Galvanizing Events

A galvanizing event is one that fixes thought process, emotion, or decision to some particular course of action. Events that galvanize can be subtle, having built slowly over time, until a mere phrase or observed action will become the proverbial straw that breaks the camel’s back, spurring action. Or galvanizing events can be sudden and powerful, such as experiencing an unexpected loss or dramatic change in a person’s life.

Not all people experience truly galvanizing events in their lives. Others may experience them, but not be consciously aware (either due to the level of intensity of the event or as a result of a lack of self-awareness). Some who are more clinical in their appraisal of their own thought processes may recognize the exact moment in time that an event fixes a course of action in their mind and know that was a galvanizing event.

From personal experience, I can say the more subtle events come with a certain cathartic release. The sudden focus and weeding out of alternative possibilities can bring a great deal of pleasure, even in the face of something unpleasant. The idea of laughing at a traumatic experience can make sense when you realize that you now have a clear path to follow. The joy of losing the indecision is powerful.

As a characterization device, these types of events can be used to drive a person’s behavior. Give a protagonist or antagonist a galvanizing event and what might have been a gradually moving direction can suddenly become a priority for the character. Depending on the story, the event could consume their life or simply convey a new sense of urgency.

For less significant events, the decision and motivation may be so sublet and internal that is it not obvious to someone not inside the person’s head. And for these more sublet events, time and other factors may later change the person’s mind. These lower intensity events allow a person to utilize the knowledge and understanding that had built up to that moment and pick a course of action. It can give them the spark they needed.

For the drastic life-altering events, the suddenness and brutality of the event will convey a much more deeply entrenched focus. A great tragedy will not easily be forgotten or forgiven, and so a person will not be easily swayed away from the resulting conviction. Often, these events take away a person’s rational thought and decision making and push them into a reactionary mode.

As a writer, one must not overuse the great tragedy device. Truly galvanizing events don’t occur on a frequent basis (unless the person’s life is a chaotic mess and they have no continuity from day to day). They should also never be a replacement for actual character traits, real human motivations, and thoughtful decisions. And even when they do occur, seldom do people actually drop everything else and become so single-minded that they become cartoon villains.

People are flawed and behave oddly—spend any time people watching and you may find yourself more confused than anything else. However, that is mostly due to a lack of visibility into other motivators and drivers, the largest of which is perception. I often say that reality and perception seldom converge and that perception beats reality every time. (A bit of an exaggeration, because the approaching train will smash through perception, but you get the idea.)

The point is, we have to understand each character’s perception of reality along with their motivations in order to understand their behavior. It is more work and it does require more thought, but it makes for a much deeper character who takes a more thoughtful approach to life. It can make for more powerful villains and more powerful protagonists.

Instead of just throwing significant life events at the characters, we must also show a character’s motivations (including their perceptions of reality) and allow the character the chance to decide on a course of action instead of getting pushed into reacting. This is because characters that take action are more powerful than ones that are simply reacting.