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In character

If your character could react in two divergent ways, then you may have a conflicted character. You could explore the conflict a little. If an immediate response is called for, the "confusion" might be realistic.

If the different reactions aren't divergent--either could lead to the same result--then pick the alternative that gives the most interesting path to the result.
 
Which is the more interesting avenue? Leaves the most doors open for the next event/story arc? Reveals an intriguing aspect of a character?

What would most pique the interest of a thoughtful reader?
 
In real life, what determines what a real person chooses when multiple paths are available?

We could say that it's the one which is most in character. But that's not a good way to make an authoring decision.

Why not? Well, I look at it this way: What's in-character is what I show is in-character. So, which of several possible in-character reactions should get chosen? Choosing one doesn't mean the others weren't in-character, but, the result of the author choosing is that we wind up showing which was most in-character.

I concur with others: The one which is best for the story. An author either knows which way they want it to go, and rules out stuff which will not take it in that direction, or, the author doesn't already know but considers where the different choices will lead and which leads to the best story.

Either way, it's serving the story, like others have said: Serving the story you were already planning, or, the one you didn't know was there until reaching this point of consideration.
 
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If what you're looking for is a technique to help with seeing those different ramifications based on the different choices, consider the "three why's." I wrote about this elsewhere recently but the idea in this situation would be kind of like this:

List the options. What are the competing choices? Try to limit it to no more than three - like, your top three possibilities at most.

Take the first one and pretend that the character made that choice. Then ask, "Why?" You're looking for a simple, direct, one-sentence answer. Just a brainstorm. Then look at the answer you wrote, and ask "Why?" again - why is that a fact? Again, just brainstorm a simple, one-sentence answer. No essays or paragraphs or world-building or backstories! Just a brainstorm. That was two "why's" - now look at that second answer, and ask "Why?" to that one.

Then do the same thing for the other competing choice possibilities. Pretend the character made that choice, and ask "why," and "why that," and "why that too?"

When I wrote about the three-why's before, it was designed to help someone discover possibilities. But it can work equally well for discovering which among known possibilities turns out to be compelling.
 
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NuclearFairy said:
Oh dear, that does sound difficult.
Click to expand...

When Raymond Chandler said when in doubt, have two guys come through the door with guns, he pretty much meant to do a rugpull just for shits and giggles. Sometimes characters are having sex, and then they most stop because they heard a noise which could mean a thief broke into the place. Turns out it was just a stray cat that broke a vase precious to FMC. Still, the vase was a fake, and the real thief who broke into actually sat down on the living room. He is not doing so much of stealing because he spotted a book and got engrossed to it, and that last line is something that actually happened.

Of course, the MCs might either stop having sex altogether and come up with elaborate home alone traps because who the hell is sane enough to call the police?
 
KittyOfSteele said:
When Raymond Chandler said when in doubt, have two guys come through the door with guns, he pretty much meant to do a rugpull just for shits and giggles. Sometimes characters are having sex, and then they most stop because they heard a noise which could mean a thief broke into the place. Turns out it was just a stray cat that broke a vase precious to FMC. Still, the vase was a fake, and the real thief who broke into actually sat down on the living room. He is not doing so much of stealing because he spotted a book and got engrossed to it, and that last line is something that actually happened.

Of course, the MCs might either stop having sex altogether and come up with elaborate home alone traps because who the hell is sane enough to call the police?
Click to expand...
They might also sit down to discuss the book with their distractible thief. Because who in their right mind would think that a thief would just sit down to read while the at home victims are loudly having sex?
 
NuclearFairy said:
They might also sit down to discuss the book with their distractible thief. Because who in their right mind would think that a thief would just sit down to read while the at home victims are loudly having sex?
Click to expand...
Maybe the book is one of their diaries and the thief now realizes that they were looking for a third, so goes to join in.
 
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