by Tracey L. R. Hawkins

"I see," said the blind man...

A writer understands the need for every good novel to be alive with characters.  These characters develop and grow, adding to the story line.  They fulfill a variety of roles - from the Protagonist right down to the Supporting Players.

The character/s in the story can make your story come alive or die.  It is up to you, the writer, to create believable characters the reader can relate to. The Oxford Dictionary defines Character as: "All the qualities and features that makes a person, groups of people and places different from others".

"How do I begin to make my character/s real and believable?" you ask. It is important to understand the fundamentals of human behaviour.  As a writer you must consider the interaction of your character/s from a variety of perspectives and appreciate the individual and societal factors that influence behaviour.  You don't need to be a psychologist to see what makes a person.  All you need is the power of observation.

To understand the principles of human behaviour: look at what makes us individuals.

We all share behavioural characteristics to a certain degree. What separates us from others is the complexity of our behaviour, our thoughts and emotions.

Each behavioural pattern is unique.  We each move, think and feel differently from others.  These small differences in behaviour give us an individual being.

Our sensory organs such as sight, smell, hearing and touch are far more receptive than we realise.  Our powers of observation allow us to sense more about a person than we first think we have noted.

• We can see, hear, smell and if need be touch what is before us. 
• We note a person's dress, appearance, physical behaviour and movement.  
• We hear a voice and from the tone, inflection and pitch of that voice absorb the message imparted to us.  
• Smell can immediately provide a profound source of information about that person or the environment.  
• Our touch receptors feed us stimuli we interpret into physical feeling and emotion.

These are the external facts that feed us information about a person, place and environmental situation.

By simply looking, we can judge a person's demeanour very quickly.  Behaviour, stance, appearance and dress are indicators that jump out at us.  We know if we are in trouble, or if the person is happy, sad, distressed, angry, hurt.  By looking at a person's behaviour we can read much into the person's manner. 

We use the various senses - all the things that contribute to the powers of observation - to draw a 'picture' of the character for the reader and to create a believable person.  When characters are convincing, readers become emotionally involved. 

• They love them or hate them.  
• They feel for them.
• They trust, or distrust them. Characters grow through the passage of the novel.  It is like creating a patchwork quilt. 

You build each person slowly, here and there adding a new part that belongs to that character.  It is not enough to develop a character from someone you know.  You are bound to leave out the small factors that make that person unique.  

• Do they pick at their nails?
• Chew a thumb? 
• Play with their hair?
• Raise an eyebrow questioningly when doubting something?

These small idiosyncrasies all play an important role in relaying behavioural information that helps us gauge the 'player'.  Seemingly insignificant behaviours may be indicators of far more significant characteristics of the person.  Picking at nails may be a nervous behaviour or an annoying habit.  The thumb chewing may hide shyness or be a trait displayed by a person who is openly lying.  By showing these behaviours, the author paints a truer image of the person.

Of course you can't bore your reader with a thousand physical descriptions of each character.  What you can do is to use some of these behaviours to reveal the qualities of a character and help create the image the reader needs to be able to visualise the character too.

The powers of observation involve more than using the five senses already discussed.

The Inner Person

"What of the inner person?" I hear you cry.  "I can't write a character based purely on external physical factors."  

No, of course you can't.  We need to address the inner characteristics that make that person 'tick'.

This is where instinct and intuition kick in and help us to understand some of the complexities of personality.  We can never fully know what makes others what they are.  Unless we have the magic ability to step into another's brain and think their thoughts we can only be guided by our own logic, and understanding of ourselves, in understanding something of others.

We do however, all have emotions.  Okay, some people show less than others - and we all know people who wear their emotions on their sleeves. 

It is the compilation of many individual traits that add to the 'me' factor.  Selfishness, generosity, love, discord, harmony etc may be revealed through behaviour but are nurtured within.  The soul of the character shows through in many ways.  Reasoning, logic, and recognition all help us to understand human behaviour.  We can use our feelings and imagination to transfer ourselves into different situations.  Empathy allows us to trade places and imagine what it must be like for someone else to be in a particular situation. 

Gathering Information On Human Behaviour

All right, I've told you to use your senses and understand human behaviour, but how do I gather this information?  What do I look for when thinking of human behaviour?

Your resources are in front of you.  Look around you.  Unless you live in a remote part of the country chances are you have people near you.  Be more observant.  

How do police know which suspect is guilty?  What was it that drew them back to someone, or made them question a matter over and over?  It comes from human behaviour, logic, reasoning and recognition.  Police use their powers of observation to really watch people.  They stop to think about things that were said; look at little human traits, personal idiosyncrasies that may be clues.  You too have these abilities.

Often, we can't help but 'overhear' a mobile phone conversation - or the cry of a distressed child and the angry words from the mother.  People's conversations float to us at coffee shops, in the shopping aisle, in line at the bank and as we pass each other in the street.  Small snatches of conversation often contain a wealth of information.  Even though you might not know the people you overhear, a fragment of conversation may tell you much more than you first realise. The tone, pitch and volume of the voice may relay emotion and feeling that you unintentionally store away.  

Think about a conversation you have heard indirectly in the past day or so.  What was it about?  What was the reaction of the listener or teller?  Did you also see the people talking?  What conclusions can you draw from their body language and interaction?  Did they look friendly?  On the other hand, did you think they were merely acquaintances?  

Look at people in the street as they pass you by. Are they in a hurry? Relaxed? Stressed? Happy? Hungry?  Study their body language.  It will reveal so much about a person. Observation can be enjoyable. Sit and watch the world go by.  Make up stories about the people you see.  Think about what it was that drew your eye to a particular person. Was it their dress, their stance, movement or appearance?  

Watch other people watching people!  This in itself can be a load of fun.  Be a wallflower at a party for a short time and see what is unfolding before you.  Study the crowd at the football (I personally find this quite entertaining!).  Seeing people interact at large gatherings can be fascinating.  Group behaviour is markedly different to that of individuals.  People act differently when they feel 'safe'.

Take a pen and paper, make notes on human behaviour.  All this will help you, the writer, to create more believable characters. 

So… what are you waiting for? Get out there and sharpen your senses!  Stop, look and listen to the world around you.  You'll be amazed at what you've been missing.

© Tracey L. R. Hawkins

Tracey Hawkins lives in Canberra, Australia with her husband and three children. Tracey graduated from the ACAE with a Diploma in Teaching.  Due to a shortage of teaching positions, she joined the Australian Federal Police Force.  She worked in General Duties and Criminal Investigation Division, until she hung up her holster for motherhood and never looked back.  Tracey's deepest passion is travel: she has travelled widely around the world with her family.  She loves sport and will give most adventure sports a go.  Tracey started her writing career in 2001 and is going from strength to strength. Her popular picture book MAX MEETS A MONSTER was just the forerunner of many popular books, as well as her columns on Police Procedure for the Writing4Success Club. You can read more about Tracey and her work at www.traceyhawkinsauthor.com