I’m no great mathematician, but I loved Venn diagrams at school. I enjoyed looking at the universal set, which is everything, and the overlapping circles or other shapes within that illustrated the logical relationships between two or more sets of items. I was fascinated by how things overlapped; how certain things appear in only one group.

Here’s a simple one – the group of ten people who own cats and dogs, or just one or the other.

I also love sociograms. a visual representation or map of the relationships that exist between a group of people. The purpose of a sociogram is to evaluate the inner workings and subsequent relationships within different groups, That’s a visual representation or map of the relationships that exist in a group of people. The purpose of a sociogram is to evaluate the inner workings of relationship within different groups. Imagine a family photo, not one that’s contrived, but one that happens by chance. Who’s in the centre? Why? Who’s on the end of the line? Why? What are the relationships between people at different points, based on their positioning? You can read too much into it, or you can find it enlightening. I love analysing things and interpreting, I suppose.

Based on this, I was thinking about what group we all belong to and what position we hold there. Groups such as a family, friends, people at work, a hobby, a group that is temporary, like people at an event.

There are several roles we can play within these groups. These roles aren’t fixed, they can change and merge. People are facilitators, initiators, coaches, co-ordinators, evaluators, challengers, compromisers, gate keepers.

Or we could simply say that people in groups are thinkers, doers or passengers.

I’ve spent some time thinking about the groups I belong to, and I probably play different roles based on the relationship between other members and myself. Family, friends, work, writers’ groups, authors’ groups, parties. I imagine the sociogram and I consider what my role is within that group.

Now comes the interesting question.

Why?

What makes us take on these roles and operate this way within a group? Is it more about ourselves, how we perceive ourselves, or about our relationship to others? Or is it about the roles that need to be fulfilled based on the requirements of the whole group?

And here are two more interesting questions.

Why do we belong to that group in the first place?  Is it choice, necessity, hazard or some other reason?

And what makes us want to stay or leave? Are the needs of the group greater or lesser than our desire to want to be there?

It’s a bit of a heavy question. I can tell I’m gearing up to write a novel – I’m getting all analytical. I can’t look at a photo now without analysing group dynamics. Just right for creating characters. And I’m considering the groups I belong to as Venn diagrams – what we have in common, what overlaps, what doesn’t. A useful plotting exercise, a way of discovering relationships, symbiosis and jeopardy.

It’s fascinating. But perhaps it’s only that. While I love analysis and prediction, I’m not a believer in overthinking.

Time to write another novel soon, I think…. xx