Character interactions

You might know how to convey emotion, how to make witty remarks as your written character or make accurately described interesting scenes, but what about character interaction? How do your characters interact with each other? A lot of people when writing wing it, they write what they want their characters to do and say, and whilst perfectly fine, it can often lead to unrealistic behaviour or outright outlandish mannerisms. To say the least it certainly can't hurt to understand the basic principals of interacting with the average person. So you might think the first thing to comment on would be body language, or maybe your tone of voice when addressing someone? In fact, the first thing I'll cover is proxemics.

Proxemics is the study of distance between people, being useful as an indicator of relationships between them. So as to say, someone standing very close comes across as intimate, and someone far far away is generally a public speaker. Very simple. It's actually surprisingly specific, there are exceptions of course, but for the general gist of it, the following can be used as indicators...

• Touching - 1.5 feet = Intimate
• 1.5 feet - 24 feet = Personal relationships, close friends or family
• 4 feet - 12 feet = Social, acquaintances
• 12 feet - 25 feet+ = Public, for public speaking

Of course, to clarify, this is just a guideline. There isn't a barrier stopping people getting closer or further away, dragging all your friends along against their wills when you storm off in a tantrum. Whilst people that are standing inches apart are generally intimate with each other, even married couples will stand 10 feet away from each other to talk now and again.

Oculesics would be the next thing I'd comment on. Of course, you don't want to describe every single eye movement, pupil dilation and breath, but it might be nice to add one or two in to give away when your character is lying or expressing a particular emotion or feeling? Oculesics is the study of eye movements as non-verbal communication. Below I'll list the very very basics, in the hope it will help to give an insight into some actions or descriptive detail you can add into your character interactions.

• Pupil dilation = Response to fear, anxiety, arousal, desire or anger. Drugs can also cause this.
• Looking down = In some cultures this is a sign of subservience or respect, it can also account for fear, submission, shame or signify they feel guilty.
• Looking up = This depends largely on the person, as it can be due to them being bored and subconsciously displaying that they are trying to remember something. Believe it or not, if they have their head tilted downwards and they are looking up through their lashes, it can signify a flirty expression suggesting sexual communication. (seems like something out of an anime, right?)
• Moving the eyes from side to side = Indicates potentially the person is lying, if they're moving their eyes swiftly to the side. If the person is simply looking to the side, it might indicate they're simply bored or have lost interest, or even find themselves distracted by something in the background of the interaction.
• Looking left = This can indicate the individual is recalling something audible. An auditory memory.
• Looking right = Similar to looking left, this can indicate however they are "actually" hearing the sound in their head.
• A gaze = This prolonged contact with something indicates interest, or even sexual communication depending on context. Gazing generally occurs when the other person is not aware.
• A stare = This can be a sign of aggression, deceit or affection, and regardless conveys interest in the subject. Staring generally differs from a gaze in that it is maintained even if the subject returns eye contact.
• A glance = A glance can signify an unspoken desire for the individual or object. A glance at lips can signify a desire to kiss, a glance at the door can signify them wanting to leave, or a glance at the fridge could mean they want that half-eaten chinese food they ordered the other night... People who generally want to end an interaction with someone, tend to look at their watches, the clock or their attention wanes and they pay attention more to their surroundings. Generally, you pick up on someone doing this, subconsciously or consciously, and you will mimic this or speedily end your side of the interaction.
• Closing the eyes = This could mean someone is concentrating, or your character is feeling guilt and shame. Disgust, anger and impatience are also possible if it becomes a prolonged blink.
• Tracking with the eyes = Following someone with their eyes indicates interest. This doesn't have to be positive, and can be suspicion or distrust.
• Squinting = This can signify the person is disbelieving or doubtful, or... honestly it might just be they're looking at something closely.
• Blinking = Rapid blinking can mean the character is confused or anxious. They also might do it out of arrogance, for example a flutter of their eyelids as they scoff arrogantly. A lack of blinking indicates towards the above "stare".

Anyhow, this isn't everything, but is certainly a good starter. Something not covered would be posture, however I will likely cover that in a subsequent blog post. Remember that not all these rules are followed by everyone, and they might also mean something entirely different. Don't list every single thing your character does, such as blinking or squinting, or their eyes dilating! Writing can be boring if you over describe /everything/, so use in moderation.

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