adorkfromnewyork: Do u have any tips for writing characters who are good at manipulation and are good at lying? Thanks!!

beercheesecasserole:

tropesarenotbad:

legit-writing-tips:

  1. Good liars are able to forget that they’re lying. That is, they throw themselves wholeheartedly into the lie that they’re telling. 
  2. Good liars know how to use bits of truth to their advantage. 
  3. Good liars and manipulators know how to rely on the emotions of the person they’re lying to - whether they rely on that person’s greed, sense of shame, good nature, etc. There’s a reason the “con” in “con artist” is short for “confidence”. 
  4. In that same vein, it’s a misconception that good liars are “sociopaths” who don’t understand human emotion. Good liars and manipulators rely on having a good understanding of emotion in order to twist it to their advantage. 
  5. Good liars don’t volunteer everything all at once. They may have a ready backstory available, but they let the person they’re lying to “pull” it out of them. Volunteering too much information makes you look suspicious and pushy. 

6- Good liars and manipulators don’t always do it for negative/selfish reasons. Some (aka those of us with a code of ethics) can use this skill to improve others’ lives.

7- Know where the manipulation comes from. Some are survival manipulators (aka if they didn’t modify their behaviour they’d get abused) while some are power trip manipulators (the selfish ones who just want control). Their motive and experience will modify their techniques, targets, and end results.

8- There is often a large societal power dynamic involved with “survival lying”. Is your character part of a social minority? Would they face bodily injury or be excluded from opportunity if they did not lie? Are they unfairly targeted and need to be able to craft an alibi that will stop people from harassing them? Social dynamics play a huge part in what behavior your world’s characters express.

Aug. 21st
3,421 notes
via / src
Reblog

3,421 notes

  1. hurricane-in-a-teacup reblogged this from alexseanchai
  2. cosmic-escapade reblogged this from tropesarenotbad
  3. tryna-sleep reblogged this from finndeservesbetter
  4. penny-for-your-thot reblogged this from finndeservesbetter
  5. eravioli reblogged this from finndeservesbetter
  6. luxscape reblogged this from finndeservesbetter
  7. finndeservesbetter reblogged this from badarmada
  8. badarmada reblogged this from baron-von-fancy
  9. bugsettas reblogged this from diceydragon
  10. cosmicsoiree reblogged this from baphomilk
  11. 000likes reblogged this from sciencedoesntknow
  12. epaire reblogged this from firelxdykatara
  13. bloodnok91 reblogged this from local-trash-goblin
  14. paintapictureonsilence reblogged this from galahadwilder
  15. legit-writing-tips posted this
♚