Quirks. Not only is the word incredibly entertaining, but the gems it denotes are pretty awesome too.
Quirks are one of those aspects of characterisation that often get overlooked - I mean, it's bad enough trying to give a three-dimensional personality, backstory, and workable motivation to a figment of your imagination without trying to go into details that probably aren't remotely important to the story.
However, I think quirks are pretty fantastic.
No one human who came into being without time-shifts, duplication, or an unfortunate encounter with a wonky wand and a jar of marmite, is exactly the same as another. Likewise, we are shaped by a variety of factors that determine who we are. For the sake of simplicity, I'm confining the nature-v-nurture debate to my Ethics essays, but I think most of us can agree that the way a person is brought up, what they experience, and how that affects their personality will have a massive range of effects on their overall character.
Exposition on how a character's backstory affects their behaviour, however, is generally considered a bad idea outside of the works of Alexandre Dumas and Victor Hugo, and getting tangled up in the detailed nuances is like hunting for a munchkin's wedding ring in a vat of month-old spaghetti. Yet, sometimes, there are moments in the story when the reader's awareness of a certain past experience of a character is important.
So, why not give them a quirk that reflects it? The term "quirk" that I refer to here is not strictly an idiosycratic aspect of the character - I'm referring to habits, either physical or otherwise, usually something the character does without really noticing, that reflect some facet of their nature or experience.
Par example: say you have a character who, at some stage in their lives, has been involved in the army, but you want to show this to the reader rather than telling them outright. In which case, maybe they have a trigger-finger reflex when holding something gun-shaped, or stand in a parade-like manner when being addressed by an authority figure. Conversely, it might be something in the type of language they used - if they were in a position of command, maybe in a situation of action they revert to the command words and tone of voice they used in a combat situation? Whether anyone understands them, though, is a far more debatable matter.
This, of course, is a fairly simple example, but the principle remains the same. It works outside of professions, too - a nervous character might have a habit of wringing their hands when nervous, and one who struggles with a bad temper may grind their teeth or crack their knuckles when something piques their annoyance.
None of these quirks have to be made overtly ostensible to get the reader's attention. When someone is very interested in a character, they will often pick up on very small things about them as a result. What's more, the presence of the quirks themselves can add a subtle edge of realism to the character - real people chew their nails and annoy their classmates by eternally clicking the end of their ballpoint pen, so why shouldn't fictional ones? In the case of non-human characters, a relatable trait can really help in overcoming the initial boundary of culture and species (which is exactly why my teen-foot-tall, sharp-toothed, semi-psychotic assassin with mind-based magical abilities is addicted to chewing coffee beans to alleviate a craving for caffiene).
Overall, quirks are endlessly useful in their versatility as exemplars of backstory, personality, and relatability. How one uses these quirks is up to the author - are you going to exploit it for comic effect, pathos, or as a hint to that gut-wrenchingly good plot twist that will have your reader flipping back through the pages screeching 'HOW DID I MISS THAT!?' in less time than it takes to make a cup of tea?
Do you like to use quirks for any of these purposes? Do you like using character quirks at all, or are they just a waste of time? Let me know in the comments!
~ Charley R
Showing posts with label character development. Show all posts
Showing posts with label character development. Show all posts
Thursday, 4 April 2013
Tuesday, 3 July 2012
Beautiful People - June Edition
Yes, yes, I forgot to post on Saturday - I was in Durham, dodging rainstorms and poking my nose into their university. Forgive me, readers. I am a bad, bad blogger.
Life is beginning to get a little mad right now - it's the last week of school, and I have my final five-day Duke of Edinburgh trek coming up the week after. Then it's a "holiday" full of Personal Statement writing (which is already pushing me dangerously close to the border of Loonie Land), writing my Extended Essay (which I am looking forward to with an almost worryingly nerdy glee), cramming the school reading list onto my bookshelf and Kindle, and moving house (more on that at another time).
However, today, the lovely girls over at Further Up and Further In have made time in their own massively busy lives to bring us June's edition of Beautiful People. However, this time around, it's a little bit different to usual. This time, we get to choose the questions for ourselves.
So, being the cherry-picker that I am, I have pilfered their archives and put together ten questions from the mix to amuse you all. Feel free to nick them for yourselves if you fancy!
My victim this month would have been our old friend Rin, but as I have horribly neglected his story for several months now, he's sulking in the corner and throwing pointy objects at me every time I try to get near him. Coupled with yet another plot overhaul, that has upset just about everything in the story, he's in no mood to play the game.
Thankfully, I have my plot for NaNoWriMo coming together already and thus, this week, I will present to you one of its central characters.
The place: the gigantic, sprawling and exceedingly smelly city of Scatterank.
The timeframe: if Victorian England crashed into the Late Mediaeval period, and then spots of Sci-Fi leaked in from the upper floor and left splodgy bits all over the place, you might get an idea of the place.
The character: our first-person narrator, Deladier Vandaleur. Socially awkward country boy of nineteen, intellect the size of a small country, but a pretty disastrous cook if ever there was one.
Let's begin, shall we?
1. Does your character have a methodical or disorganised personality?
Deladier is a weird mix of the two. Excluding his glasses, he knows exactly where everything is, how it works, and what he has to do with it at any given time. Things may be in odd places (on top of dressers, under beds, stashed in windowsills etc) but they will always be organised and laid out in a sensible, logical fashion.
2. Favourite writing utensil?
He'll use almost anything, but he's got a particular fondness for fountain pens. One of his mini projects (he has many) is an attempt to build an ink pen that won't coat him in ink. Success thus far has met mostly with over-pressurised ink slots, faulty pen nibs and several small explosions.
3. Where he s/he from?
Deladier was born on a large country-house sort of estate in Pleasancegreen, a small shire populated by ridiculously wealthy aristocratic families. It's about three days out of Scatterank, which is the closest major city. The country as a whole consists of a series of large city-states and their outlying hangers-on situated around the Traders' Sea, a gargantuan natural "bay" that leads out to the open sea and the other countries beyond.
4. Does s/he play a musical instrument? If so, what?
His mother forced him to start playing the violin when he was about five . . . unfortunately, playing music is one of the few things in life that Deladier would sooner avoid. He's hopeless. He loves listening to it, but he can't play it to save his life.
5. How do they feel about people in general?
One word: people-phobe. As much as Deladier likes the idea of social interaction and friendship, he's very shy of people, as he really has no idea how to make conversation. A closeted upbringing with a scary-as-heck father and a smothering, overbearing mother will do that to you.
6. What are they most thankful for?
Books. They're just about the only thing that keeps him sane. He practically lived in his father's library for most of his young life.
Later on in the story, though, there are some very special (if slightly bizarre) people who enter his life, trash it, and leave him standing in the wreckage wondering how on earth he could ever have been who he was before. Whether he's thankful for that, however, remains a mystery to me for now.
7. What's their worst childhood memory?
The day his grandfather died. While the rest of his family were intent on pushing him into a world he has no desire to enter, his grandfather was the only one to consider him as a person in his own right. He was the one who first introduced Deladier to the delights of reading.
8. What is their biggest accomplishment?
Aside from having read every major book by Yostol (a very prolific, very literary and slightly grammatically-challenged author in their world), it would probably be the fact that he's well on the way to being one of the world's top academics. Or he would be, if only he would get around to publishing the essays he writes in his spare time.
9. Is s/he naturally curious?
Very. Despite his social awkwardness, Deladier will jump head first into any opportunity to learn something new, in any area. If he ever plucked up the courage to invite a guest around, he would pepper them with questions about absolutely anything and everything.
10. What does his/her handwriting look like?
For someone like him, it's surprisingly neat - an italicised Times New Roman is probably the best comparison I can think of. He's not into decorative lettering or elaborate signatures - he just wants to get all his ideas down before the ink in his pen runs out, or ends up all over his arm.
And there you have it!
What about all of you? Have you got your NaNoWriMo plots set out? Plotting or pants-ing this year? Anything you're particularly looking forward to? Let me know in the comments!
~ Charley R
Life is beginning to get a little mad right now - it's the last week of school, and I have my final five-day Duke of Edinburgh trek coming up the week after. Then it's a "holiday" full of Personal Statement writing (which is already pushing me dangerously close to the border of Loonie Land), writing my Extended Essay (which I am looking forward to with an almost worryingly nerdy glee), cramming the school reading list onto my bookshelf and Kindle, and moving house (more on that at another time).
However, today, the lovely girls over at Further Up and Further In have made time in their own massively busy lives to bring us June's edition of Beautiful People. However, this time around, it's a little bit different to usual. This time, we get to choose the questions for ourselves.
So, being the cherry-picker that I am, I have pilfered their archives and put together ten questions from the mix to amuse you all. Feel free to nick them for yourselves if you fancy!
My victim this month would have been our old friend Rin, but as I have horribly neglected his story for several months now, he's sulking in the corner and throwing pointy objects at me every time I try to get near him. Coupled with yet another plot overhaul, that has upset just about everything in the story, he's in no mood to play the game.
Thankfully, I have my plot for NaNoWriMo coming together already and thus, this week, I will present to you one of its central characters.
The place: the gigantic, sprawling and exceedingly smelly city of Scatterank.
The timeframe: if Victorian England crashed into the Late Mediaeval period, and then spots of Sci-Fi leaked in from the upper floor and left splodgy bits all over the place, you might get an idea of the place.
The character: our first-person narrator, Deladier Vandaleur. Socially awkward country boy of nineteen, intellect the size of a small country, but a pretty disastrous cook if ever there was one.
Let's begin, shall we?
1. Does your character have a methodical or disorganised personality?
Deladier is a weird mix of the two. Excluding his glasses, he knows exactly where everything is, how it works, and what he has to do with it at any given time. Things may be in odd places (on top of dressers, under beds, stashed in windowsills etc) but they will always be organised and laid out in a sensible, logical fashion.
2. Favourite writing utensil?
He'll use almost anything, but he's got a particular fondness for fountain pens. One of his mini projects (he has many) is an attempt to build an ink pen that won't coat him in ink. Success thus far has met mostly with over-pressurised ink slots, faulty pen nibs and several small explosions.
3. Where he s/he from?
Deladier was born on a large country-house sort of estate in Pleasancegreen, a small shire populated by ridiculously wealthy aristocratic families. It's about three days out of Scatterank, which is the closest major city. The country as a whole consists of a series of large city-states and their outlying hangers-on situated around the Traders' Sea, a gargantuan natural "bay" that leads out to the open sea and the other countries beyond.
4. Does s/he play a musical instrument? If so, what?
His mother forced him to start playing the violin when he was about five . . . unfortunately, playing music is one of the few things in life that Deladier would sooner avoid. He's hopeless. He loves listening to it, but he can't play it to save his life.
5. How do they feel about people in general?
One word: people-phobe. As much as Deladier likes the idea of social interaction and friendship, he's very shy of people, as he really has no idea how to make conversation. A closeted upbringing with a scary-as-heck father and a smothering, overbearing mother will do that to you.
6. What are they most thankful for?
Books. They're just about the only thing that keeps him sane. He practically lived in his father's library for most of his young life.
Later on in the story, though, there are some very special (if slightly bizarre) people who enter his life, trash it, and leave him standing in the wreckage wondering how on earth he could ever have been who he was before. Whether he's thankful for that, however, remains a mystery to me for now.
7. What's their worst childhood memory?
The day his grandfather died. While the rest of his family were intent on pushing him into a world he has no desire to enter, his grandfather was the only one to consider him as a person in his own right. He was the one who first introduced Deladier to the delights of reading.
8. What is their biggest accomplishment?
Aside from having read every major book by Yostol (a very prolific, very literary and slightly grammatically-challenged author in their world), it would probably be the fact that he's well on the way to being one of the world's top academics. Or he would be, if only he would get around to publishing the essays he writes in his spare time.
9. Is s/he naturally curious?
Very. Despite his social awkwardness, Deladier will jump head first into any opportunity to learn something new, in any area. If he ever plucked up the courage to invite a guest around, he would pepper them with questions about absolutely anything and everything.
10. What does his/her handwriting look like?
For someone like him, it's surprisingly neat - an italicised Times New Roman is probably the best comparison I can think of. He's not into decorative lettering or elaborate signatures - he just wants to get all his ideas down before the ink in his pen runs out, or ends up all over his arm.
And there you have it!
What about all of you? Have you got your NaNoWriMo plots set out? Plotting or pants-ing this year? Anything you're particularly looking forward to? Let me know in the comments!
~ Charley R
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