Friday, April 19, 2013

Quirks

You know what they are: Art Quirk, American Major League Baseball player. Billy Quirk, American silent film actor. Daniel Quick, American professional wrestler---WAIT, WAIT, WAIT. That's not the kind of Quirks I'm talking about, although I have no doubt they lead interesting lives.

I'm talking about quirks: odd mannerisms, peculiarities, something that makes you, YOU. Quirks let you know who you're dealing with, throwing out clues as to their character and demeanor. Or it may cause you to wonder about them even more. You either Love 'em or hate 'em. The quirks, not the people. Unless the quirk is really annoying and then yeah, Hasta la vista, friend.

For writers, quirks are what make people interesting. It's what separates one character from one another. They give you clues as to the perpetrators. Give bullies a purpose in life. They're...quirks.

What are some of your favorite character quirks? Who writes quirkiness really well?

5 comments:

  1. Kim Harrison writes characters really well. I'm not good at the whole Quirks thing, even in my own writing- i try really hard but it's something that could really use improvement.
    New follower.
    ~Summer
    My A-Z

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  2. My MC gets lost easily. She is constantly in leadership positions where she has to find her way through forests or locate other people. I hope it makes her interesting. I love it when characters have quirks that I relate to, like talking to much, drinking excessive amounts of coffee or feeling out of place in big groups of people. Simply Sarah

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  3. In the Anita Blake books, I loved how she carried around a coffee cup that said, "Piss me off and face the consequences."

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  4. I know a lot of Quirks in real life and call them characters...

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  5. use the quirky folks in today's path
    fun to imagine what they do
    I bet I am someone's quirky too

    Happy a to zing

    LadysKnight

    ReplyDelete

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