Realistic Character Speech and Movement: Observe Those Closest to You First!

From nosy neighbours to eccentric passersby, I’ve learned that inspiration for characters can only come from real-life people. Children I have known in my own life, for instance, have inspired the character of Josie in The Fisherman’s Daughter, and even characters in 101 Poems’s fictional poems have been inspired by strangers or figures I find intriguing.
We cannot recreate anything other than what we know, and so it is important to be a vigilant and observant people-watcher when it comes to creating characters.
“We can only connect with characters when their lives seem real and their problems seem genuine, when they are in imminent danger and need to be rescued.”
But how do we make them feel real? Well, here's a good place to start!
OBSERVE THOSE CLOSEST TO YOU
It is important to start with those closest to you, because we have greater access to their psychology than to the psychology of strangers (and we'll see why this is important soon!).
NOTE THEIR SPEECH
Repetitions: recurring words, question tags and filler phrases — also consider how and when these are repeated.
Positioning of the mouth and the effects of this.
Expletives and how they’re used.
Register of language: formal, informal, colloquial.
These things and any other peculiarities form an idiolect, the key to particularised speech, which is important for giving your character a unique voice but one that is grounded in observable and recognisable patterns.
NOTE THEIR MOVEMENT
Posture: upright, slouching, shifting, rigid…
Hands: positioning; gesticulation types; gestures; and (an interesting one) what does their dominant hand do differently to the other, or are they ambidextrous?
Walking vs standing vs sitting: positioning, gait, rhythm…
Angular or fluid movements: which do they use when?
Head and eyes: positioning, smooth or fluid movements, repeated back-and-forth or up-and-down movements, fixations…
THEN, CONSIDER:
What key stages of life have shaped their movement? Or: "What training has the body gone through in life to behave the way it does?"
What movement and speech patterns can you instantly recognise as indicators of their mood?
What subconscious processes shine through in their physical behaviour?
It’s easier with those we know inside and out to attribute mood, perspective and mindset to their movement and speech patterns; it’s harder with complete strangers.
However, training ourselves to have conscious and active perceptions of these patterns of our close ones can train our minds to discover psychological/symbolic meanings in strangers’ behavioural patterns.
So, now let's start the process!
OBSERVE STRANGERS
Repeat the process above but with a stranger this time. Pay attention to their speech and movement patterns, and then imagine some likely moods, perspectives and mindsets giving rise to these patterns. Create a backstory for them, a history, a feeling diary.
Observing speech and movement can be a method for understanding someone's emotions and vice versa! So, ensure you understand this relationship between psychology and physicality.
MAKING A REALISTIC CHARACTER
So, you've understood the psychology-physicality relationship from studying those close to you, and you've applied this knowledge to studying strangers.
Studying strangers calls for imagination and is the next leap towards imaginary characters. After all, we cannot read minds; we only project what we know and imagine this stranger's feelings and history and how movement and speech patterns are impacted by these, but…
“The more varied and profound our ability to project, the more diverse and deeper our characters.”
So, now draw from what you've learnt: what distinct speech/movement types and patterns did you come across that you thought were interesting? Breathe your interesting discoveries into your characters to make them come alive!
And you've completed the first leg of your journey to making believable and realistic, walking, talking characters!
WHAT SPEECH AND MOVEMENT PATTERNS DID YOU OBSERVE?
Inspire or get inspired by other writers and use the comment section below, or share your thoughts on social media:
@25ThistleCorner on all platforms!
HAPPY WRITING
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