After observing, describing, and interpreting, it’s time to consider how another person feels about this behavior. In interpersonal communications, this would be your opportunity to describe a behavior, make an assumption about what the other person was feeling, and then make an observation about how you feel in return. How does that work for characters in fiction? We’ve gone through who, what, when, and why. Now let’s look at how.

Step three: Share how you (or a character) feels as a result of this behavior.

You’ve observed someone’s behavior in real life. You’ve made an assumption about how their physical movement reflects their state of mind. Now your powers of imagination come into play. How does this display of emotion affect another character?

  • He slammed the car door and she assumed he was angry. She was concerned, because they had been arguing a lot lately and didn’t know if he was still mad at her.
  • Her brow was furrowed and he assumed she was concerned about something. He felt inadequate because she hadn’t asked for his help and worried that she had someone else to turn to.
  • He glanced behind himself repeatedly and she assumed he was worried about being followed. She felt afraid, because he’d been secretive about some trouble he’d been having.
  • Her fingers tapped non-stop on the tabletop and he assumed she was impatient. He felt angry, because he wanted to enjoy the moment without rushing.

With this level of the exercise, you practice going deeper into your character relationships. Your characters don’t exist in a vacuum. What they say and do should affect your other characters. If you find a character doesn’t have that kind of impact, it’s a good clue they need a stronger role or don’t belong in your story at all.

This is also a good chance to go deeper into your characters’ emotional states. For practice, ask why at least three times after you’ve identified your character’s emotion. Bob is angry – why? Because his wife is late. Why is Bob angry his wife is late? Because he feels insecure. Why does Bob feel insecure? Because his first wife behaved the same way towards him as their marriage started to turn sour.

If you’re working on a story now, try this with your characters’ interactions. Highlight sections where your narrator or protagonist is displaying a clear emotion and ask why at least three times. You may find some surprising answers.