You may have heard of a psychology theory which says it’s the insecure individuals who pretend to be confident, and more withdrawn and modest individuals are the ones who are truly confident. Basically, it’s totally contradictory. When I heard that, I got a huge case of I-have-no-idea-what-I-am. Call it a psychological identity crisis. Am I confident or insecure? Honestly, I don’t know. And who cares? You just gotta go with what you’ve got. But then there are fictional characters. More often than not, they’re easier to figure out than ourselves.
I watched Bright Star the other day (or part of it, since I don’t like depressing endings) and the lead female displayed constant overconfidence in her clothing designs. See, I can’t do that. I can’t boast about my work or talents to other people shamelessly. Does that make me secretly confident? No idea. I just don’t like doing it. It feels wrong. So when I see an overconfident character, they slightly rub me the wrong way.
But considering the psychology theory, the great thing about overconfidence is that beneath it lies a deep pool of insecurity. And prodding at that may just be the most amazing thing you can do as a writer. If you can uncover the insecurity of an outwardly confident character, you’ve already got a story made.
Peter Pan’s one great example. He’s pretty much the essence of cockiness. Yet, deep down, we still love him because we learn about his insecurity about his mother not wanting him anymore and fearing that he wouldn’t like what he would become if he grew up.
The idea is the more they strut their stuff, the less stuff they probably have (on the inside). The less they strut their stuff, likely the more potential and talents they have. I love exploring both types of characters. Still, the secretly insecure ones always strike me as a bit more interesting.
Do overconfident characters bother you?
-The Story Addict
You’ve exactly pegged one of the two love interests in my work-in-progress. He’s confident and charismatic on the outside, insecure and juvenile on the inside. I’m struggling to get the balance just right. I want readers to like him, just not more or less than the other love interest. I also want him to be enjoyable as a stand alone character.
Nice! Yeah, it’s tricky. The best way is to think of similar characters and analyze what makes them likeable. Best of luck!
I don’t know if they bother me, but they can be hard to relate to. Savannah from Kelley Armstrong’s book Waking the Witch comes to mind. She’s so self-assured, confident and brazen that you can’t see her as a real person. But if you dig further you can see her confidence does mask insecurity about where she comes from, her living situation and so on.
Good point. It would seem like, in life, confident people draw others to them easier than those who come off as insecure. You’d think the same would be the case for characters. It’s something I’m still trying to wrap my mind around. For instance, Blair from Gossip Girl is extremely overconfident and unlikeable, yet she’s basically the star of the show and it’s somewhat entertaining to watch her. Thanks for the thoughts, Emma!
Peter Pan is my all time favorite story.
I love it too