by Anthony Owens
Okay, well, I decided that I wanted to contribute and as
part of my new commitment to writing more and being more involved in the
writing of others, I thought that it might be neat if I can come up with a list
of personality quirks or traits that someone might find useful in fleshing out
a character. I mean, even though the plot is important, it doesn’t mean
anything without a character that the reader can sink into and relate to.
Normal
Traits/Quirks
- Carries a large coin which he or she is always rolling over his or her knuckles.
- Is a habitual sniffler even when he or she is healthy.
- Regularly looks up at the sky to check the position of the sun/moon
and comments on it.
- Always knows the direction he or she is traveling in (which really
annoys my wife).
- Corrects people when they use colloquial speech.
- Is never seen without a baseball cap or stocking cap (except, of
course, in bed or the shower)
- Whistles the Scarecrow/Tin Man/Cowardly Lion song at random time and
refuses to stop.
- Ends declarative sentences with in interrogative inflection?
- Is a mush mouth. Think Boomhauer of “King
of the Hill”.
- Is an incessant fidgeter and is always touching his or her face or
head.
- Dots his or her i’s with a smiley face or heart (respectively or
inversely for humor’s sake).
- Is unable to digest proteins correctly and gets very ill if too much
protein rich food is consumed.
- Compulsively interrupts people telling stories to interject facts
about the story that he or she only knows because they have been told the
story before, not because they were involved with it.
- Makes up random lies about unimportant things for no reason.
- Has a weakness for rescuing stray animals.
- Gets physically angry when people mispronounce a certain word (e.g
Illinois, precedent as president, especially as expecially).
- (cheat) Regularly mispronounces a certain word or uses redundant terms
(e.g. PIN number, ATM machine, Hot water heater–if it’s hot, does it need
to be heated?).
- When stressed or lying, speaks from the corner of his or her mouth.
- Profusely sweats even when at rest.
- Is unable to take advice from anyone because he or she thinks that
they know it all.
- Uses mundane items as toys (e.g. bottle caps, straws, chopsticks).
- Cannot drink anything with ice in it.
- Is strongly susceptible to “brain freeze.”
- Doesn’t wash his or her hands after using the bathroom.
- When dining out, always tidies up the table and resets the condiments.
- Walks in the middle of any aisle, sidewalk, or other shared walkway
causing people to have to move around him or her.
- Drags his or her feet.
- Only drinks from plastic or paper cups and cannot stand the feel of
glass in his or her hand.
- Draws random doodles on any piece of paper in front of him or her and
always carries a pen or pencil to facilitate this habit.
- Wears only new socks.
- Has several hidden body piercings or tattoos that regular clothing
conceal.
- Always stands with his or her hands behind their back, sometimes in an
“at ease” position,
though he or she was never in the military.
- Excessively uses initials or acronyms for common AND uncommon phrases
and doesn’t bother to explain them.
- Doesn’t eat green things.
- Strongly dislikes the sound of chewing and hums a quiet song while
eating.
- Has the ability to speak in a cartoon-like voice which sounds little
or nothing like his or her real voice.
- Is thrifty nearly to the point of obsessive or compulsive nature.
- Is always at least ten minutes early to any meeting or appointment.
- Can calculate the total of any items put in a shopping cart and tax to
within $0.05.
- Generally submits to the ideas and suggestions of others without
thinking of his or her own needs.
- Readily puts him or her self in the way of danger without careful
consideration.
- Always has change in his or her pocket to give to beggars or homeless.
- Is always trying to recruit people to his or her
religious/philosophical beliefs.
- Constantly quotes favorite movies and can usually identify the movie
that a quote may come from.
- Overly honest person, always telling the truth even to his or her own
detriment.
- Takes stupid bets/dares for small amounts of money.
- Has several parts of his or her body that are double jointed and bend
or flex in an unnatural or uncanny manner.
- Writes with left hand, but does everything else right-handed.
- Can only see out of one eye or hear out of one ear.
- Is susceptible to malapropisms or spoonerisms.
