This is an interesting thought/question that I had.
What has your character done that was considered stupid but absolutely necessary for the plot?
Yes, yes, I know what you are going to say.
“It isn’t stupid if it makes sense to the plot”
But hear me out!
Thinking back on it, you felt it was half and half in a sense. Half smart, but also half stupid. You character did or said something that made you or even your readers go “well, that was stupid”. Then as the plot and story progresses, you realized and even maybe your readers realized that it was a necessary stupid action.
Still, not convinced.
If your character does something you as the writer consider stupid or even your readers, but it made sense in the end, is it considered still stupid?
Well, yes, but actually no.
How do you define what can be considered a stupid action done by your characters?
Did the action help the plot or was it just something stupid and lack sense?
Characters tend to do stupid things all the time whether it made sense to the plot or not.
So, what stupid thing has your character done that made sense to the plot/was necessary?
What do you think?
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Geldrid has an urgency to reach Redstone (a city within the northern mountainous regions of Arillion). Yet he chooses to wander into lands and locations known to him, and spends many days wasted against his cause. This is because he doubts his efforts, and is looking for help at the same time.
He doubts his self appointed duty to assist in the preservation of the peoples of Arillion, and yet is also in doubt of what help he seeks. He is feeling that all is lost at this time, but desires to go through the motions no matter what… Even if he fails in doing so, as he feels the draw of eternal rest upon his mind, and that Thirteen Thousand Years is long enough to have lived…
SD
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Not destroy the ten items a thousand years later, meaning the only reason the entire series started was because Amneris was an idiot who forgot to do her job 
Everything else can be more-or-less considered a chain reaction from that
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Bethany just did a random runway walk in her new clothes basically teasing a guy that has a crush on her.
Kinda stupid, but it makes sense to her character.
Not sure if I’ll keep it.
Not sure how much it has to do with the plot yet.
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As for something a character did that was actually stupid and necessary? Probably Anastasia going into a man’s house that she doesn’t know very well. It’s not okay even if she knew he wasn’t a snatcher. Anastasia is smarter than that. She even does it again later. But the story would not move forward without it. In fact, it wouldn’t happen at all.
Also, in that same story, Mallord lets his son go to become a bait for a gang because he trusts his son. That’s a stupid decision Mallord. It gets him into big trouble later. Just because you trust your 15-year-old son to be careful doesn’t mean you can put him in harm’s way.
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True hit a bear cub and got chased off a cliff by mama bear. It was an accident, they weren’t looking and mistook the cub for their travelling partner. It added some action to the story, some opportunity for character bonding, and also introduced their fear of heights.
Johnna does a lot of stupid things, I’m a little worried that I’m making her unsalvagable tbh. I’m going to have to go through once the first book is all typed out and see what needs to be changed. She’s not unintelligent, she’s just an adrenaline junkie who doesn’t ever think about consequences.
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