A Psychologist's View of What You Need to Know About Writing and Characterization

Writing and characterization is all about knowing human nature. Psychologist Melissa Burkley has some suggestions to help you make sure your characters act realistically.

by Melissa Burkley, Ph.D.

Over a decade ago, I was invited by Psychology Today to write my own blog for their website.

I was a professor at the time and up until that point had only written scientific journal articles, but my teaching background meant I had a strong passion for explaining psychological science in a fun and entertaining way.

Once I began that blog, called The Social Thinker, I started to receive invites from a variety of sources wanting to hire me to write or consult on similar content. This included non-fiction books (e.g., The Psychology of Twilight, The Psychology of Dexter), national magazines (e.g., O Magazine, Poets & Writers Magazine), online content (e.g., Dailysleep.org, Yourtango.com), and even commercials for companies like Beautyrest.

In my “free time” I wrote a bestselling textbook published by Pearson entitled Motivation Science and had a short story published in Women in Horror Annual.

Writing and Characterization: Tell the Truth

According to Stephen King (my all-time favorite writer), the most important quality a writer should strive for is not to be a good writer or a great writer but to be an honest writer.

According to Uncle Stevie, honest writers are ones who have “told the truth about the way real people would behave in a similar situation.” This means knowing how to write characters and create plots that reflect how real people act in the real world.

I hate it when I’m reading an immersive story and then the character acts in a completely unrealistic way. It’s like watching a TV show and then seeing the boom mic drop down—it launches me out of the book, which is the last thing a writer wants to happen to their reader.

3 Writing and Characterization Tactics Writers Can Use to Make Sure Characters Act Realistically

To avoid this pitfall, you need to know how to write authentic characters. I go into greater details on how to do this on my blog The Writer’s Laboratory, but here are a few quick tips:

1. Educate Yourself about Human Nature

Lots of aspiring writers take an Intro to Psychology course in college in order to learn about the way people think, feel, and behave so as to better their work.

That’s a great option if you are a college student, but if you are not, consider reading up on bestselling books about psychology (e.g., Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink and Outliers, Zimbardo’s The Lucifer Effect).

You can also read my Psychology Today blog and those of my colleagues, or check out relevant YouTube channels.

2. Become an Eavesdropper

Psychological scientists like me gain knowledge through observation. If you want to know how people really talk and behave, listen to their conversations.

Go to a public place like a coffee shop or a restaurant and listen to the conversations around you. Don’t just note what people are saying but how they are saying it. Some people talk in idioms, some people are sparse with their words, and others can’t seem to shut their mouths. Some people deal with conflict head on while others get defensive or make jokes or slip in a passive-aggressive response.

Pay attention to these nuances and use them as you’re developing your characters’ personalities. And if public spying isn’t your thing, read memoirs. These books give you a deep dive into one person’s mind and can help inspire your own character development.

3. Profile Your Characters

We like to think that each one of us has a unique personality—like a snowflake, no two of us are alike. In truth, all our uniqueness can be boiled down to being high or low in a few core personality traits. These include the following (high vs low):

Openness to Experience: creative vs. conventional, imaginative vs. down-to-earth, prefer variety vs. familiarity
Conscientiousness: hard-working vs. lazy, organized vs. disorganized, persevering vs. quitting
Extraversion: gregarious vs. shy, joiner vs. loner, active vs. passive
Agreeableness: trusting vs. suspicious, generous vs. stingy, soft-hearted vs. antagonistic
Neuroticism: anxious vs. calm, self-conscious vs. comfortable in own skin, emotional vs. even-tempered

Creating Personal Characterization Files

When I’m developing a new character, I tend to pick one or two of these traits and figure out where my character falls (trying to do this with all five is too complicated—stick with two traits) max).

This helps me develop my character’s internal thoughts as well as their external behaviors, but it also helps with less obvious things, like what clothes they wear, what books they read, what music they listen to.

A character who is extroverted and open to new experiences will act and dress and talk very differently than one who is introverted and resistant to new experiences.

By creating a personality profile, you are able to develop a character that is realistic and consistent, which makes them feel as if they are a real person to your readers.

The Top 3 Things Most Writers Struggle With

First, I think writers tend to be creative types who often wait to write until their creative juices are flowing.

Bad idea. I explain this in more detail below, but writing is like any other form of work. To be successful at it, you need to write whether you feel like it or not. In the end, this is the only way to overcome the dreaded writer’s block.

Don’t wait for the muse to show up to write; write and eventually the muse will be forced to show up.

Second, writers often fail to recognize the importance of their brand or niche.

You need to figure out what sets you apart from all the other writers out there.

If we’re talking fiction, you need to hone your voice and narrow in on your specific genre. If we’re taking non-fiction, you need to know your niche, the types of readers who seek out content in your niche, and the types of outlets that pay for content in that niche.

And it definitely helps to have a college degree or additional training/experience relevant to your niche topic.

Third, realize you can’t build your career alone.

Of course there is the importance of networking and thanks to Linked In, Twitter, and other forms of social media, this process is easier than ever. But it is also important that you build a community of like-minded colleagues to help you on your journey.

Join a face-to-face writing group, attend writing conferences, become part of a Facebook group, reach out to family and friends who are skilled at writing or editing—all these people will help you hone your craft, spitball your creative ideas, celebrate your wins and commiserate with you after your inevitable failures.

Expand Your Definition of What It Means to Make a Living Writing

There are lots of ways to be involved in the writing business.

When people say they want to make a living as a writer, they’re usually thinking about those few lucky authors who write bestselling novels. Most of us will never become one of those superstars, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be involved in the writing business, either as bloggers, copywriters, technical writers, editors, agents, publishers, and so on.

That doesn’t mean you can’t shoot for the stars—go ahead and try to write that Great American Novel—but also try to expand your definition of what it means to make a living in the field of writing.

To Become a Paid Writer, You Have to Write

I am astonished by all the aspiring writers out there that read books and listen to podcasts about writing but in fact spend very little time writing. Maybe they wrote one novel and are spending years revising and rewriting it. Or maybe they are still trying to finish their first draft.

In my opinion, a writer writes whether they want to or not, whether they are getting paid to or not. For me, writing is a craving equivalent to food. I can’t get through most days without it.

I write blog entries, magazine articles, nonfiction book proposals, novels, short stories, flash fiction, you name it. If I go a few days without writing, my brain gets agitated and stir crazy.

And the psychological science backs this up.

In order to create a solid habit, you need to engage in that behavior consistently. The best way to create a writing habit is to simply write every day, even if it’s just for ten minutes.

Stop telling yourself someday I’m going to sit down and write that novel and just do it. And once you write the first one and polish it up, move on to the next one, and the next one.

That is how every successful writer built their career—literally one word after another, put down on the page.

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Melissa Burkley

Melissa received her Ph.D. in psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her scientific research has been featured in The New York Times, Cosmopolitan and Men’s Health and she has made appearances on Oprah Radio and Martha Stewart Radio.

She has written articles for a variety of outlets, including Psychology Today, Huffington Post, Poets & Writers Magazine, Hinnom Magazine, DailySleep.org. Her personal blog, entitled “The Writer’s Laboratory,” teaches authors how to boost their creativity and improve their writing by incorporating psychological principles into their work. She also writes blog for Psychology Today called “The Social Thinker.”

For more information on Melissa and her work, visit her website or connect with her on Facebook and LinkedIn.

Melissa’s Writing:

Poets & Writers Magazine: “The Hour Between Dog and Wolf”

This article discusses how to use the technique of hypnagogia—the short window between wakefulness and sleep—to boost your creativity.

“There is a special moment that occurs every day of your life when the veil between your conscious and unconscious mind becomes thinner. A magical moment when you are able to access a bottomless fountain of creative potential. That’s the good news. The bad news is that everyday you are letting this moment slip by.”

To read the article, click here.

Women in Horror Annual: The Women in Horror Annual 2 is the second volume of an anthology of horror fiction and nonfiction written by women. WHA promotes and celebrates female voices in horror, and the stories and papers contained within represent a diverse group of writers, each with their own unique vision. Ranging from supernatural tales of horror to quotidian terror, and touching on themes of empowerment, insanity, and freedom, the stories herein run the gamut from melancholic to darkly humorous. As was the case with the first volume, WHA 2 is further proof that horror has something for everyone.