Observe...A Study in Human Character

One of the things writers get to do, and many take great delight in, is to observe people.  A writer is fundamentally a student of human character.  From clothes and how a person wears their hair to how they take their coffee, every piece of them reflects their personality (or lack thereof).  I used to say, when I was younger and thought I was smart, that you could tell a lot about a person by how they take their coffee (tea drinkers, humor me for the duration of this limited metaphor).  When someone volunteered the information, I would use gleaned pieces of pop psychology to dissect their preferences. 

Let me use myself as an example.  I like black coffee, a strong dark roast for a daily drink.  Very rarely I will get a drink like a latte. More often, if I can, I will get a double con panna which is a double shot of espresso with whipped cream on top.  What does that mean? Well I don't like bullshit.  I like life to be shown to me exactly how it is most of the time, and I don't want the frothy window dressing.  I don't want it dumbed down and I DO want people to be completely honest with me.  Sometimes, if I'm in a mood, I do need a little froth. What I like better though, is the balance between frothy sweetness and the dark bitter reality. 

Now that I'm older I know it's not just coffee. It's everything.  I think about this a lot when I make a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich.  I am particular about my food and PBJs are no exception. I have to start with at least a stone ground whole wheat bread.  White, rye, potato, pumpernickel, sourdough, or even a crusty bread are unacceptable.  The peanut-butter should be crunchy, but I can make do with smooth if need be.  The organic unpasteurized stuff just isn't for me. My jelly shouldn't be a jelly at all.  Rather I prefer a preserve or a jam that has a high fruit content.  Possible flavors can be raspberry, strawberry, blackberry, or mixed berry.  I have been known to choose an apricot every now and again, but rarely.  Never ever can I have grape jelly.  It seems like a silly thing to think about, but clearly I am a food snob.  Who does that for their PBJs? Not my husband.  He would be happy with white bread, whatever peanut-butter available, and just regular grape jelly.  Christian is somewhere between a hoover and a 9 year old boy.  He's always hungry because he wrenches, and he doesn't have sophisticated food needs.  In fact, he has simple needs.  When I try to steer our bread buying towards the most whole grain I can possibly find, he asks, "But what will I eat?!"

Those are the things that reflect a person.  It is the summation of all those little quirks and habits that make a good and complete character.  Whether a writer chooses to divulge the character completely or not, is entirely up to the writer and the nature of the story.  So now that I have eaten my foodie PBJ and have moved on to a cup of my dark French roast, I'll go on to develop some characters.