Jealous character

[Kilolo]

just dumping some quick random thing to talk about.

how do you write a character that showing jealousy? not only about romance war but could also be about the other person (mostly the MC) has something i want.

would you try to write it as realistically as possible, spicing it up with lots of melodrama, or maybe you prefer to make it comical?

 

[RepresentingWrath]

It depends on the story I'm writing.

 

[SakeVision]

Depends on the story. But I'd write a character who bottles it all up, just like I do.

 

[greyblob]

that's envy not jealousy.

• Envy is when we lack a desired attribute enjoyed by another, whereas jealousy is when something we have is threatened by a third person.

they are (mostly) normal feelings, insecurities. I'd keep it realistic as everyone feels jealous or envious about something at some point

 

[Kilolo]

that's envy not jealousy.

• Envy is when we lack a desired attribute enjoyed by another, whereas jealousy is when something we have is threatened by a third person.

now that you mentioned it....

 

[BenJepheneT]

just dumping some quick random thing to talk about.

how do you write a character that showing jealousy? not only about romance war but could also be about the other person (mostly the MC) has something i want.

would you try to write it as realistically as possible, spicing it up with lots of melodrama, or maybe you prefer to make it comical?

there are two ways to go about it in my experience: indirect allusions, or outright denial/avoidance.

say Guy A is jealous of Guy B's ability to sew.

indirect allusions might go like:

"Hey B, heard you won that crocheting competition. heh, that sewing talent's coming to good use, eh? i mean, with a god given gift like that, anyone would be getting trophies left and right. i bet someone with that kinda skillset would be the luckiest bastard on the planet, amirite?"

outright denial/avoidance would sound like:

"Hey A, have you heard? B just won a crocheting competition."

"Huh? oh, yeah. anyway, you've heard that C just bought a new car?"

"What? Everybody knows that. Anyway, B not only won that crocheting competition, but they're planning to send his submission for national consideration-"

"Right, right, right- by the way, what's the colour of C's new car again?"

the way to display jealousy might vary between personalities. it's up to you to decide whether they want to be upfront or hidden about it.

 

[2021]

Grabby grabby, I steal it

 

[Minx]

Physical abuse is the answer.

Just give em a good slap to the face.

 

[Maze_Runner]

They could be like glenching their teeth a lot, trying hard not to punch the other person, or trying to find a way to get that item that they wanted

 

[CadmarLegend]

just dumping some quick random thing to talk about.

how do you write a character that showing jealousy? not only about romance war but could also be about the other person (mostly the MC) has something i want.

would you try to write it as realistically as possible, spicing it up with lots of melodrama, or maybe you prefer to make it comical?

well, if it is comical then that means that one of your story's genres should be a comedy. After all, making jealousy be comedic in a tragedy/dark/etc. means that ... it just doesn't belong.

Personally, to make the jealousy as real as possible... I'd go for a slow burn.

First, the character that is jealous of the MC is close to him/her.
Then, the MC gets more fame, riches, lovers, all that good stuff, even though the Character helped.
The character accepts it at first.

Again, MC does something and he/she gets even more popularity, riches, etc.
This time, Character is just a bit annoyed. After all, Character contributed in everything too.

These events continue on until one day, Character cannot stand it anymore. Character's heart is on the brink of "MC is my friend, but why does MC get all the credit?! I don't know what to do!"

Another antagonist realizes that Character is feeling that way, so Antagonist fuels the flames.

After quite a while, Character is outright jealous.

Then, we can have a whole lot of other events that make Character slowly distance him/herself from MC.

Kinda like that.

 

[RepresentingCaution]

Depends on the story. But I'd write a character who bottles it all up, just like I do.

And you need defense mechanisms to properly bottle things!

 

[SakeVision]

And you need defense mechanisms to properly bottle things!

Ah no, I mean, rather than sharing my envy jelly feelies with people, I chose to say nothing. That's what I meant. I didn't mean I hide these feelings from myself.