.

Is each sentence or remark telling us something new about the plot or character growth/development? Is the banter revealing new info? Can it be done in less remarks? Make sure each sentence counts! If snark and banter is their natural relationship, then make it intentional and meaningful, perhaps.

 

[Jackarandajam]

A lot of this 'snarking' though isn't really mean spirited, even when I'm writing villains. It's a habit I've been trying to curb (you guys have commented that I rely on this too much a few times) but even when I try to resist it, some scenes just come off that way.

The difference between good snark and bad snark is plot relevance, I think.
TV shows are a great example of this; after a few seasons of a good show you feel like you know the characters really well, but if you watch back every, single, word, is plot relevant. There are a few minor exceptions when the characters personality is being showcased, but 98% of every word spoken drives the plot.
The rule isn't QUITE as strict for novels, but not by much, and writing isn't a visual medium, so every dialogue exchange is a precious opportunity to work in plot or explanation.
And remember, readers are constantly searching for ways to more fully understand characters. If the first thing they see of a character is snark, they mentally catalogue that character as a snarky one. It's tough to shake that later, if that's not what the character was meant to be.

It was hard to shake the habit of dialogue trending towards either how I talked or how I wished people talked, but it's an important thing to learn.

 

[Jackarandajam]

I hesitate to call it 'snark' or anything that's remotely negative. But a lot of my characters tend to just...naturally bounce off of eachother. Especially characters that I intend to be rivals.

I tend to get in trouble for what I'm about to say, because characters are very precious to writers and tend to feel very realized, but here goes:
You created the characters. They are the way they are because they came from your brain. They can "walk around and talk and make their own decisions," but you're in charge of all of it.
If they tend to get along very well, that can be because they're all versions of yourself not altered enough to really disagree. In order for them to disagree they need to be coming from a more different place. This is when the writers soft skills come into play; putting yourself in shoes that fundamentally aren't yours, understanding and presenting reality from a different perspective. Then your characters can fight like cats and dogs.

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

The thing about banter though is that it’s usually only done with people who know each other well enough to not offend. Two people who are just getting to know each other might have banter but unless they are both very outgoing or brazen or dumb.

A lot of my characters are fairly outgoing yeah (I think that comes from me not being super outgoing myself) but there are points where I feel like the banter doesn't add anything to the scene. Sometimes I do change it or shorten it (Sometimes I have to re-write the entire scene) but I hate having to do it sometimes cause sometimes the banter is genuinely good at showing what the characters are like on the surface. Even the stoic ones attempt to overcome their stoicness, mostly out of morbid curiosity.

Different personalities give banter in different ways I think (at least for the characters that I write) and regardless of how much they bounce off of eachother. I'd like to keep the relevant stuff. I've been trying to pay more attention to personality archetypes in shows and movies/games, and seeing how the banter goes. It's a tricky thing to get nailed down for me.

The thing I struggle with finding a balance for, is how much natural chemistry I give my characters. Even if i make them totally different people. with only one trait inspired from myself (I tend to take a very small piece of myself and turn it up to eleven on a given character) they just coast into the banter a little too easily. On one hand I like it but it can get annoying when I'm trying to end a chapter and everybody wants to have the last line of dialogue lol

 

[Fyri]

I mean, this is also how I write my favorite dialogue. It's just different parts of myself talking to each other. And I can be pretty engaging and argumentative to myself. XD

I think without example text, it's very hard to actually pinpoint what's going on and how to address it. I'd say get a beta to mark moments where the snark or banter is too much or annoying and see if they can tell you what about it is annoying. It could just be certain scenes go on too long or you need to give them less opportunity to chat--interrupt them. Or give one character something else more important to focus on after one or two interactions.

Also--random note: you've written "eachother" twice now, so I thought I'd let you know they are actually separate: "each other."

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

I mean, this is also how I write my favorite dialogue. It's just different parts of myself talking to each other. And I can be pretty engaging and argumentative to myself. XD

I think without example text, it's very hard to actually pinpoint what's going on and how to address it. I'd say get a beta to mark moments where the snark or banter is too much or annoying and see if they can tell you what about it is annoying. It could just be certain scenes go on too long or you need to give them less opportunity to chat--interrupt them. Or give one character something else more important to focus on after one or two interactions.

Also--random note: you've written "eachother" twice now, so I thought I'd let you know they are actually separate: "each other."

If it helps I'll be posting the first two chapters of the project in question once both chapters are finished. (And then reviewing some fanfics in turn, if I can find any that are of series that I like) They're kinda a two part prologue. I have both of them planned out but I'm procrastinating the second one (due to an overabundance of banter) but honestly I really need to just buckle down and write it.

As for each other, that's one of my biggest grammar ticks, the other one is that I mess up Sense and Since a lot (except when I'm explaining that I mix them up, for some dumb reason. but if I'm absentmindedly typing them I mix em up almost every time) I also really struggle with restaurant. I often spell it so bad that spell check doesn't know what to think of me lol

 

[Fyri]

Oh, restaurant is a monster. Sometimes, I'm grateful for autofill. No worries, I just noticed it and thought I'd give you a heads up! I love to write everytime instead of every time.

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

Oh, restaurant is a monster. Sometimes, I'm grateful for autofill. No worries, I just noticed it and thought I'd give you a heads up! I love to write everytime instead of every time.

Ye, thanks for the heads up, regarding the banter maybe I'll have to show you guys the scenes in question. I can easily show the first chapter as it's finished.
I kind of like that my characters (who are meant to get along to begin with) kind of instantly start bouncing off of each other. But at the same time I'd also like them to not be so buddy buddy like, INSTANTLY. (Unless that's the intention, like with the female lead and male lead of my current side project) The female lead and male lead of my side project are at that 'ripe for love to start blooming' age for both of their species (They're both long life species) and it's safe to say their hormones are very confused lol

 

[A. E. Lowan]

I think that this is also a great discussion question in general. Your characters are snarky? Why? Probably for the same reason I have a faerie knight who thinks the F word is it's own category of grammar. And the answer is that's how his character developed. Intensive swearing just comes naturally to him, as he presents in my head. His voice, the music he makes when he speaks, the rhythm and flows we all bring to our patterns of speech. The only difference is that he's literally ink on paper and not just some dude living in my head.

That's how it works for me with every single one of our characters. I hear them in my head and then I try to emulate their voices on the page. Yes, they talk to me. Yes, I've been writing for a very long time. And yes, I'm also bugnuts crazy. But it's part of my process and it works, which is a good thing because this series has a loooooooooong way to go.

 

[Prince of Spires]

Reading your comments, it might be a case where you have to step away from your primary personality a bit and make the characters less like you. When writing, it's very easy to make characters like yourself. After all, that's how you know how to react and that's your primary reaction to most situations. I know I'm definitely guilty of this.

It takes a concious effort to write someone else. The good thing is that you know how to react like this. You either have done this yourself in specific situations. You're not always bantering with everyone you meet. Maybe you've been shy once. Or just hated someone on sight. Or whatever. And/or you've seen other people react in different ways. Dig into that. It can be uncomfortable, but it's worth it.

Also, it can be a lot of fun, once you allow yourself to do so. At one point I needed an asshole as a character. A complete bastard who swore at everything and everyone. Allowing myself to write him was hard. but once I gave myself permission he was a lot of fun. You get to do all the things you in real life maybe don't dare. Or to experience someone else. So do that, and dig deeper.

Small note, keep reminding yourself of this as you write. I've noticed a tendency during novels that characters tend to converge to a single personality as the story progresses, unless I pay attention to their different personalities.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

Reading your comments, it might be a case where you have to step away from your primary personality a bit and make the characters less like you. When writing, it's very easy to make characters like yourself. After all, that's how you know how to react and that's your primary reaction to most situations. I know I'm definitely guilty of this.

It takes a concious effort to write someone else. The good thing is that you know how to react like this. You either have done this yourself in specific situations. You're not always bantering with everyone you meet. Maybe you've been shy once. Or just hated someone on sight. Or whatever. And/or you've seen other people react in different ways. Dig into that. It can be uncomfortable, but it's worth it.

Also, it can be a lot of fun, once you allow yourself to do so. At one point I needed an asshole as a character. A complete bastard who swore at everything and everyone. Allowing myself to write him was hard. but once I gave myself permission he was a lot of fun. You get to do all the things you in real life maybe don't dare. Or to experience someone else. So do that, and dig deeper.

Small note, keep reminding yourself of this as you write. I've noticed a tendency during novels that characters tend to converge to a single personality as the story progresses, unless I pay attention to their different personalities.

Sounds like you leased our Etienne Knight for the day.

 

[Super Fantasy]

A character could be snarky towards only certain people or be snarky in only certain context.