Writing is full of physical description being used as a short hand for personality. I’ve just realised that since I don’t use physical description then I’ve handicapped my characters. This, of course led to another discovery, I’m not very observant. I don’t watch people, I prefer to interact with them. But the activity becomes the focus of my attention and not the people around me. So I’m trying to describe a character now and I’m stumped. What does he actually look like and how does that mesh with his personality. Physical ‘ticks’ help keep characters separate in people’s minds. When I look around at the people I know, whatever ‘ticks’ they have are invisible to me. I am so used to them pausing before making a weighty pronouncement, or nibbling on finger nails or hair that I don’t see it as a ‘tick’. The tick doesn’t have to be intrusive or unpleasant, it could be what someone says when things are going well or bad.  The trick is to match the ‘tick’ to the personality and then make sure you don’t wear out it’s usefulness. Easier said then done.