A very interesting article by Casey Lynn Covel 

Whether it’s spiders, heights, socializing, public speaking, deep water, patterns, or even themselves, most every character you’ll ever write will face some debilitating fear or phobia. In today’s article let’s take a look at what fear is, how it differs from a phobia, and how you can best write these factors into your characters believably. We’ll be discussing:

What causes fear
Physical signs of fear
Internal sensations of fear
Mental responses to fear
Cues of long-term fear
Signs of suppressed fear

What is Fear?

In its most basic definition, fear results from being afraid of something that is perceived as a threat or danger. Fear-inducing stimuli can occur directly in the present or be influenced by an impending threat in the future, but all fear results from the individual’s past (in which they first learned to be afraid of the stimulus). Contrary to popular belief, all humans are born with two natural fears—the fear of loud noises and the fear of falling. The remaining fears are learned through experience.

Continue reading AND see FIVE great infographics at:

Character Development and Fear