One of the biggest problems I’ve noticed in movies, television, and books is a lack of believability as it concerns human behavior and human psychology. I’ve seen 21st century authors employ an understanding of anxiety and depression that is perhaps from the 1890s at best. (I wish I were kidding, but I’m not.) I’ve also seen a stunning number of texts that failed to have the characters react realistically to problems, most especially a great loss, a trauma, or a death.
While it’s true that not every novel or short story needs to spend an extended time waxing poetic about grief or trauma, it’s still in an author’s best interests to have human characters react like humans. Also, if an author is going to include a mental disorder in the story—most especially in a major character or as a lynchpin in the plot—then realism is the best policy. Likewise, children should behave and speak like children.
We’ll discuss mental disorders first, then children, and finally general advice about psychological believability.
Mental Health and Mental Disorders
Do your homework. Some of my creative writing students tell me that they hate to do research, but quality fiction writing actually requires a hefty amount of research. What does the current research tell us about bipolar disorder, for example? Panic disorder? Anti-social personality disorder? Eating disorders? Research the symptoms, the causes, and the treatments. Also, make sure you’re calling the disorder by its correct name. For example, bipolar disorder used to be called manic depression. If your novel is historical in nature, then you’d need the older names for things. You don’t want to be out of date, but you also don’t want to create an anachronism.
The biggest struggle writers face is trying to portray a mental health issue that neither they nor their friends and family have. It’s far simpler to begin with what you know. If, for example, your father has a gambling addiction, then you could portray both the addiction and its effect on a family—at least your kind of family—accurately. Even still, research gambling addiction before you open your mouth. What causes it? Make sure you understand all the factors, not just what you’re used to thinking about. The more we study psychology, the more complex and multi-faceted we discover the human brain and mind to be. The mechanisms influencing human behavior are complicated.
If you have your heart set on portraying a mental health issue you have no personal experience with, then read as many psychology articles and watch as many psychology videos as you can. An unprecedented number of psychologists make videos about specific diagnoses, like Narcissistic Personality Disorder, for example. Writers here on Medium have written articles about how their Narcissistic parents abused them and how they think and feel about that. The information is out there.
Child Psychology
If you use children as characters, then you need to research childhood development. Obviously, if you have several children of your own or work in an elementary school or the like, this may not be necessary. Writers with no children or no knowledge of child development need to do their research, though. Keep in mind, for example, that young children are black and white thinkers, and children do not typically begin the process of individuation prior to the age of twelve. This means that if your child character’s parents die when your character is eight years old, and you portray your character as easily shifting into adult responsibilities, you’re being unrealistic. In a bad situation, an eight-year-old can take on adult tasks or adult responsibilities, but only for a psychological price.
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