Authorveillance

Yep! I made that word up. Writers can do that!

Authorveillance: noun: Observing human interaction and/or individuals for the express purpose of using their mannerisms, speech patterns, physique, appearance, personality, problems, or quirks in your next novel.

It’s not creepy…it’s research! And it’s something a writer can do when forced to interact with people or while waiting in the line at the local over-priced coffee shop.

The more you pay attention to the particularities of individuals, the easier it will be to include and write many believable character descriptions.

Here’s a few details worth observing:

Physical mannerisms

nail biting: situational anxiety or nervous by nature?
hair twirling: flirtatious, coy, superficial, anxious?
self-touching: um…where? scratching, picking, rubbing, fondling
fidgeting: toe tapping, restless limbs, shifting from foot to foot
eye contact: too much vs too little
blinking: eye tics, squinting
body posture/ bearing/demeanor: slouched, military, bored, furtive, shy, arrogant. Body language books are great for explaining the ways posture reveal temperament or personality
gait: shuffle, spring, lurch, long strides, quick steps, pained, plodding, rolls off balls of feet, cat walk style

Speech:

speed: fast or slow; breathless or modulated; loud or soft
sound: gruff, velvety, gravely, breathy, hoarse,
slurred: drunk, stoned,medicated
stutter: nervous, speech impediment
diction: articulate, pompous, low register/uneducated
accent: slight pronounced, foreign, regional dialect or words, age-specific words
patterns: interrupts, all about “me, me me” (selfish) ; all about “you” (evasive)
cadence: ascending or descending lilt

Age:

skin textures: pitted, smooth, taut, fleshy, puffy, stretched, saggy, thin, flawless, wrinkled—smoker’s lines, worry lines, laugh lines
skin tones: from translucent to ebony,
scars: location,on body, severity, recent or from long ago. Partially obscured as if hidden or uncovered?
body parts: perky, slack, muscular, lean, sinewy, fleshy, thick, robust, wasted. The older the woman the lower the boobs. The older the man the bigger the earlobes.