Writing Exercise 2: Character Traits & Quirks
This is part of my writing exercises workbook, available to subscribers.
As writers, we often spend countless hours crafting our characters – their personalities, backstories, and unique traits. But what if you could jumpstart this process by focusing on specific aspects of your character’s personality? Enter targeted character profiles: a fun and effective way to bring your characters to life through a series of focused questions.
To begin, choose one or two key traits that define your character (e.g., intelligent, brave, sarcastic). Then, create a list of probing questions related to those qualities. For example:
– How does this trait manifest in their daily life?
– What experiences have shaped their perspective on this aspect of themselves?
– In what situations might they struggle due to this trait?
– Conversely, in what ways does it benefit them?
By answering these questions thoughtfully, you’ll gain deeper insights into your character’s motivations, fears, and overall complexity. This will not only help you develop richer stories but also make it easier to maintain consistency throughout your writing.
Additionally, you can add depth and interest to the character as well by incorporating quirky traits into your character profiles – these eccentricities can add depth, humor, or intrigue to a character’s personality. Here are some ideas for quirky traits you might consider:
– A habitual knocker (always taps their foot in rhythm)
– A collector of unusual objects (such as pencils from every country)
– An individual with a specific phobia (e.g., fear of clowns)
– Someone who speaks in metaphors or riddles
– A character that always wears one particular item of clothing (like a red scarf)
To make these traits and quirks effective, you should consider how they impact the character’s life as well as how others view or respond to these attributes. Let’s look a a quick example.
Our character is chronically late. This creates the impression that they are disorganized, that the person or event they are coming to are not important, or that they are a poor planner. Combine this with a quirk of always having an excuse or reason for being tardy and you can easily paint a memorable character sketch quickly.
Steam from the train billowed across the platform as the sharp hiss of the airbrakes stopped the carriages. Caroline looked at her watch once more even as she spotted a waving arm on at the entrance to the platform.
“Kevin,” she said in a scolding tone as he rushed up to her with his satchel in hand and coat flapping around him. “Why must you always cut things so close? If you missed this train….”
“I know. I know. But it wasn’t my fault,” he said breathlessly.
Caroline knew he always had an excuse. She was tired of them. Maybe she was tired of Kevin and the chaos he seemed to bring swirling around him.
With just a few sentences, we have framed Kevin as always being late and having an excuse and hinted at the impacts it has on his life and relationships.
Remember, quirky traits should be genuine to the character’s personality and serve as an interesting detail rather than overshadowing their core qualities. By incorporating these unique aspects into your characters, you’ll add depth and intrigue to your writing – making for more memorable stories and compelling protagonists.
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