So if you'll remember, in my last post I rambled about character quirks and what they were and ways to see them in real life. Now I feel I should talk about ways to make quirks influential in your plot.
Quirks aren't always this important; they usually just add a degree of humor or uniqueness to your characters; but sometimes they also play a big enough part in the plot to help it move the way it should. Perhaps their part is to cause the hero/heroine to make a decision (the inciting incident) that propels them into the rising action. [If you want to know more about these plot points (inciting incident and rising action) go here.] Maybe it's as simple as this little story about our dear friend Angelica Accola.
Angel absolutely adores chocolate chip cookies. They are her favorite edible thing in the whole world. But she's very particular about one thing. The semisweet chocolate chips absolutely HAVE to be Ghirardelli, or she won't eat them - plain and simple. Everyone who knows Angel has been given the spiel about her chocolate chips, to save them the embarrassment of giving her cookies she wouldn't eat.
Well, one fateful day, Angel went to a New Year's Eve party at her friend Gabriellia's house. She trusted that Gabriellia would have remembered her preference for Ghirardelli chocolate, but she still examines all the cookies carefully. Across the table, a young man is doing the same. They don't notice each other at first but study the cookies. Angel uses her sixth sense that informs her of the kind of chocolate in the food. Don't ask me how she does it. O_o Anyway, Gabriellia's little sister Alessandra toddled up and asked Angel what she was doing. The young man across the table thought she was talking to him, and the two picky cookie-eaters answered simultaneously. "Making sure they used Ghirardelli chips in the cookies," was their answer. Startled, they looked at each other for the first time.
I will leave your own imaginations to divine what happened immediately afterwards, but Angel is married to that young man right now. His name is Eric Accola.
So if Angel was not so picky about her chocolate chips she may never have met the man she loves. So it may be with your protagonist, a supporting character, etc. But quirks don't always lead to happy endings. Take Eric's great great grandfather Alan for example. As a young man enlisted in the army, he had been impetuous and spirited. A big quirk of his was that he was petrified of needles and other sharp things.
When his camp was fired at and the soldiers were forced to flee the area, they found that a fence of barbed wire set up for their enemies' demise was now their own. They crawled under it and hacked it down, but Alan was scared stiff by the pointy things and fainted. This caused him to be captured.
So that was a sad story. But sometimes quirks can be like that. They're not always good for the character. Maybe the story is about overcoming a quirk that grew into a phobia or an obsession. It is guaranteed, though, that quirks will make your story more original, more interesting.
So how can you turn your quirks into important elements of the story? Here are some questions you can answer.
What is the quirk?
How does it affect those around the character? Do they love it, hate it, or are they indifferent to it?
How does it affect the character? Does he/she love it, hate it, or is she/he indifferent to it?
Can your character be rid of the quirk?
If so, how?
Take these questions, review your plot, and see if the quirk can become more than a quirk.
Hope this helped someone!
-Ashley
So I decided to share my thoughts on character quirks with the world after one of my besties was having trouble thinking them up. Character quirks are sometimes very difficult because we rarely notice them or think about them. So by all means pull up a chair and listen to me ramble.
For a long time I have made a point of researching cool people and finding out stuff about them. I have an odd fascination with thinking deeply into their character. Now, don't think I just stalk people. I'm talking about actors, musicians, etc, as well as family members. Even movie characters never escape my scrutiny. And just recently I realized how I could put my extensive knowledge of formerly useless things to work. Through writing.
Allow me to create a character from scratch. Her name is Angelica Dorothea Elizabeth Morgana Candice Accola, but we shall call her Angel for short. Angel is a very beautiful middle-aged woman, the picture of health. Blonde hair, green/blue eyes, pink cheeks, manicured nails, healthy weight. She's a little bit taller than most women, standing at exactly 5' 11". None of those are character quirks, though. What's "quirky" about her is that she frequently stands on one leg and uses the other to rub the first leg's calf like a cricket. She purses her lips when someone's talking to her. Her fingers often absent-mindedly reach up to twirl a strand of hair. You can tell she's bored if she starts looking up or down, but normally she keeps her eyes fixed on whoever is speaking to her. She says "I say!" a lot. Those are character quirks.
Look around you, at your family and friends. Do they do any of these things? What about constantly running their hands through their hair? Do they always wear a hat? Do they have a very unusual style of walking or running? What about the way they wear their hair? Is it odd? Is there a phrase they say often, or always in a certain situation? Do they like to collect certain items?
Give Angelica Dorothea Elizabeth Morgana Candice Accola a round of applause. You did great, girl.
Now. After thinking about your family and friends and the various quirks they may have, move on to book or movie characters. Jack Sparrow from Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean is fairly easy. Jack always acts drunk and constantly wiggles his fingers. His favorite word is "Savvy". Barbossa, his former first mate, loves apples.
Emma Smallwood from The Tutor's Daughter by Julie Klassen always must have "a place for everything and everything in its place."
Rachel Elizabeth Dare from Rick Riordan's Heroes of Olympus always has paint on her clothes.
Junie's dad from Barbara Park's Junie B. Jones runs his hands through his hair when he's trying to make a difficult decision.
Mrs. Bates from Emma by Jane Austen is extremely talkative and frequently says "So very obliging!"
Just remember to think of little things. Observe people. It helps a lot with the development of lifelike characters!
- Ashley and special guest star
Angelica Dorothea Elizabeth Morgana Candice Accola
Alright, so I don't know about you guys, but I am super stoked for NaNoWriMo. I have been brainstorming, writing, scribbling, notetaking, and otherwise preparing like a maniac. With the start-up of school, it has gotten a little harder to find the time, but I hope I will persevere, for November is swiftly approaching.
[I would also like to add that my birthday is coming up, too....]
So, during November I most likely won't post anything. At all. And if I do, it is probably something very incredible that I really wanted to tell you guys about. Which I hope something like that happens - a bizarre dream that gave me a brilliant idea, maybe? *crosses fingers*
Anyway, I have tweaked and polished my story, affectionately nicknamed "The {Good} Stepmother". ( see "The {Evil} Stepdaughter" and "NaNoWriMo!" )
It was previously titled "The {Evil} Stepdaughter", by the way.
To do:
- I need a name for Morgan, my MC (main character)'s love interest. I currently call him LI (for Love Interest, of course). See my "NaNoWriMo!" post for information on him.
- I need a better name for Snow White's father, who I have dubbed Lee because it was the first random name that came to mind.
- A new, neutral character is "The Witch". She proves herself both an antagonist and a helpful supporting character during Morgan's adventures. The actual story doesn't reveal her name, and I have yet to think of it.
Developments:
- I think I have decided on dwarf names: Gretten, Nyse, Sove, Minsten, Likkelig, Lege, and Blyg. Trust me, I have a very plausible explanation for these ridiculous names, but a magician never reveals her secret - nor does an author.
- New character: Prince Beau. I positively hate that name but it fits this spoiled Prince Charming very well.
- New character: Meridath. A gorgeous farm girl, she was once a maidservant of Snow White's but was dismissed because she was too spirited and Snow was just a little jealous of her beauty. She has three big brothers and her two parents living with her: Frederick, the ill old father who rarely stirs from his chair; Jayla, the strong, firm mother who holds the family together; Ethan, the oldest son and also a disgrace to the family name with his rowdiness and drinking; Malik, the quiet, thoughtful, and brainy son; and Daniel, the warm-hearted, gallant youngest brother who is the closest to Meri.
- Revenge on a stepmother isn't the only thing Snow White wants. A powerful, mysterious jewel called "Malificent's Stone" plays a key part in this tale.
Certainly there is more, but why would you even read my book if you knew all about it? I'm very excited to write this. Very excited indeed. Give me a shout if you think of possible names for my nameless characters; help is always welcome. If your name wins, you get a free tshirt! No, not really. Sorry to dash your hopes.
A full post about Meridath is coming up!
God natt og gode drømmer,
-Ashley
NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month.
NaNoWriMo is an event, officially taking place in November every year, in which an average of 300,000 writers from around the world take it upon themselves to write 50,000 words in 30 days. The purpose of this insane enterprise is to just WRITE. No editing is allowed; in fact, in the workbooks provided for elementary through high school writers on the NaNoWriMo Young Writers Program website, you must push a button and vacuum your inner editor right out of your head and into a little room where he/she waits for you to finish your book so it can be edited.
I decided to participate in NaNoWriMo this year! All you need for it is a notebook and pen, or a computer and fingers to type with. To connect with other writers and set a goal, you could go to one of two websites: Nanowrimo.org, the official site, or ywp.nanowrimo.org, the young writers program which provides workbooks and also lets you set your own goal instead of the standard 50,000 words.
So guess what story I'm writing for NaNo? My {Good} Stepmother story! Haven't exactly decided what I'm going to call it. But I have worked out quite a bit concerning the plot and characters, thanks to the surprisingly helpful workbooks. I say surprising because I usually don't get anything out of such things, but this one has been indispensable. Half of it is preparing for November; the other half coaches you through as you write like a mad man/woman. I have to admit that I'm awfully excited for November as well as dreading it simply because it is the threshold of winter!
So. I'm going to do a couple short character bios for my NaNoWriMo book. If you've read my previous post about this book, The Evil Stepdaughter, you will find I have made some changes here. Don't be confused; they were deliberate changes to fit the rest of the story. :)
Morgan
Morgan is a plain and tall 18 year old with remarkable maturity and clear-headedness, but perhaps not enough humility. She was shortly engaged to a soldier currently and unofficially nicknamed Terry, but a deal between her father and the King crushed all her hopes. She was married off to the scruffy old man and forced to become stepmother to the bratty Snow White, who appears to everyone but Morgan as an angelic, victimized child who lost her mother at an early age. Morgan is able to use magic, but only a little; she prefers instead to use earthly resources that may appear magical to peasants. Snow White accuses her so often of witchcraft that she became extremely sensitive to any mention of her skill.
"Terry"
Terry is probably not going to be his name, but it is one that I had to stick on him for the moment.
Not-as-tall-as-Morgan, impetuous, and good-natured, Terry is blonde-haired and handsome. He also has a sometimes unbearable case of cockiness. But he has a good heart and loves Morgan ardently (thank you, Mr. Darcy, for that beautiful word) even after they are forced apart. His hot temper is not infrequently unleashed, especially when he hears someone compare Snow White's ravishing beauty to Morgan's "plain, forgettable face".
NaNoWriMo is going to be a remarkable experience and I can't wait to share my progress with you guys.
-Ashley
