Interpersonal Dynamics

I've been doing a lot of character studies of late, and my best material comes from real life.  I was part of a group of women who gathered for lunch today, and the dynamics were rather interesting.

This general group has gathered before but not with the exact same participants.  I choose to sit quietly, for the most part, watching what happened.  One woman dominated the conversation.  That was not the interesting part.  It was how the other women responded.  Most of them have been vital participants before, but they became silent observers instead.

So, I suppose when I create my fictional characters, it's good to remember that they might not always act the same way in every situation.  Maybe they will choose to listen and observe.  Maybe they will choose to stand up when they've had enough.  Maybe they will keep me (and you, the reader) guessing.

I imagine the trick to writing any character in a believable manner is to make him or her consistent but variable, consistent with who he or she is, but with the ability to choose to act one way or another.  It is, after all, what makes human beings interesting and yet difficult to totally predict.  Add to that our ability to change over time and we are fascinating creatures.  And maybe that, in and of itself, is worth writing about.