Quirky is as Quirky Does

We have a new post up in four days with guest blogger Marilyn Meredith. Next post after that is October 10^th. NaNoWriMo folks will want to read that one, too: Plotober!

What is the difference between a character trait/habit and a quirk?

There are quirks in your behaviors as you write, quirks in your characters, and quirks in your writing. Perhaps there is some superstition involved. If I always put my coffee cup in that exact spot, all is right with the world and my writing will flow. If I always wear my nightie for the first two hours of writing, my writing will flow because I am comfortable and relaxed. Sound familiar?

Famous authors’ quirks have been noted for decades. There is something about us that wants to know what the famous do, right? And maybe there’s a little piece of you that says, “If I adopt Famous Writer’s quirk, maybe I’ll write gooder, too.” If you follow that line of thinking, here are some you might want to emulate from Celia Blue Johnson’s book:

Wallace Stevens wrote poetry while walking and then let his secretary type them.

Virginia Woolf composed for 2½ hours each morning while standing at a desk very like today’s standing desks.

John Steinbeck kept 12 sharpened round pencils on his desk for his drafts, always written in pencil. The round pencils helped avoid the callouses caused by traditional pencils.

Truman Capote wouldn’t begin or end a piece of writing on a Friday and would change hotel rooms if the phone number had a “13” in it.

Jack London wrote a 1000 words every day of his career.

Anthony Trollope wrote 250 words every 15 minutes, beginning at 5:30 a.m.

Stephen King won’t quit writing for the day until he has at least 2000 words.

Friedrich Schiller had to let apples spoil so he could write with their odor around him.

How about you? Do you have any strange/odd/unusual patterns or objects you must have to write? Perhaps like some writers you write to music selected for the kind of scene you are writing, or you burn candles/incense. Do you need absolute silence or do you need background noise?

Ava Jae nailed writers in her blog post “10 Quirks Only Writers Will Understand”.

We do have questionable search histories and simply cannot own too many books. Our characters are as real as our flesh and blood relatives and we’ll always choose to write a novel over writing a synopsis! Read her for more!

Are your quirks part of what makes you, you? Do your quirks give you your unique voice? Your tone? If so, think about how quirks relay, shorthand style, personality and attitude.

When your character gives everyone a “fun” nickname, manspreads, can’t say no to anyone ever, wears mismatched shoes/socks, picks at cuticles, paces/fidgets, always saves a favorite food to eat last, has a serious relationship with a pet rock, eats hot dogs/hamburgers on buns with a fork, repeats the last word of others’ sentences, and other such behaviors, you signal a good bit about your character.

Of course, not all of these quirks are in one character. Too many quirks detract. Pick no more than three, two is better, and use them to show character in situations.

Think about ways you can show your character through quirks and not just dialogue and action scenes. Subtle signals deepen character development.

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