MASTER LISTS FOR WRITERS: Thesauruses, Plots, Character Traits, Names, and More (19 page)

100 CHARACTER QUIRKS

Have you ever noticed that when you miss somebody, you miss some of the weirdest little things about her? A person’s quirks can really stick in your mind. The same is true with fictional characters. Here is a big collection of habits, rituals, attitudes, and favorite things that will likely remind you of some people you know—and no doubt make you think of other quirks as well.

1. She smiles all the time, even when talking about something awful.
   
2. He cracks his knuckles frequently.
   
3. She only eats one thing on her plate at a time. Instead of alternating between the steak and the baked potato, for instance, she finishes off one and then attacks the other.
   
4. He always knows what the weather is going to be like, not only in his own locale, but in other parts of the continent as well. He just really likes weather.
   
5. She has her headphones on almost constantly, maybe because she’s shy or antisocial.
   
6. When she sits at a table or desk and she’s bored, she spins quarters on their sides. She might do it with her wedding ring.
   
7. He texts his mom or his boyfriend to say “I love you” before he flies anywhere, because he’s scared he’ll die in a plane crash.
   
8. He clears out his search history every time he’s done using the computer, although he never looks at anything scandalous.
   

1. She can’t step out of the house, even to take out the trash, unless she is wearing makeup.
   
2. He shares quotes from movies, pop songs, or famous thinkers of the past. Or all three.
   
3. She saves lots of boxes and bubble wrap in case she ever has to mail a gift or suddenly move to a new apartment.
   
4. He hits the snooze button on his alarm clock at least twice every morning.
   
5. She has trypophobia. Objects with small holes, close together, freak her out.
   
6. He puts hot sauce on almost everything.
   
7. She eats one particular snack food, or drinks one particular beverage, to excess.
   
8. The sight of a hypodermic needle makes him woozy.
   
9. She occasionally adopts an accent other than her own—British, Southern—for comic effect.
   
10. He cannot walk past a dog without talking to it and petting it.
    
11. She sleeps with a teddy bear.
    
12. When he’s driving, he often doesn’t notice when the light has turned green because he’s a daydreamer.
    
13. She cannot parallel park to save her life.
    
14. His sneezes are so loud that they terrify people.
    

1. She frequently talks in her sleep.
   
2. He plans all of his outfits for the week on Sunday night.
   
3. She has nine shirts that are basically the same shirt.
   
4. He loves routine. He does the same things at the same time every day.
   
5. She believes in ghosts, past lives, or other supernatural phenomena.
   
6. He believes in obscure herbal remedies for health issues.
   
7. She always smacks her gum.
   
8. He is uncomfortable with silence, so he keeps up a steady stream of chatter even if he has nothing to say.
   
9. She is never on time for anything.
   
10. He is so early for everything it sometimes leads to awkwardness.
    
11. She has trouble recognizing faces, unless she knows people very well.
    
12. He has no sense of direction whatsoever.
    
13. She says “rabbit rabbit” first thing in the morning, on the first day of the month, for good luck.
    
14. He wears a particular hat or jersey when his team is playing to help them win.
    

1. She listens to an unusual genre of music for pleasure, such as marching band recordings, or Christmas music all year.
   
2. When he’s driving, he sings along dramatically with his music and dances in his seat.
   
3. She carries a planner or a journal and jots in it frequently.
   
4. He smokes a cigar every Friday evening when he comes home from work.
   
5. Her desk is covered with empty paper coffee cups or empty cans of soda.
   
6. She doesn’t talk about herself. If someone asks about her, she gives a short answer and quickly changes the subject.
   
7. He changes the topic of conversation frequently because he has a short attention span.
   
8. She worries a lot about germs.
   
9. He compliments people profusely.
   
10. She’s always cold. She wraps up in blankets and begs people to turn off the air conditioning.
    
11. He’s a vegan.
    
12. She has trouble making eye contact.
    
13. He borrows things and never returns them.
    
14. She changes her hairstyle and hair color often.
    

1. Children, dogs, food, and beverages are not allowed in his car.
   
2. Because she’s so sentimental, she gets choked up easily.
   
3. He is a walking encyclopedia of mostly useless trivia.
   
4. She takes off her bra while she watches TV at home...and sometimes leaves the bra on the couch.
   
5. He goes barefoot whenever possible.
   
6. True crime stories fascinate her.
   
7. He’s easily upset by noise.
   
8. She gets up every morning before the crack of dawn.
   
9. He’s a night owl, and possibly an insomniac.
   
10. She’s convinced that society is going to hell in a handbasket.
    
11. He talks to plants or possibly inanimate objects as though they were sentient beings.
    
12. She hates talking on the phone and avoids it whenever possible.
    
13. He wears a little too much cologne.
    
14. She apologizes when she has done nothing wrong.
    
15. He believes he’s always being slighted, overlooked, or ill-used.
    
16. No matter what the circumstances, she likes her chances for success.
    

1. He always drinks right out of the milk carton.
   
2. She will write something that she has already done on her to-do list so she can check it off.
   
3. He doodles in meetings or during class.
   
4. She talks so quietly, it’s hard to hear what she’s saying.
   
5. He puts so much cream and sugar in his coffee that it’s barely coffee.
   
6. She’s obsessed with politics, including the petty shenanigans.
   
7. He always has to be out doing something and gets cranky if he stays at home a couple of nights in a row.
   
8. When she texts, she uses lots of emoticons. Even her emails have a lot of smiley faces.
   
9. He judges people who dress provocatively.
   
10. She judges people who drive expensive cars or live in fancy houses.
    
11. He does pushups and sit-ups every morning.
    
12. She has an elaborate dental hygiene routine.
    
13. He meditates.
    
14. She jiggles her leg constantly whenever she’s sitting down.
    

1. He takes lots of pictures of people.
   
2. She puts bumper stickers all over her car.
   
3. He makes decisions by drawing up comprehensive lists of pros and cons.
   
4. She makes decisions by flipping a coin.
   
5. He imagines fantastic scenarios in his head—heroic, horrible, or hilarious.
   
6. She flirts with pretty much everyone.
   
7. He tells very long stories.
   
8. She loves to make spreadsheets, graphs, and charts.
   
9. He makes everything into a competition and takes casual games way too seriously.
   
10. She is horrible with money and frequently has her services cut off because she forgot to pay the bills.
    
11. He gives odd and sometimes incomprehensible gifts.
    
12. She always has some new business venture or get-rich-quick scheme.
    
13. Large crowds make him nervous.
    
14. She loves finding bargains, and tells people about them.
    
15. He constantly interacts on social media.
    
16. She’s always making food for people and trying to get them to eat.
    

1. He frequently misplaces his glasses.
   
2. She is brilliant at multi-tasking. For instance, she can carry on a phone conversation while emailing someone else.
   
3. He’s nostalgic for his high school or college years.
   
4. She cyberstalks her exes to see how they’re doing.
   

ONE MORE VERY IMPORTANT LIST:

10 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD WRITE THAT STORY

1. Because nobody else can write it but you.
   

Your beliefs, your knowledge, your brain chemistry, plus the sum total of all your experiences, make you absolutely unique in the world. (Some would argue your very soul is unique, but souls are a matter of opinion.) They mean that nobody can write the
exact
story you can. If you don’t write it, it will never exist.

1. Because you’re not alone.
   

If you’re into it, someone else out there will be, too. Even if you believe your story is niche or unusual, other people share some of your interests or experiences. The audience may be small, or it may be huge. Either way, it exists. If your story is different, the people who love that kind of story will be all the more grateful to find it.

1. Because your life will go by either way.
   

Some people worry about how much time it will take them to finish a project. What if it takes a whole year? What if it takes three? Three years from now, you will be three years older, and you can do that with or without a finished story (or two, or ten.) Your choice.

1. Because you’re not too young.
   

If you’re young, it’s the perfect time to learn. You don’t need to wait until college or grad school. You may not need to go to college or grad school. If you work hard and seek out opportunities to learn, you can start becoming proficient at your craft right now.

1. Because you’re not too old.
   

Writing isn’t like Olympic figure skating or being in a boy band. As long as your mind is still working, you can write a story. Harriet Doerr published her debut novel,
Stones for Ibarra
, at the age of 74. It won a National Book Award. As you get older, you know more about life and have had more experiences, and that will only make your writing better.

1. Because you have the right.
   

Some people tell themselves that they aren’t smart enough or creative enough to attempt writing—even when they really want to. They wonder if they can tell extraordinary stories when their lives are so ordinary. Others worry that people will judge them for writing (“Who do you think you are?”), or judge them for writing in a certain genre (“Comic books, really?”) You have as much right as anybody else to tell stories, plus the right to ignore anyone who says otherwise.

1. Because it doesn’t have to be perfect.
   

Perfectionism can keep people from daring to write their story—or to finish it. If it’s your very first story, it doesn’t ever have to be good. Nobody gets into the NBA after playing one basketball game. Nobody paints a museum-worthy masterpiece the first time they pick up a brush. Learning and struggling aren’t shameful, but reasons to feel proud.

Some of the greatest stories have flaws that everyone acknowledges. Good writing isn’t just about getting rid of flaws, but also about building on your strengths—and entertaining, enlightening, and inspiring.

Besides, no matter how proficient you get, no story ever has to be good in the rough draft stage. It’s the final draft that counts.

1. Because you’ll never know how good it can be until you try.
   

It might be brilliant.

1. Because you have complete control over it.
   

If you’re like most people, you don’t get to control everything in your life. The behavior of the people around you, the stock market, the weather—for better or worse, you have to just deal with these things.

In your story, you are in charge. Like an all-powerful deity, you can create an entire world, and the people who populate it. With very few exceptions, nobody can take your story away from you.

1. Because if you don’t, then later you might wish you had.
   

You don’t ever want to look back with regrets. So write your story, and have fun!

Thanks for reading
Master Lists for Writers
. If you enjoyed this book, please leave a review!

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bryndonovan.com
, for future lists for writers and other inspirational and practical posts about creativity. I would love to connect.