I’ve spent a lot of my writing career thinking about characters.
Which ones do I vividly remember? What makes them so unforgettable?
One of the common denominators is that they all have at least one
attribute that 1) I admire, or 2) draws me to them in some way. As a shy
teenager, I fell in love with Anne Shirley’s vivaciousness—clearly expressed
through her nonstop chatter. Every Christmas, I watch Elf and laugh my
mistletoe off at Buddy’s socially awkward brand of innocence.
The key, I think, is to give our characters a quality that is
admirable, likable, or somehow inspires empathy. Then we’ve got to show that
positive attribute in a way that cements it in readers’ brains and leaves no
doubt as to why they’re drawn to the hero. One easy way to do this is through
the use of quirks—small, original mannerisms or habits that are unique to a
character. While these are often randomly applied as a way of making a
character offbeat or “quirky”, I’d like to focus today on how to utilize quirks
deliberately as a way of showing your character’s positive attributes. Here are
some quick steps on how to do this effectively.
Identify your character’s primary attribute. Maybe
it’s a trait that will help him achieve his goal. Perhaps it’s one that matches
his morals and values. Likely,
it’s going to be one that drives his choices. Regardless of what you
decide, his primary attribute needs to make sense in light of his history. His
upbringing, core beliefs, profound past events—all of these things should play
a part in determining who he is in the current story, so take them into
consideration when choosing his stand-out trait.
Brainstorm actions that exemplify that trait. If
your character is meticulous, what are some realistic mannerisms that she might
acquire? Maybe she would obsessively clean (Monica Geller, Friends). She
might count her toothbrush strokes and steps to the bus stop (Harold Crick, Stranger
than Fiction). Perhaps she would make fastidious notes on post-its and
stick them to every surface in her apartment (Dr. Emma Russell,The Saint).
The cool thing about choosing a quirk is that the possibilities are virtually
limitless. You just have to find one that fits with your character’s whole
personality. Take note of her flaws, fears, and other issues, and make sure
that her quirk fits her.
Use your quirk to show the attribute. Plenty has
been said about the value of showing instead of telling in our writing. It’s
the difference between someone saying that your new roommate is a little
strange and you figuring it for yourself when you find her talking to her
extensive ceramic bunny collection. When someone tells you something about
another person, you hear the information, but it’s impersonal—until you witness
it for yourself. Then you experience an emotional response. This emotion is
what you want to evoke in readers, so instead of stating outright what kind of
person your character is, show it through the use of a well-chosen quirk.
Use quirks sparingly. As with any other gesture or
habit, quirks that are used too often become distracting. Choose fitting times
for your character to show his personality so each instance has meaning and
serves a purpose.
To wrap things up, I’d like to close with two examples of how
quirks have been used to convey character personality. The first is an example
of how not to do it.
A few years ago, I was a fan of the short-lived TV show Revolution—despite
the main character. Charlie cried in every episode. It got so bad that my
husband and I started betting on time slots to see when she would overflow.
This mannerism of hers was completely overdone, and worse, it didn’t tell me
anything about her personality. The writers must have gotten my memo because in
season two, the waterworks were gone. The sudden departure shows that the
constant crying wasn’t a true indicator of her personality anyway. This is a
good example of a quirk that didn’t make sense for the character and was used haphazardly,
without purpose.
On the other hand, the first time we meet Hermione Granger, she
starts off her mostly one-sided conversation with Ron and Harry by informing
them that she’s learned all the course books by heart and that all the spells
she’s practiced have worked perfectly. Her bragging is a quirk that she
exhibits fairly consistently; it’s a sign of both her intelligence and
competitiveness but also of her insecurity. As the books progress, her bragging
progressively lessens and eventually disappears—a sign that she has
successfully navigated her character arc and no longer needs to prove herself.
This is a great example of an effective use of a quirk to show a character’s
personality. It also proves that quirks can be used to show not only positive
attributes, but flaws, too.
For a handy tool to help organize each of your character’s
quirks, positive and negative traits, habits and mannerisms, and other
qualities, check out the Character-At-A-Glance resource at One Stop For
Writers. You can find this and other helpful tools on the
Templates and Worksheets page.
So many factors are involved in the making of our characters. While it's important to know the details about their pasts, sometimes a simple snapshot can provide a lot of insight. Use this spreadsheet to create an overall glimpse of the important characters in your story. You can then easily see if your characters need more variety, add conflict by introducing opposing qualities, encourage cooperation by adding harmonious elements, or even determine if a character is extraneous and should be cut from the story.
What do you think? What character quirks have you seen or read
that were effective in conveying personality?
Becca Puglisi is an international speaker, writing coach, and bestselling author of The Emotion Thesaurus and its sequels. Her books are available in five languages, are sourced by US universities, and are used by novelists, screenwriters, editors, and psychologists around the world. She is passionate about learning and sharing her knowledge with others through her Writers Helping Writers blog and via One Stop For Writers—a powerhouse online library created to help writers elevate their storytelling. You can find Becca online at both of these spots, as well as on Facebook and Twitter.
