Building a realistic character by examining his or her psychological characteristics should be the first goal of authors. Your main character—to some degree—should have relatable traits that a reader can connect with and see themselves in while they enjoy your novel. Without such a character your story will suffer and fail. An author needs to know how to get inside the mind of a character they haven’t even created yet and devise ways for that character to seem real enough to provide a specific sense of realness within the pages. Below you will read a few ways to do this. From how the character feels confidently about himself or herself to how they feel about others, knowing the psychology of a character before you begin your novel will help the reader enjoy the book.
Personality
A personality can extend to many different areas of the mind. It is so broad that entire departments of academia have been dedicated to examining the human mind. However, without having earned a Ph.D. in Psychology, I suggest you certainly know enough to build a well-written character.
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Is he a pessimist?
If yes, why? Has he gone through a terrible trauma in his life that has persuaded him to see life in such a miserable manner? And how does he react in general and specific scenarios as a result of that historical trauma? Does he want to change or is he content with looking at life through a lens of negativity? Although you may or may not be a pessimist, you most likely know someone who is. Examine and study them. Why are they that way and how do they choose to live their life? By taking a few minutes to study them could lead to developing great character psychology.
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Or is she an optimist?
Does nothing get her down? Even when the cookie crumbles and her chips are down, does she still have a positive outlook that life will improve? If yes, why is she able to do so? Does she have a positive mentor? Did she learn to brush things off by observing another person? Or is she only playing the role of an optimist and secretly hiding the fact that she is just as equally as negative as another character?
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Social cues
In this growing world of anxiety and depression, many people find it terribly difficult to even face people in public. They stay indoors as much as they can and avoid the world. This may seem beneficial for the time being, but it will cause them much peril later in life when it comes time to interact for important situations.
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Outgoing or reclusive
Does your character find it easy to exist out in public? Can they meet friends easily and begin small talk? Or do they find social events awkward to the point they have bouts of anxiety? Do they find ways to leave social events early or do they just lie and not go out at all? Knowing these psychological characteristics will help you create a character that will need to make choices to overcome certain social obstacles to complete a goal.
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Emotional Control
This is a big one that I think many authors seem to skip. By ignoring how a character controls his or her emotions will tell so much and could lead to an interesting character arc by the novel’s end.
Is your character calm under pressure? If yes, what does he or she do to keep them that way? Have they always been calm? Why are they so confident? You must explain this or else you will have created an unrelatable character. There must be some form of nervousness they get. Everyone has fears and doubts.
Does your character get overemotional? Making mountains out of molehills is the opposite of calm. Why does the character tend to blow things out of proportion? Do they do it for attention? What is the response from others when they get emotional? Do others need to calm them down before they hurt themselves or others? Are they trying to fix that trait about them, or do they unconsciously enjoy being overemotional because it brings them status?
Self-Esteem
Self-esteem plays a major part in someone’s life. It influences how they see themselves as individuals or as a member of a group. It especially influences how they make choices, which is the most important part of fiction. An author must know why or how a character feels the way they do about themselves.
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What do they like about themselves?
To some degree, everyone likes certain traits about themselves. Maybe they have a nice profile, or they have nice penmanship, or they can tell funny jokes, or they can make friends easily. Whatever the reason, an author must know why the character feels that way. How does that character use it to their benefit? Do they manipulate people to get what they want by exploiting that trait? This certain trait gives them confidence in situations that others might find difficult. Do they use that trait to help others?
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What do they not like about themselves?
Maybe they feel they have a big nose, or have weight problems, or have severe anxiety around people. You should know the exact problem they have that makes them feel that way and then show how they interact in the world because of that feeling. More importantly, how will they overcome that problem? Have they let that problem spiral out of control and hurt others? This problem is good for subplots.
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Can he or she live with regret or guilt?
I think this is the most critical aspect of humanity. Everyone, whether they admit it or not, has regrets. They wish they chose a different option at one point in their lives. Some people are better at hiding that regret than others, but everyone has it. Incorporating regret and guilt into a character is a great way to humble and make the character more relatable. How do they view their successes and failures in life? Do they focus on the successes, or do they allow the failures to take control? Many people focus on the negative, even when they’ve won. Winning just isn’t enough. They focus on what they could have done better. That is a very horrible, yet realistic perspective that people do every day.
As an author, you should know why your character feels guilt and how they can overcome that guilt by the end of the novel. How can they make up for the sins or crimes they have done? This focus can put the character on an adventure throughout the whole book just to right what was wrong.
Sense of Humor
Humor, in my opinion, is the most difficult aspect of creative writing, simply because humor is totally subjective. And plus, writing jokes are different than hearing or telling jokes in person. I applaud writers who can do this effortlessly. Here are a few things you should take into consideration when you develop a character.
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Are they easily offended by jokes?
Some people just don’t take nicely to any jokes at all. They are very serious—and usually unpleasant to be around. If they do get offended by jokes, which types of jokes? Dirty jokes of the foul and grotesque nature? Do they resent swears during a joke? Swearing is a big deal because many people swear—some constantly. And this swearing bleeds into their humor. Sometimes, swearing is the main element of their humor. If your character doesn’t like swearing, he or she might feel offended.
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What makes him or her laugh?
Does seeing someone fall down make your character bust out laughing? Or are they the type of person who enjoys clever humor you might not realize at first? Subtle humor, like inside jokes between best friends, is great humor, but it needs practice by the author to build up first. Or are they the type who enjoys shocking and offensive humor, like when people’s feelings get hurt by a stand-up comic? Comics enjoy ripping people to shreds as they make others laugh. Some people like that. Others hate it. Which type of character are you writing?
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