There is a basic rule that says that if you want a character to respond in a particular way then there has to be a stimulus that is credible. In order to be effective that stimulus can’t be a character’s thought – it has to be an action outside that character whether that action be verbal or physical. And of course that response may then become a stimulus and then we have ping pong which is a main component of what good dialogue is all about. Also in dialogue the response is immediate. This also needs to be the case as regards to response to a physical stimulus.
The reverse of this rule is that you can’t have a stimulus without a response. Why would you have a character say or do something and then leave the reader in limbo unless you were writing a cliffhanger? (More on cliffhangers in a later article).
When the character takes action or responds to an action they have to do so in a manner that is consistent with the character you have built up in the reader’s mind. Failure to do so will result in a damaging loss of credibility and the reader may not even finish the novel.
When you are editing your own or other people’s work look for this pattern of stimulus and response.
Stimulus – response – stimulus – response. Each building on each in a logical manner until the interaction is brought to a close. Make sure that all the steps are there or else your writing will baffle and irritate your reader.
It’s also best to keep in mind that stimuli have to be external. Motivation is not something that the reader can see there and then and neither is background or the thoughts or feelings of characters. The interactions all have to be upfront and onstage. When the interactions finish then you can have your viewpoint character think or have feelings about the interactions. A way around using thoughts and feelings in interactions is to have some external physical thing that causes the character to think or feel about something and then the character can respond to that by physical or verbal action, In this manner novels have to be logical unlike the chaos of our thoughts that often rules our interactions.
Get the stimulus/response working for you and you’ll keep your readers satisfied.