MISCOMMUNICATION: Why it sucks and how to make it work

We've all seen miscommunication in fiction. I don't know about you, but it drives me insane. I find myself internally screaming like people in memes, and I don't know that many memes. 

Communication is something only living things can do. Go figure. And it's an amazing aspect of humanity. It's how we exchange ideas, feelings, thoughts. I revel in overthinking about the unspoken thoughts. Let's not talk about how this probably isn't good for mental health. 

You understand what I'm typing because writing is a form of communication. Books are a form of communication. Anything in the arts is a form of communication. Everyone knows this. You might not know communication also includes your body language, tone, disjointed speech. 

What happens when you don't have communication? To put it shortly: bad stuff. You might be able to sprinkle in some humour, for sure. But most of the time, no communication means miscommunication. While it may provide sweet, sweet drama in the short term, in long term, it can be a dealbreaker.

So why is miscommunication that bad? And how do you make it work? Let's get to!

1. Limited or no lasting consequences

If you've spent the most part of a book believing another character did another character dirty, plotted against them, shed some tears maybe, goodness knows what other feels you might have had, you want good pay-off. You want something to change. 

With miscommunication, the author usually focuses on the immediate time it takes place. The aftermath, the consequences, are an afterthought. It's as if whatever drama the miscommunication caused has disappeared after one hearty conversation. Forget the hate, the sadness. It was fun while it lasted, but the story needs to end now.

Source: Tenor

Badly written miscommunication builds up the tension and stakes, only to turn it around and treat it as a joke. There's no lasting consequence. Nothing to remind readers of the drama. The more it upped the ante, the bigger the payoff must be. There's no way life-changing drama can be laughed off. Something would have changed within the character and their relationships. 

How do you fix it? That's easy. Make this miscommunication a catalyst. Make the consequences significant. Make the consequences lasting. The more pain it caused, the greater the after effects should be. 

Take the musical, Dear Evan Hansen, for example. Be ye warned for *spoilers*. The whole musical revolves around Evan lying to everyone. And I mean everyone. Himself, his mum, the Murphys. This is a story built on miscommunication. There's plenty of emotion wrapped up in it, so when he finally comes clean, you can bet there's a bucketload of more emotions.

The miscommunication works so well because of the consequences. When Evan faces himself, he goes through tremendous character growth. Change. He faces his mother, and they develop a stronger bond. Change. He finally faces the Murphys. 

Throughout the musical, we see Evan become closer to the Murphys, become an adopted son. The lies Evan told them aren't laughed off. There's serious consequences: he gets cut off from them. He ruins their relationship. We know it lasts because the last scene takes place a year later. *end spoilers*

Like any other element, miscommunication needs to move the story forward. If there's no consequences, the story doesn't progress beyond, oh, here's another event. With consequences, you can develop the plot, characters, theme. Let there be pay-off.

2. There's no or a weak reason why miscommunication happens

Have a good reason for why miscommunication happened. Did the characters mishear each other and didn't talk it out afterwards? Your characters will seem like idiots. If that's your intention, by all means, go ahead. No one's stopping ya. But for miscommunication to be impactful, make sure there's no way for it to be averted. 

If there's a way for miscommunication to be averted, readers will figure it out and make memes about it. Readers aren't dumb. As an author, you should know that because you yourself should also be a reader. 

My favourite method for testing whether miscommunication is by going into full reader mode and figuring out which places will probably create the most memes. If the meme is poking fun at a character's actions, you should find a way to make their choice the only viable option.

Ask yourself why miscommunication happens. A weak or non-existent reason will lead to many memes being created on how the characters should have done x instead of y. The drama and spice of the situation won't be taken seriously. That's poor storytelling. I'll admit I've seen miscommunication happen with weak or no reasons, and done well, but that takes serious talent. 

Source: Know Your Meme

Take Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep, a highly praised and personal favourite video game, as an example. *spoilers, again* Terra, Aqua and Ven are long-time friends. Terra and Aqua are sent on a mission and Ven goes out after them. Throughout three quarters of the story, their friendship unravels. 

Why? All three of them were manipulated by Xehanort and other Disney villains in some way, shape and form. No, they didn't have phones to talk out their problems or seek therapy. Manipulation is definitely a solid reason for miscommunication to take place, if I've ever seen one. *end spoilers* In case you're wondering, it had lasting consequences. Over ten years of heartbreak, it has. But that, I'll leave to you to find out. 

The KH example is controversial, I'll admit. But I believe it lies in the faulty storytelling. Any fan can confess that KH is not flawless, not even close to it. The reason is there. The execution, not so much.

For miscommunication to work, you don't need a reason. After all, this is storytelling. There's no definite rule, only guidelines. But for miscommunication to work well, make a strong reason for why it happened. Make sure it won't come out like a plot device, but a real catalyst. 

3. It lasts for a long time even though it can easily be fixed 

I'm just going to go straight to the point. If miscommunication can be fixed in one conversation, it's not good enough. I'm not talking about it seeming to be fixed. That's fine. I mean really finished. As in, laughed off finished. As in, let's forget about it and move on. 

Using miscommunication just for drama is bad enough, but stretching it out makes it infinitely more painful. There may be lasting consequences, there may be a good reason. But if miscommunication lasts longer than it needs to, especially should, it's going to degrade reader's opinions on your characters. 

Source: Gfycat

The longer there's miscommunication between characters, the more drama it's going to create, the more frustration the readers will feel if it's poorly executed. If all their problems can be solved by talking it out, the miscommunication is going to lose its impact. Readers will be screaming for the characters to get some sense knocked into their heads. 

For example, let's look at Siren's Lament, an amazing Webtoon webcomic you must read. *spoilers, again, again* The protagonist, Lyra, is turned into half siren half human. She keeps this a secret from her best friend and love interest, Shon, to protect him. A whole lot of miscommunication happens as she spends more time with Ian, the person who turned her into a siren, instead of her flower shop. We see growing tensions. 

But before miscommunication becomes annoying, Lyra explains everything to Shon. It is done so that it seems like everything is fixed, but isn't. They work through it by and by and manage to overcome challenges. At least, I hope. The story hasn't finished yet. *end spoilers* Because the miscommunication doesn't drag on and on, it works. It adds layers to our main characters. It brings out the feels.

If miscommunication is going to happen, go all for it. Destroy relationships, destroy lives, destroy whatever. Do whatever it takes to make this impactful, not a thing to laugh off. Make sure it takes more than a conversation to turn around. Trust me, your story will be better off for it.

4. It's used for pure drama

I've said this many times before but I'll say it again. Miscommunication that happens for the sake of pure drama is pointless. What makes miscommunication frustrating is what happens after. The miscommunication is an event. How characters react and take action afterwards is what makes or breaks its purpose. 

Don't waste the potential. Make sure miscommunication moves the story forward in some way. Develop plot, develop character, develop theme. Develop something. Make sure there's meaning behind it. A plot relevance. Don't just use it as a way to create cheap drama. It's not effective.

Make it meaningful.

~ 

Miscommunication is when there's a lack of communication between characters, or a misunderstanding of what someone is saying. It has a lot of potential for storytellers, but it's done badly so many times. How can you fix this?

Make miscommunication meaningful. Let it act as a catalyst, a turning point. Let it have lasting consequences for everyone involved. Ask yourself why it happened and why there's no way for miscommunication not to have happened. Don't be afraid to make it complicated. Use it to move the story forward. Readers'll love you for it.

Have you used miscommunication in your story before? What do you think worked and what doesn't work? What are some stories with poorly executed miscommunication? How about good? What other tips do you have for authors wanting to use this device?

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