The Reaction/Response Cycle
You are how you react and you are perceived by how you respond.
I’ve been in the grips of an unexplained high body temperature for most of a week, so be forewarned that this may be the product of a fever dream. Notwithstanding the fact that I’ve been talking with students and clients about the difference between reactions and responses for years. My foundational understanding of this cycle comes from Krav Maga and the way that I define the terms (below) is rooted in the principles taught by the combat system.
The self-defense elements of Krav Maga assume that the natural human reaction to an attack will occur and therefore takes them into account instead of trying to condition a human to not respond like a human. For example, a choke defense assumes that your hands will automatically rise to your neck when someone grabs you around the throat. The defense is then built on top of the reactional foundation with a response designed to defeat the attack and setup an immediate counterpunch.
Of course, we can use the same principles for more peaceful purposes in story, too.
Remember:
Why?
When you get feedback from someone about your writing that it is emotionally flat, the reaction/response cycle can help you surface your intentions to Sam without telling. As a rule, if you name the emotion in your prose, you’re telling. That’s fine for a first, structural draft. However, as you iterate on the scene to improve its level and quality, you’ll want to add nuance, subtext, and complexity. This cycle is one mechanism for doing this.
When you get feedback from someone that your writing is on-the-nose, the reaction/response cycle will help you dramatize dimensionality of your characters by adding nuance, contrast, and depth to your characters’ emotive capabilities. This is best done, as with most things, with intentionality. Stop and think about that duality of the verbal action (sometimes mistaken for dialog) and physical action (sometimes mistaken for things that just happen in the world). What conflict or contrast or depth are you trying to convey to Sam?
Remember:
Definitions
A reaction is an involuntary, autonomous action taken by a character in the story to a stimulus provided by another character. The input which causes a reaction could be a punch in the nose from an antagonist or a lightning strike by the environment. All that matters is that the input, stimulus, or punch happen on the page first (because cause-and-effect). The reaction is the automatic first half of the character’s output, response, or counterpunch. It’s reflexive. It’s instinctive. It’s always survival-oriented toward fight, flight, freeze, or fawn. It’s almost always nonverbal and physical or physiological. It can be repressed, subverted, opposed, expressed, or amplified in many ways.
A response is a choice. Full stop. A character makes a decision, however poorly or well-considered, and enacts that decision. This is the second, intentional half of the cycle of the character’s output, response, counterpunch. It’s optional. It’s expressive of desire or loathing or other strong emotion. It’s a tactic. It shows us what a character values by showing us who they choose to be. It’s almost always both verbal and physical in some way.
The cycle is a reaction plus a response together. They must happen as a one-two, boom-boom sequence immediately following the input, stimulus, or punch from the force of antagonism that produced the cycle. Separating the response from the reaction can be done purposefully, but that separation signals to the reader as premeditation and deeper consideration instead of an intuitive, value-demonstrative response.
Misordering the response before the reaction will result in reader confusion because we humans understand cause-and-effect intuitively. Reactions always cause responses. If the response happens first, then there is no reaction to be had that makes sense.
The way that we intuitively understand this cycle as humans is through observations of others’ nonverbal and physiological responses to stimulus which are weighed against the subsequent verbal and physical responses. The reaction shows us what the other person’s instincts, reflexes, trauma, or other life conditioning have programmed them to feel. The response demonstrates to us what the other person’s propositional, academic, and aspirational values are in how they choose to behave.
The Gap Is the Thing
The most important part of the cycle is not the reaction or the response. It is the unwritten gap in between those two concepts. The subtext and nuance of the emotion you are designing to show to Sam is found in the contrast and comparison of the two parts of the cycle. Think of the cycle as a complete “tactic” (one half of a story beat in a scene). It’s the two-part output or counterpunch to the input, stimulus, or punch which initiated the cycle.
This is where screenwriters have an advantage, because a good actor will often do most of the work to embody the gap between reaction and response.
The reason why the gap must remain unwritten is that is where Sam finds and unpacks the meaning of the story moment for herself. Sam only produces dopamine, cortisol, and oxytocin based on your writing from things that she “discovers” for herself. This is the fundamental reason why telling doesn’t do anything for a reader. If you simply tell Sam about something, Sam is very unlikely to feel any emotion about it. The juice is found in the squeeze of subtext beneath the dramatization you show Sam. This is the second hardest part of storytelling. If you want more about the neurology of storytelling, Lisa Cron’s Wired for Story is the best place to start.
Possible Combinations
The following is a not-comprehensive list of possible reaction/response cycles. I couldn’t think of more pairs, but that doesn’t mean I won’t think of more immediately after I punch the submit button. Le Sigh.
In any cycle type, the reaction could the result of social conditioning (racism, classism, or other prejudices) or physiological responses (allergies, aversions, or other physical reactions) that society or the social group have expressed are unacceptable in some way. This works best when the input, stimulus, or punch is modeled on a commonality in Sam’s world and common cultural grammar because it’s intuitive. A second-best approach would be prior establishment in the narrative about why the reaction is socially unacceptable. The more explanation the wrongness of the reaction requires in the moment, the weaker and less effective the cycle will be.
The examples are off the top of my head. If you find great examples in the wild or in fiction, I’d love to hear your better ones.
React/Suppress
Use this cycle when you want to demonstrate a character’s natural reaction is not one that they want to show the antagonist or the world. This often happens when we believe that our natural reaction is either shameful or disapproved of or hurtful by one or more of the observers present in the scene. This is the character trying to cover up or hide their natural reaction with a response or with no response. It is often an inadequate attempt to hide or mask the reaction.
His nose crinkled at the whiff of apricot in the offered fruit loaf, but he gamely blanked his expression and tried to smile at his mother.
React/Refute
Use this cycle when you want to dramatize a character’s natural reaction is the opposite of what they want to show the antagonist and the world. This happens when a character knows that their instinctive or reflexive response is wrong and shameful. This demonstrates that the character is being conscientious to the best of their ability, despite how their nature causes them to feel in any given situation.
He recoiled when the large black man threw open the door then smiled as warmly as he could manage, brushed his lapel, and nodded in welcome to the newcomer.
React/Distract
Use this cycle when you want to dramatize the character’s deflection of others’ attention from their reaction for some reason. This happens when the character is embarrassed or ashamed but knows that they can’t hide or repress their reaction, hence they point others toward another external, observable thing or try to engender a reaction in one or more others in order to distract them from the character’s own initial reaction.
His face reddened. He pointed at each of the other boys in turn. “How dare you! Who are you to criticize me?”
React/Defer
Use this cycle when you want to demonstrate that the character knows their response is either inappropriate or overlarge for the situation and they want to present a more balanced or reasoned response but need time in order to compose themselves either out of respect for the others or themselves or both. This happens when the reaction isn’t necessarily shameful, just inconvenient and perhaps mildly embarrassing.
She blinked back tears, took a deep breath, and held up her hand to forestall me from speaking.
React/Amplify
Use this cycle when you want to dramatize a character leaning into or doubling down on their natural reaction. This could be a coping mechanism for the character, a trauma response, or an intentional choice in any given situation. This happens often when the character has a personality or a desire to be aggressive and assertive—or, alternatively, cowardly and avoidant.
He flinched at the sparse applause. Looking desperately around, proceeded to flee the stage at a run.
React/Minimize
Use this cycle when you want to show that the character wants to not be ashamed of or embarrassed by their immediate, visceral reaction. This could be due to a belief that society is wrong, that humans should not be limited by their biology, or some other ideological concern. The response is an intentional choice not to hide the reaction, but to downplay or underplay it.
His lips trembled. His voice shook. He shook his head. “You’re wrong about me! I’m not afraid. And I’m going to prove it.”
React/Maintain
Use this cycle when you want to show that the character chooses to leave their reaction on display without intending to make it appear larger or smaller, but just the fact as it is. This could be to demonstrate trust or vulnerability, to offer a deeper connection, or to encourage the force of antagonism to continue despite the reaction. The response is a choice to leave the reaction visible and unmodified for all to see.
She flushed from her cheeks all the way down past the neckline of her bodice. Flapping her hand like a fan, she tilted her head and smiled.
Use Sparingly
As with everything else, if you do this every time a character emotes, it will get tiresome. Consider carefully when you choose to deploy a reaction/response from any character, be they the point of view or not. What specific gap or subtext nuance are you trying to invite Sam to unpack and enjoy? What specific emotion are you trying to convey?
As with all things, be intentional!
Next for you?
Don’t try to develop this skill while you’re writing the first draft. Yet. But the next time you’re revising (i.e. iterating on a draft), pick one place in the scene where a reaction/response cycle could add the most powerful subtext for Sam to unpack.
This article comes at the same time I'm working on those moments. Because I'm focused on them at this time, I tend to insert them in more places than needed. I'm wondering what guidelines I might use to distinguish where they belong and where they might be impeding the narrative drive.