One of the most overused and underappreciated plot devices in writing is “the misunderstanding.” You see it in Hallmark movies all the time, and it regularly shows up in books, that point where someone overhears part of a conversation but misses the rest of the story. The “I used to think she was boring and stuffy and walked around with her nose up in the air all the time, but once I got to know her, I realized what a wonderful person she really is,” where the character they’re talking about walks in on the first half of the sentence, but misses the second half. So now this person they’ve been talking about sees the speaker as a jerk because she believes he doesn’t really like her. The misunderstanding.

My critique partner always says, when this occurs, “why don’t they just talk to each other?” Well, sometimes they do, and there is still a misunderstanding.

Here’s the thing. Life is full of misunderstandings. I’ve been involved in many. One where you say maybe more than you should and because that person is already hurting and emotionally striking out, you’ve just provided them the perfect target. Now your best friend has taken what you said and turned it into something completely different.

You express sympathy for someone who is sick and/or hurting, and to a stressed-out person, it comes across as sarcastic. I could go on, but as someone who regularly says or does the wrong thing, or who’s best intentions are often misinterpreted, I think I’ll just leave this right here.

The point is that the misunderstanding creates conflict. I will agree that it is often overused (especially in Hallmark movies), but there is a place for it in writing. Why don’t they just talk to each other? Usually, one person is already emotionally charged, and hearing something that can be misinterpreted provides additional emotional dynamite that puts them into overload. For certain personality types, this creates “shut down mode.” Nope. Not gonna talk about it. For other personality types, this creates “fight mode.” We’ve all heard about fight or flight. Neither option creates a safe space for talking it out. It has been my experience that misunderstandings are harder to overcome in real life than they are in Hallmark movies.

With all that being said, I try to minimize the times I use “the misunderstanding” in my work. If it creeps in, I try to provide reasonable groundwork to add credibility. Maybe one character DOES talk about it after they feel attacked, but then the “attacker” is caught off guard that they’ve been misunderstood and now they’re on the defensive - their own fight or flight.

Analysis? The misunderstanding shouldn’t be a go-to plot device to create conflict, but it can be very effective if incorporated skillfully.