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    A~Z Writers’ Character Quirks: A~ Z of Behaviours, Foibles, Habits, Mannerisms & Quirks for Writers to Create Fictional Characters (Writer’s Resource Series)
    A~Z Writers’ Character Quirks: A~ Z of Behaviours, Foibles, Habits, Mannerisms & Quirks for Writers to Create Fictional Characters (Writer’s Resource Series)
    A~Z Writers’ Character Quirks: A~ Z of Behaviours, Foibles, Habits, Mannerisms & Quirks for Writers to Create Fictional Characters (Writer’s Resource Series)
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    A~Z Writers’ Character Quirks: A~ Z of Behaviours, Foibles, Habits, Mannerisms & Quirks for Writers to Create Fictional Characters (Writer’s Resource Series)

    By Paula Wynne

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    About this ebook

    Don’t Just Create A Character ~ Create A Memorable Fictional Person

    When you write a novel, the first thing to learn is how to create fictional characters, from heroes and heroines, to baddies and villains and other minor characters. Without a compelling character you don’t have a story! Whether they will be an animated object, toy or animal, a monster, alien or fantasy fabrication or real human beings, they need to be fully developed with emotions, flaws, hurts and habits or quirks.

    But even if a writer creates an archetype character, a fictional person from a star sign, or a hero or heroine from the enneagram types, they must end up being a character with personality. You have to give them unique traits and characteristic to make them real and not a walking cardboard. After you've started with a basic character and then added ‘real flesh’ to your character’s bones with different personality traits and emotions, you’ll need to put a lot of thought, research and time into developing a fully-fledged individual. Another way to ensure your characters are like real people is to give them habits and quirks.

    One of the hardest and most satisfying parts of writing is making your characters fully alive so your readers can recognise them, visualise them, believe in them and care about them. And worry about them so much that they keep turning the pages to see what happens to the character and how they cope with the plots twists thrown at them.

    Of course, this requires careful use of story events, flashbacks, memories and dialogue. Along with disorders, traits, past hurts and personality flaws, it's also helpful to flesh characters out with distinctive quirks and habits to make them memorable and distinctive.

    Quirks and habits serve several purposes in fiction. Inside, bestselling author of Pimp My Fiction, Paula Wynne explains a few major uses for character habits and quirks:
    • Bringing Characters to Life with Quirks and Habits
    • Identifying Characters
    • Defining Character
    • Creating Conflict
    • Habits and Quirk Shifts

    As part of the Writers’ Resource Series, the A~Z of Writers's Character Quirks will give you a long list of Behaviours, Foibles, Habits, Mannerisms & Quirks in easy to find alphabetical order to help you create memorable fictional characters.

    Grab a free book on how to write a novel at Paula Wynne’s website.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPaula Wynne
    Release dateMar 28, 2016
    ISBN9781310916595
    A~Z Writers’ Character Quirks: A~ Z of Behaviours, Foibles, Habits, Mannerisms & Quirks for Writers to Create Fictional Characters (Writer’s Resource Series)
    Author

    Paula Wynne

    Paula Wynne is an award-winning entrepreneur day-dreams up new plots while walking through the Andalusian countryside with her Springer Spaniel. The Grotto’s Secret, is her début novel after two best-selling business books, Create A Successful Website and Pimp My Site. Harbouring a near-obsessive love of learning the craft of writing, Paula has been scribbling down the stuff in her head ever since she can remember. When she's not day-dreaming up new plots while walking her Springer Spaniel in the Andalusian countryside, she's the editor of online portal U Self-Publish, helping indie authors to achieve their dream of seeing the novels in a reader's hands. Paula received an ‘Honourable Mention’ in the 75th Annual Writers Digest Writing Competition for two novels she has written and not yet published, Shadow Hunter and The Knowing. After appearing on the BBC programme, Escape To The Continent, Paula’s first sight of her new home in the Guadalhorce Valley took her breath away and gave birth to the fictional location of The Grotto's Secret.

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      Book preview

      A~Z Writers’ Character Quirks - Paula Wynne

      A~Z

      Of Writers’ Character Quirks

      A~Z of Behaviours, Foibles, Habits, Mannerisms & Quirks for Writers to Create Fictional Characters

      Writers’ Resource Series

      Paula Wynne

      Prado Press

      London, United Kingdom

      Free Book

      Pimp My Fiction

      Secrets of How to Write a Novel: Learn Writing Techniques from Successful Authors of Creative Writing Guides

      Improve your writing. Transform your novel into a page- turning bestseller. Ensure your success as a novelist.

      Pick up your free copy: http://eepurl.com/bC336f

      Dedication

      To aspiring novelists who want to create

      vivid settings for their novels

      "A man who can’t bear to share his habits is a

      man who needs to quit them."

      Stephen King, The Dark Tower

      More Books by This Author

      Also by Paula Wynne

      Create a Successful Website

      Pimp My Site

      Writers’ Resource Series

      Pimp My Fiction

      A~Z of Writers’ Character Quirks

      101 Writers’ Scene Settings

      Torcal Trilogy

      The Grotto’s Secret

      Author Contact & Copyright

      Copyright © 2016 by Paula Wynne

      Paula Wynne/Prado Press

      United Kingdom

      www.paulawynne.com

      Ordering information: Special discounts are available on quantity purchases. For details contact the author via paula@paulawynne.com

      First published by Prado Press 2016

      24 Caunter Road, Newbury, Berkshire, RG14 1QZ

      A~Z of Writers’ Character Quirks/ Paula Wynne -- 1st edition

      First Published 2016 by Prado Press

      ISBN-13: 978-1530622023

      ISBN-10: 1530622026

      Cover Art: Paula Wynne and Kent Wynne

      Editor: Betsy Smith and Rosalind Brookman

      Design: Slavisa Zivkovic

      All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.

      The rights of Paula Wynne as author have been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

      A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

      Contents

      Introduction

      Habits v Quirks

      A

      B

      C

      D

      E

      F

      G

      H

      I

      J

      K

      L

      M

      N

      O

      P

      Q

      R

      S

      T

      U

      V

      W

      X

      Y

      Z

      About The Author

      Introduction

      Nothing so needs reforming as other people’s habits.

      Mark Twain

      When a writer gets a character in their head, often that fictional person starts talking to them. I am known in my family to ‘have voices in my head.’ My husband calls my characters ‘squatters’ because they come and go, depending on which writing project I am currently working on. Some linger much longer, determined to get themselves heard.

      As I continue on my writing journey I am constantly looking for writing resources to improve my writing. I started gathering a smorgasbord of writing guides to help me create believable characters that would jump out at my readers and tug at their collars, making them worry what happens to the characters throughout the story.

      There are many excellent creative writing resource guides on creating characters, and some that even give character templates. I have listed the best ones in the first book in my Writers’ Resource Series, Pimp My Fiction.

      But even if a writer creates an archetype character, a fictional person from a star sign, or a hero or heroine from the enneagram types, we have to give them unique traits and characteristics to make them real and not a walking cardboard cutout.

      There are many ways to do this, and taking a look at the chapters on character creation in Pimp My Fiction will give you loads of ideas. But another way to ensure your characters are like real people is to give them habits and quirks.

      While I found lots of excellent writing books, I couldn’t find a list of habits and quirks to help me enhance my characters. So I started watching people and making notes.

      Like me, you will most likely get inspired to create character habits from watching people. It’s easy enough to do when catching a bus or train, or sitting in a station.

      I wouldn’t want you to start stalking people, but watching them closely for a while, from behind a book or newspaper (the bigger and more discreet the better) will make you realise little things they do that could be added to your resource character list. Keep a notepad handy and jot down the things that amuse you or intrigue you the most.

      Creating Character Habits

      For my ‘Creating Characters’ file, I started making a list of things I noticed about people in many different situations of everyday life.

      Many writers watch people to inspire ideas for creating fictional characters. Human habits and quirks are ideal to copy and use to create our heroes, villains and other minor characters.

      I started asking friends about their habits and before long, it became an after dinner party topic. It’s amazing how, after a few glasses of Rioja, friends open up and share things they like and don’t like about people they meet (I have promised to keep all habits generic).

      While riding London’s underground I watched a girl twiddling with her hair while chatting on her phone. Now and then she used her phone as a mirror. On another occasion I spotted another young girl twirling her hair into a thin spiral and then sucking on it. Was she nervous, thinking about something that had happened between her and her boyfriend or parents? Or did she do it out of boredom?

      I don’t often catch buses, but when I did once in London, I saw a man waiting for the bus. Or rather, I heard him. He kept jangling the coins inside his pockets. After a while I turned to glare at him, but he didn’t even realise he was doing it. Then, strangely enough, when he jumped on the bus, he didn’t even have the right change!

      Making Characters Unique

      These movements and gestures we display make us unique from the person beside us. Like the man jingling his coins and then not having the right

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