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Q&A Using third-person character interactions to create a relatable hook for a Character that is unrelatable?

So, I am writing a story based around a character that has the personality of a Computer. Emotionless, logical, does what he is told and if he can't or won't, will state it in the plainest way poss...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by Ben‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T13:11:33Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/48770
License name: CC BY-SA 4.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
#2: Initial revision by user avatar Ben‭ · 2019-12-08T13:11:33Z (almost 5 years ago)
So, I am writing a story based around a character that has the personality of a Computer. Emotionless, logical, does what he is told and if he can't or won't, will state it in the plainest way possible.

From a first person perspective, his analysis of things might seem interesting and capture the audience's attention, it is only that:

> Hadden sighed. Standing, he stretched. Slowly exploring the movements of each individual joint, muscle and tendon. _Three hundred and sixty degree rotation in the shoulder at a sixty degree angle. A minor click in the rotator cuff as it passes fifty degrees in a clockwise direction. The joint begins to dislocate when extended past one hundred and thirty-two degrees behind me. Full movement in the elbow and wrist. The thumb on the left hand is hyperextensive. Interesting. Ultimately useless. A pain in the hip as the leg raises above seventy two degrees. Potentially due to inactivity; will continue to monitor. The knee and ankle without issue. The toes click consistently when overextended. Again, interesting yet ultimately useless. One hundred and seventy two degrees of movement laterally in the neck, favouring the left. One hundred and forty-three degrees of rotation horizontally, one hundred and twelve degrees rotation vertically. Right eye dominance._

So, instead, I was going to use other characters third person reactions to his behaviours, as a hook to give the audience that relation to him. They may not find him relatable, but they do relate to the other people's interactions with him:

> The Priest extended his hand toward Hadden, "Welcome, welcome! I am Brother LeMarc, how can I help you?"
> 
> Hadden looked past him and up the road to the massive temple on the crest of the hill. "We have been assigned to investigate the temple. I understand your presence is required for us to complete our job. If you are not the one we require, please fetch the appropriate personnel."
> 
> Lemarc's smile faltered, changing into a look of polite confusion, but before he could drop his hand, Zane stepped between them and gripped his hand in greeting. "Sorry about that, just ignore him. You'd probably get more of a reaction from a toaster!" He chuckled.

The important thing to note is that I am not trying to make the character _himself_ relatable, simply create hooks that the reader can relate _to_, in regards to this character.

Is this a practice I should be employing, and if so, what mechanisms should I use to employ this? For example, develop minor character profiles for all character that might have a significant reaction to his behaviours, regardless of their overall impact or involvement in the overall story?

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2019-10-30T03:14:53Z (about 5 years ago)
Original score: 7