Character Psychologist: Intake Exams

John the Husband makes breakfast almost every morning. He started this routine when he retired and kept it up for eight years now. It takes much of the morning, but the kids are slow starters and we homeschool so who cares? 

While he takes orders, I sip on coffee, work a puzzle, and often turn on a Great Courses Plus. My current go-to is a series on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT. Which helps folks examine how their thoughts impact behaviors and vice versa. It’s interesting stuff, especially when I start applying the info to characters I am working. I like being a character psychologist.

 I am a firm believer that characters on the page should be just as dynamic, realistic, and interesting as people in real life. Human brains like patterns; characters that break behavioral or personality patterns feel unreachable to me (radioactive spiders and such aside). 

This is the first of a series of Overthinkings where I will deep dive into how I deep dive into the minds of my characters. I will be giving each of the following topics their own episode, but here is an overview. 

In my imaginary Character Intake Exam I start with the basics (or fill out this handy dandy character sheet from my workshop Rolling Up a Literary Character). 

1. Age, gender, sexuality, name if I know it, or any details that might show up on the page during the first meeting. In workshop I ask “how is the reader introduced to this character? How are they forming their opinions?” I think of this as the Walk In The Door moment. A good therapist will pick up on visual cues that hint at mental or emotional wellness. A counselor once mentioned to me that standards of personal care tell him more about a person’s progress than their words. 

2. What is the reason for the visit? Character arcs are built around the need for change. Sure dragons might be attacking the village, but it is going to be a short story if our protagonist doesn’t have a personality flaw that keeps him from throwing a magic missile spell and going back to his ale. All characters need flaws. Flaws generally manifest through behaviors—think of them as “flaw symptoms” the way someone with a medical condition exhibits medical symptoms. These symptoms are going to cause tension between your characters and drive/shape the plot, so the sooner you know them, the better. 

3. Big Hurts. Big hurts are the traumatic event/s or long term situational elements that shape character flaws. Just like real life, a character (or the reader watching over their shoulder) may or may not recognize their Big Hurt in an intake exam. Readers may see the event happen on page one, or it may be uncovered through backstory or real time interactions with other characters. Regardless, to keep the story cohesive, you should have a good idea of what Big Hurts are driving your story. 

4. Support Systems. Allies will make or break a character arc. Who is keeping your character on track in their life? Who is enabling them? Characters are like rocks in a rock tumbler, they shape each other with every interaction. 

5. Goals for resolution. What does therapy graduation day look like for your character?  Readers want a satisfactory resolution for their protagonist—not necessarily happy, but neat. In real life one stops therapy because they come to a point where the reason for the visit is resolved; they change goals or decide to give up on ever changing and embrace their flaws; or they die. On the page we have similar options to end our narratives. 

So why is this useful?  It allows me to drop my characters into situations and let them go, knowing I know them well enough to predict their actions. If I get stuck on plot points I go back to my intake questions and it becomes apparent what direction I need to turn. Plus it can be fun! And a great excuse while sitting in a parking lot waiting for the kids to get out of swim lessons to take online personality tests as your literary characters.