Hey, qq on character development. MC is on the run because she is framed for murder. MC goes from being standard to being, for lack of better words, a reckless rebel. She eventually gets caught and is interrogated along with some other suspects and relations. During the interrogations, how can I revert her to the person she once was, altho now she's more resilient and damaged, without making it seem abrupt or inconsistent? How does one make someone go from good to bad to good again?
Sorry for taking SO LONG to respond to this (so not qq).
Often when guilty parties are made to face the consequences of their actions- specifically when confronted by law enforcement- they tend to “sober up” and cooperate. Sometimes they may even revert to the behavior they exhibited when being chastised by a parent in childhood. Therefore a seemingly “abrupt” change in behavior is completely acceptable under the circumstances.
Your character may also have retained a respect for authority, at least for the amount of work law enforcement has to go through to deal with troublemakers like herself. Plus, being reckless and rebellious in an interrogation room is NOT a good plan. Interrogators know how to break someone down when they’re misbehaving (like leaving them in the room for a long period of time and basically letting them cool off enough to get nervous). If a detainee is still being uncooperative, things will get worse for them because they are not in power right now.
Respectful submission is a powerful tool, and your character is all the better for whipping it out at the right time; especially if she’s innocent. In the time she’s spent as a fugitive, she’s no doubt had to rethink her action plan and figure out in advance how best to act when she’s finally caught.
