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
Meridath is a spirited, 13-year old farmgirl who was once a part of Snow White's train of personal maidservants. She was dismissed because of her quick tongue and, frankly, her beauty. Snow White was jealous.
She lives in a rickety two-story farmhouse with her family of 6: Frederick, her sickly father who can barely stir from his chair by the fire; Jayla, her strong, independent mother who holds the family together; Ethan, her trouble-making, rowdy adult brother who is rarely home; Malik, the brainy, quiet brother; and Daniel, the sibling closest to her and also the kindest brother. Together the family works hard to support each other.
Meridath meets the fugitives Morgan and LI and takes them in, finding they have a common enemy: Snow White. Morgan and Meri befriend each other.
Meri and her family are very interesting to me. I think they represent the homely life, the average family that doesn't turn out to be the celebrated hero but played a huge part in the hero's life. I love characters like that; brave, strong, loving, but not in the spotlight. Meri could have a book of her own about how awesome she and her family are. Maybe I'll make one. ;)
-Ashley
