: Re: How to make a mimicking character believable In my novel, there is a antagonistic character named Numbers who reacts in a similar manner to those he is talking to, even freakishly so. Because

@Gloria285

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Consider what happens to Numbers when he is alone.
Does he maintain the last personality he spoke with? Or lose all personality whatsoever?

If the former, then he needs to avoid interacting with weaklings, or else he would become dumb, stupid, weak. When this happens, especially on accident, he needs to becoming frustrated, because it's hindering him -- he may have trouble getting back to a stronger/smarter character because he can no longer plot with ease. Allowing the readers to see this can help them understand his drive and his character switch, and allow it to seem natural.

If he loses all personality, then you have to figure out what this lack of personality is. A single-minded drive to become stronger? Is he trying to achieve some overarching goal, for which he needs to be stronger? Portraying this can help your readers see him as an antagonist, and to find his character changes believable.

Perhaps he has the ability to choose who he's mimicking, and whether he's going to switch characters (Which will give you the ability to point out WHY he's choosing to switch characters, and allow it to be believable to the reader, because he's probably going to maintain the best/smartest/strongest character during all normal scenes instead of switching). If not, and he's always imitating someone in the room, he's going to need to constantly be around a strong character that he wants to emulate -- who would be more likely to be an antagonist than Numbers, and who could chide Numbers as your typical Big Bad would a lackey for mimicking him.

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