Our post today in the Character Under a Microscope series is about liars. Regardless of how good humans try to be, we all lie. What kind of lies people are willing to tell defines part of their character. I’ve divided the world into six levels of liars, and I want to explain each and how knowing how your character lies will affect her part in the story.
True Liars
Let’s start with the most hardcore liars, the true liars. These are the people who have no problem stating something that is completely false. Some of them will feel guilty about it, but most don’t see a problem with it. True liars can be characters like a con man, spy, plot twist villain, etc. They usually have some sort of conviction that reasons away what the world calls wrong. A con man does it to earn a living. A spy lies for her country. A villain can lie for the “greater cause” of his end goal. It’s important when you create a character who is a true liar that you define what her conviction is that explains away her wrongdoing.
When writing a story, a true liar character will always lie when her conviction says it’s okay, but lying isn’t easily compartmentalized. Once you start doing something wrong for justified reasons, it becomes easier to do it without justification. The character may lie when it suits her or is in her best interest. It might not even be a conscience decision, but rather a habit that just appears. It can make for some interesting internal conflict as the character tries to find the line between truth and lies.
Half Liars
Half liars are those who don’t mind lying as long as they have some sort of truth in it. If you ask them where they were, they may tell you about a dentist appointment they had. In reality, the dentist appointment was last month, but they don’t mind adjusting the date to keep a different secret. If a person is apt to feel guilty about lying, they often tell half-truths to keep their conscious clear…well, clearer.
In a story, the half liar characters are conflicted. They try to hold themselves to a high standard, but they also tend to see the use of a lie. Characters who tell half-truths convince themselves a lie is alright in certain circumstances, but they don’t have a steady conviction like true liars. They will often assess each time they lie and find a reason to excuse it rather than having a conviction that already lays the groundwork for lying. It means they are less likely to lie since they don’t predetermine their reasons for lying, but that doesn’t mean they won’t spin a tale if it suits them.
Little White Liars
Little white liars are those who think they don’t lie. They believe in telling the truth and stick strongly to that conviction…except when society dictates otherwise. When asked how they are doing on a bad day, they will say they’re fine. It’s a lie, but society dictates you don’t dump your problems on strangers. If there is a surprise birthday party, they will lie to the birthday girl to keep the party a secret. If asked about an ugly dress a friend is wearing, they will lie and say it’s beautiful. Little white liars feel they aren’t really lying since the deception is actually done to be nice to other people.
Characters who are little white liars are often conscientious of their images and sweet in temperament. They don’t want to look bad or hurt anyone’s feelings so they lie. Sometimes, these lies aren’t always harmless though. For instance, little white liars are more apt to not tell their friend that her husband is cheating on her to spare the woman’s feelings. Because of their desire to keep things happy, they can lie when the hard truth would be better. This weakness can lead to some intense interpersonal conflict between characters.
Prevaricators
Prevaricators are people who are ambiguous or evasive in order to conceal the truth. They don’t outright confirm or deny something, but word things in a way that can be interpreted in the way they desire. For example, let’s say someone asks a prevaricator if she killed a man. Most likely, if guilty, she’ll answer something like, “How dare you accuse me of such a horrendous thing! He was my brother!” There is strong emotion, disbelief, and a sense of intimate connection to the victim. Surely she didn’t do it…but she didn’t deny it. Prevaricators manipulate other people’s feelings and perceptions to make them come to an intended conclusion.
In a story, prevaricator characters are intuitive and manipulative. They can read someone and then manipulate them into believing certain things. Prevaricators will also be full of themselves. They often pride themselves on being able to deceive without outright lying. It’s all about implication and subtly. They may feel that their type of deception is more like an art form. Because they aren’t outright lying, they don’t feel the need to reason away their deception and often feel proud if it works.
Withholders
The next level of liars is the withholders. These are the people who refuse to lie but also won’t speak the truth. They may know who stole the necklace, but they won’t step forward and tell. Often, they won’t even speak up if asked. They don’t see withholding information as deception because they aren’t trying to mislead anyone. They simply won’t share information. These people often are very trusting and tend to keep things close to their chest.
As for characters, often they have one of two reasons for acting this way. First, they simply don’t want to get involved. Admitting they know who took the necklace would put them in the middle of a bad situation. This typically stems from them being selfish. Maybe they don’t want to spend time giving a statement and then testifying in court. Or, perhaps they don’t want to betray someone they love. Either way, they prioritize themselves.
The other reason withholders exist is because they are the type to ignore a problem. If a husband asks his wife if she’s cheating, she may not dignify him with an answer. She doesn’t want to deal with the conflict it will cause when she says yes, but she also doesn’t want to talk to him about why she isn’t happy with their marriage. To avoid all the bad, she simply withholds the truth. Whether your character is selfish or non-confrontational, she will choose silence over revealing the truth.
Wannabe Liars
Wannabe liars are those who don’t mind lying but are awful at it. They see the use of a good lie, but their conscience won’t let them do it well. They exhibit nervous body language, fumble their words, mix up their lies, etc. These people are typically just concerned about the repercussions of getting caught in a lie. They don’t want to disappoint someone or be punished. These liars often chase after a sense of safety, and lie when that safety is threatened.
In a story, the wannabe liar characters are controlled by fear. They only lie when the truth scares them. Yet that same fear swirls inside them when they do lie, and it makes it obvious they are trying to be deceptive. While these liars can get better at deceiving, they probably will never be very good at it unless something happens to remove their fear. For example, if the stakes of being caught in a lie are less than the stakes of the truth coming out, they may be able to successfully lie. These situations will be very rare though.
Final Thoughts
These six levels of liars are what I see in everyday life, and we can use them to enrich our character development. One person can use all of these types of lies, but typically people tend to favor one form. So, pick your character’s favorite version and let it carry her through the story. She may sometimes lie using the other methods (I think we are all guilty of little white lies), but she’ll pick one form more often than the others. Knowing how your characters approach lies will help you keep them acting in a constant way when confronted with the need to conceal truths.
Thanks for reading!
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