How to write a character who is smarter than you

We all have that one character (or few) who is significantly smarter than the writer. So, as a writer, how do you write such a character convincingly?

I can't claim to give you a formula for this or an answer that works every time. However, I have a lot of experience writing precisely these types of characters. This is probably also true of other mystery writers in general. I will share a few of my favourite tricks for pulling off highly intelligent characters convincingly.

1. Make them smarter in different ways.

A good example of this is Cassie from the short stories I've published here. No, Cassie isn't really smarter than me, or at least, not in every way. She is also somewhat immature. However, she does have a significant edge over me in a few things.

She is more observant, and her recall is mostly flawless. She is also willing to work on something that might not be very useful for a long time.

The thing is, all of this are qualities that can be faked on the page (or even in a comic book format) quite easily. As the writer, you will know which details are important and which details aren't, but the thing is, neither your characters nor your readers will have that knowledge. So when your character notices random things all the time, neither they nor the audience will know which of these are more important. You can also do this with details in the background for a visual medium. As long as you remember to put these details in / make it reasonably likely that your character observed them.

Then, when your character actually recalls the relevant information, it can look, well, impressive.

Of course, you can come up with other characteristics like this. A photographic memory helps. A character who observes people for fun will notice more than your average person. Depending on the genre you're writing, the characteristics that are useful will change.

2. Work backwards.

This can be a hit or a miss. 

If you know the ending, you're working with more context than your average character or reader. Therefore, your deductions, etc. will be more accurate. Having your character make these deductions would make them look really smart.

However, this is also very easy to mess up. First of all, you have to make sure that your character has all the information needed to make the particular deduction. You also have to be aware of the fact that the same information may be interpreted in different ways, so having your character acknowledge other possibilities would be a good idea. The problem here is that it's very easy to develop tunnel vision when writing something like this and completely fail to see alternative theories. 

Alpha readers and time can be your friends here. You can wait until you've forgotten the details of the story partially, but it can be a bit inconvenient, especially if you're a pantser like me (i.e. coming back and realising there's another possible explanation that your detective would have run with). Alpha readers are hard to come by. I really don't have an easy answer for this.

So what happens if you mess this up? The result is an explanation / deduction / theory that your character pulled out of their rear end. Or at least, that's what your readers will think. This will break your immersion completely, so use with caution.

In short, this is a high risk, high reward strategy.

3. Time is your friend.

You have hours to days to write or plan what your character must execute in minutes. Use that to your advantage. 

Your character may not have the luxury to document everything in the heat of the moment to discover patterns. You do. They may not have a full plan of their location. You can draw one and then sketch your plan there. They can't sleep on the problem, you can.

Once you've done that, have your character do all of that with less time / resources / etc. and they will look extremely smart. Of course, you should work with the information that the character would know or have a reasonable chance of knowing, otherwise you will risk breaking immersion.

4. Contrast

Contrasting your character against someone who isn't as smart is another good way to make them look intelligent. People generally interpret things relative to what's around it, so this can make your character look more intelligent by comparison. This is basically the Dr Watson to your Sherlock Holmes. 

So what if you have a lot of intelligent characters? Well, you can make them intelligent in different ways, which maintains the contrast, but highlights each character's capabilities relative to the others. This is especially useful if you have an ensemble cast, where everyone's supposed to be smart.

5. Have other characters tell the reader that a particular character is smart

This, admittedly, is a bit of a sneaky strategy and one that has to be used sparingly. You will also have to back this up with some proof occasionally. However, having other characters tell the reader that a character is intelligent (and treat them that way), particularly at their introduction, is a good way to form a particular impression in the minds of your readers.

However, you will have to back this up, especially if your character appears with any frequency or has an important role in the story. Otherwise, it will make the rest of your characters look less intelligent and possibly make the whole story frustrating. 

The advantage here is that you can take your time with showing your character's smarts. For example, you can introduce a character and then take your time with having them do something significant and smart. This will also come off an a payoff of a previous setup, which makes it even more satisfying.

6. Have your character's intelligence be of the sort that doesn't have to be demonstrated on the page

This is a fairly common approach, especially with scientist type characters. You can simply have them come up with gadgets, etc. with no explanation about how it was done, because frankly, most readers aren't interested in that. You can also add in a little technobabble to make it sound more convincing. 

This works, but I don't like this approach very much. Bad technobabble can be off-putting (I can't remember the number of times I've had to scream internally because they got the physics / engineering so wrong). 

A better approach would be to research the subject in question a little. You don't have to understand the maths (because you will have to deal with maths if you're going to study it in depth), but as long as you understand the general theory or study how experts talk about the subject to other people, you should have a reasonable starting point. Then you can go ahead and write about someone who created a supercar or space station without having to design one yourself.

Closing thoughts

These are not the only tricks you can use. If you have any, please put it in the comments! I'd love to hear about it and maybe have a discussion. 

Not all the tricks mentioned here are equally successful, and not all of them work for every intelligent character. You will have to decide what works for you (I know I say this in every writing related post but it's true). 

Hope this helps, and see you next time!

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The man in black - chapter 4 (short story)

  chapter 1 | chapter 2 | chapter 3

“That wasn’t much use, was it?” asked Anna, “purple shirt? Seriously?”

“No, we know all we need to know,” said Cassie.

Everyone looked up at her. Cassie did like showing off, but she did not enjoy the feeling of having everyone stare at her.

“What do you mean?” asked Selene.

“First, the video. Look at the video. There’s an important clue there.”

Selene took her phone out and looked at the video. Anna also looked at it over her shoulder.

“What do you mean?”

“The shoes, but also, he’s left-handed,” said Cassie, “at least, that’s likely. Sure, he’s holding the board in his right, and slings his bag over his right shoulder, but you’d think he’d grab something like a pistol with the hand he’s more used to.”

“Not necessarily,” said Selene, “I prefer using my left hand too, but that’s because I draw a lot and I want to protect my right hand.”

Cassie digested this information. “Okay, but there’s another clue. He nearly crashed into stuff three times over about 150 m.”

“In a crowded mall,” said Lex.

“But did you crash into stuff?”

“Nah, but we were slowed by, you know, trying to avoid the debris.”

“Run that distance now. The mall is more crowded than it was then,” said Cassie.

“Fine. Stay out of the way,” said Lex.

He walked back to the coffee shop, and then started running towards the bathroom. He ran past them at full speed, nearly ran into someone coming out of a shop, and then reached the bathrooms.

“Well?” asked Cassie.

“Depth perception? That’s what you’re trying to say, right?” asked Selene.

“Yup. The guy wears glasses, and they’re probably fairly powerful,” said Cassie, “you may not have realised it, but they can really mess with depth perception if you’re used to wearing them and then take them off. None of the men had sunglasses, and they couldn’t use those with a prescription because the lens power would give them away immediately.”

“Possible,” said Selene, “But the artist guy was the only one wearing a shirt, and he wasn’t wearing glasses. That’s not accounting for the colours of what they were wearing. What about the purple shirt?”

“Let’s go back to the shop,” said Cassie, “well, you probably already know where this is going, but let’s ask them ourselves.”

Lex joined them as they entered the shop. The woman who talked to them was at the entrance.

“Could you tell us where you were when you saw the robber run past?” asked Selene.

“Inside the shop,” she said, “come on in, I’ll show you. I was standing right here, hanging the new earphones that had come in when I heard the noise. I turned and saw him run past. He was starting to open the coat as he ran.”

“Preparing to dump it once he reached the bathroom, I suspect,” said Selene, walked up to where she was, “so… wow!”

“Oh!” said Dany, “The lights at the entrance. They flash red, blue, green and yellow, and it would hit anyone near the boxes.”

“And if it was flashing red, a light blue shirt would look purple. Neither beige nor grey would look purple under any of the colours. So, why did you say it was a shirt?” asked Selene.

The woman looked mystified.

“It was a t-shirt with a collar, I think. I didn’t see it very clearly, but the way the collar sat was a bit like what she’s wearing.”

She indicated Cassie. Cassie was wearing a black t-shirt that fit that description. Her collar was a mess, with one side sitting higher than the other. Cassie knew from experience that shirt collars, especially those made of materials that men’s shirts were usually made of, didn’t do that unless someone wanted them to look that way.

“Then we have a suspect,” said Selene, “good job noticing it, Cassie. Let’s go ask him.”

They returned to where Mark was, along with the suspects.

“We have three new witness statements. One, that the perpetrator nearly crashed into a pile of books, then into a customer, and then a box of cables. Two, we know that he was wearing a t-shirt with a collar that was bluish. Three, we know from the statements from everyone who saw the robbery that he was wearing black leather shoes. That means we have enough circumstantial evidence against Hal.”

Mark looked at Selene. He took a minute to process what was being said. In the meantime, Hal stood up.

“That doesn’t prove anything! First of all, how did you know that the guy you’re looking for went in here?”

“Judging by how the door slammed, I suspect they heard you,” said Adam.

“Both of us saw you,” said Bella, “if you’re sure you’re innocent, let them test the money you have for fingerprints. That shouldn’t be too hard, should it?”

“Of course Liv’s fingerprints would be on it!” said Hal, “I go to that café whenever I come here, so…”

“Not hers,” said Cassie, “we’re talking about the two that paid for that huge order.”

“Exactly,” said Selene, “or you have an excuse for that as well?”

“I know them alright,” said Hal, “they’re from the newspaper office. They’re having a bit of a get together today. I recommended the shop to them. Their fingerprints could also be there.”

“They pay you in cash?” asked Darrell, “that’s funny. I would have thought cheque, or a direct funds transfer to your account would have been more, well, normal.”

“Besides, even if they paid in cash, it’s unlikely that both sets of fingerprints would be on the same notes,” said Mark, standing up, “so I guess we’ll figure it out. Come with us to the police station. We’ll know soon enough.”

Then a security guard came up to them.

“They found a black bag, a pair of sunglasses, a toy pistol, and a pair of black track pants on the ground outside the mall building. It looks like it fell from one of the ventilation windows on the toilets from one of the upper floors, including this one. The pistol was cracked open. I told them to not touch anything.”

“What about the gloves and mask?” asked Lex.

“In the toilet?” asked Cassie.

“We’re going to have to search the toilet then,” said Mark, “but there should be evidence we can use in the hat, and possibly the glasses. You’re under arrest for armed robbery.”

Hal knew the game was up, and he didn’t really resist after that. Selene called for more help to deal with the evidence. They showed up some time later. Then Selene took their statements. They barely made it in time for the movie.

Next morning, Cassie ran into Anna at the convenience store. There, she updated her about the situation. Hal’s hair had been found in the hat. They found nothing on the pistol or sunglasses. He also had a lot of cash, they found notes with Liv’s fingerprints, which also had fingerprints from the two at the newspaper office. Hal had confessed when presented with all this evidence. Cassie waited until Anna was done.

“So, do you know the motive?” asked Cassie, “and why the coffee shop?”

“Money,” said Anna, “apparently the newspaper office didn’t pay him in time, so he decided to take matters into his own hands.”

“He robbed the coffee shop.”

Anna shrugged. “If you read his articles, you’d know he’s not that smart. So, when’s your flight?”

“Five hours. The taxi should be here in half an hour.”

“See you in two weeks then.”

Cassie said goodbye to Anna. The case was done. Now, she just had to look forward to the holidays.

THE END

This is the second chapter uploaded today, so if you missed chapter 3, please check it out below.

Previous chapters: chapter 1 | chapter 2 | chapter 3

You can also follow me on Facebook here.

I don't have another short story in the pipeline just yet (and no time for it right now, honestly), but I'll try to get another out in maybe a month? No guarantees though.

Until next time!

The man in black - chapter 3 (short story)

 chapter 1 | chapter 2 | chapter 4

Selene sat the three men down on a bench.

“Okay, let’s start with Darrell. Tell me what you’ve been doing today.”

“I woke at around two in the afternoon. Then I worked on a painting, started another, and then remembered a commission I was supposed to do, tried to start on that, realised I didn’t have the colours I wanted, came here to shop, the shop told me they didn’t have the paints but their supplies would be coming in a little later. So I visited a few other shops, and walked to the gallery upstairs, hung around there, talked with the people there for a while, browsed the bookshop – you know, the usual.”

Cassie didn’t know whether she was worried about him or for him. Still, the story made some sense. Possibly.

“Okay, Hal?” asked Selene.

“Did some writing, watched some stuff because I couldn’t concentrate, and then realised I needed new headphones. I was also browsing for a pen drive and maybe a good keyboard, but I didn’t find anything I really liked. Other than that, I’ve also been looking for a microphone, but again, I didn’t really find anything.”

“I thought you were a writer?”

Hal shrugged. “I was thinking of doing some instructional videos online, and I have a face fit for radio.”

“That’s why you weren’t looking for a camera?” asked Darrell.

“Yup.”

Cassie didn’t think he needed to worry about it that much. Maybe he was just shy.

“Then, Adam?”

“I’ve been here since morning, except for the times I was drinking copious amounts of coffee at Ed’s shop. Mostly at the repair shop, actually. Seriously though, if I wanted to rob a shop here, I’d start with our cash register. The stuff we sell are usually more expensive, you know.”

“But don’t most people pay using cards?” asked Phil.

“Not always,” said Adam.

“Yeah, who’d rob a coffee shop?” asked Darrell, “there are three bank branches, a few shops selling extremely expensive clothes and stuff, a few expensive restaurants, several shops selling phones, phone accessories and computer accessories, a couple of shops selling actual computers, cosmetics shops, at least three fast food restaurants, and probably many others. Why would anyone target a small coffee shop?”

“They had a pretty big order today,” said Cassie, “and they paid for it in cash. Someone probably knew about it in advance.”

“Internal information?” asked Selene, “interesting. So, anyway, this would be a lot simpler if one of you could confess. So, did any of you do it, and could you tell me the approximate amount that was stolen if that is the case?”

The three men looked at each other. All of them shook their heads. Selene sighed.

“Guess we’ll have to do this the hard way then. You know we’re going to find out, right?”

The other policeman, Mark, returned just then. Cassie noticed that Liv and Ed weren’t with him.

“It appears all three visit the shop often enough to be remembered,” said Mark, “They knew Adam very well, and apparently the other two visit the shop regularly as well, though they didn’t know their names and occupations for sure.”

That makes sense, thought Cassie. Hence the whole communicating with boards thing – he didn’t want anyone to hear his voice.

Selene turned to Mark. “Could you take over here? I’m going to go look for eyewitnesses.”

“Sure.”

Selene turned to them. “Anna, coming?”

Anna nodded. “Sure, sis. Cassie, Dany, Phil, are you coming too? They’re great at noticing stuff.”

Selene looked at Cassie. “Sure. Come along then. Who chased the perp to the bathroom?”

“Bella and Lex,” said Cassie, “it’s a good idea if one of them tag along as well.”

“Yeah, I’ll stay,” said Phil, “I forwarded it to Dany and Cassie, but I have to show it to Mark as well.”

Cassie nodded. Selene looked mystified. Cassie looked in her messages, found the video, and forwarded it to Anna, as they set off. Lex joined them, as Bella would be more useful in a fight.

Anna got the message and forwarded it to Selene. “Sent you the video, sis. Phil videoed the guy robbing the shop.”

Selene was her sister? Cassie had never heard of it, but then again, the two of them rarely talked about their families.

“That’s what you were talking about,” said Selene, “I’ll take a look at that. So, he ran through here?”

“Positive,” said Lex, “Dude crashed straight into a bunch of cables in boxes around here, about landed on his face, but he didn’t actually fall. The cables weren’t that lucky.”

“Let’s ask the people in the shop then,” said Selene.

She walked in and talked to the two women who worked in the shop. As it turned out, one was busy with a customer and didn’t see what happened, but the other saw the incident clearly.

“He straight up kicked the box, and almost fell on his face because of that. I think we’ll be digging cables out from here for the next millennium. Anyway, I didn’t see a lot, except for him being about average height, dressed in all black except for a light purple shirt. Then he and a girl came running after him.”

Selene tried to press her for but details, but that was all she could say for sure. None of the men had been wearing a light purple shirt.

The next shop Lex indicated was a music shop, where the perp had narrowly avoided a collision with a customer. Selene went inside and talked to the owner of the shop. Cassie followed her in again.

All they got this time was that the man was definitely wearing something light coloured with a collar, which fit all three men.

Next, they stopped at the bookshop, where the cashier confirmed she had seen the chase, but couldn’t describe the man at all other than say he narrowly avoided falling on his face due to almost running into a stack of books on a low table. He did manage to knock a few of it to the ground.

The whole distance was maybe 150 m. They talked to several other shops as well, but they didn’t know much more about the man. Finally, the five of them stopped near the music shop.

END OF CHAPTER THREE

Sorry for the delay! Things happened and updating this sort of slipped my mind. 

I will upload two chapters today (this and the final chapter).

Previous chapters: chapter 1 | chapter 2 

Next chapter: chapter 4

You can also follow me on Facebook here.

Until next time!