I get a comment the other day in one of my stories posted elsewhere to the tune of: “Your characters take lots of baths.” Really? It only happens twice in 25k words. Is that excessive? I don’t know, and actually I don’t care. Not the point of the thread. Point is, it’s there. And when I flip through older stories, yep, baths. People bathe. I didn’t really realize that my inclusion of baths was notable but I guess it’s one of those things that don’t usually come up. There’s also a strong correlation with a scene where someone bathes and then subsequent sex. Not always, and not necessarily immediately thereafter, but… yeah. Notable to mention that I am a fan of bathing. Three times a day usually. In Samuel R. Delany’s work, The Man With Only One Shoe™ shows up over and again, as does a character with a serious nail biting issue. Different stories, unrelated characters, but there's always a guy who has only one shoe and someone who bites his nails like Elijah Wood. Be it wittingly or unwittingly, what’s your thing?
So many things. Yup, I do baths too— there is always at least one in each story, usually more. Fantasy novel? Bathing in the river together. Modern day? Long, luxorious showering. Zombie apocalypse? Better take a hot bath to get all the grime off. I do the same thing with food. One character always cooks for the other. Big, delicious meals. My biggest reoccurring theme, weirdly enough, is always the same: forced helplessness/vulnerability. One character gets drunk (or is drugged) and someone has to escort him home. One character is badly hurt and someone has to protect him. Accidental bondage— someone can’t move, or gets arrested and is wearing handcuffs, something along those lines. One character is physically exhausted and someone has to tuck him into bed. All of these show up in literally every book I’ve ever written. I don’t know why. I think has it something to do with, like... vulnerability and trust. My characters are usually tough and complicated and don’t like being helpless— but then they become “partners” with someone and start letting their guard down. It’s like when an abused animal curls up on your lap and falls asleep for the very first time. It feels special, somehow.
Baths, definitely. I'm staying in a house that only has showers, so I think I'm living vicariously through my FMC. She loves soaking in a tub so much her guy made a joke about it so I didn't have to delete a scene. Also, insomnia. I'm a nightowl who has occasional insomnia, so there's always someone who can't sleep, or is awakened by a dream, or has a nightmare or something, followed by a deep conversation after their partner is awake. It's cliche, but it's authentic to my characters and isn't contrived, so... [shrugs] ETA: Thought of one I add on purpose: I have food allergies, which didn't develop until I was an adult. My characters eat a lot of the foods I miss most. Today it was fettuccine alfredo.
At one point I realized that the last four projects I'd worked on all included a subterranean city or complex of some description. Apparently that's my thing. Nice boots are always cropping up. Or shitty boots, really. I just always seem to end up talking about boots ... I also frequently end up with a character who's exceptionally taciturn, has a limited vocabulary, or just doesn't talk at all. Oh, and compulsive liars (a subset of whom get paired off with people who're unrelentingly honest). And the name Alex(ander[a]), for some reason -- I just really like that name. I've used it for four different characters.
Animals, a lot. Like, characters who have trouble with humans bond with animals. Other than that, I'm not sure. Hmmmm....
Never thought about this, but someone's been reading my WIP and he noted that I do a lot of dinner scenes. It seems every time there's a scene revolving around food, it's a character-heavy scene that runs with tension. I had no idea that's how I use food scenes, but he noted it at least 3-4 times (and these scenes are long, often several pages), so I guess that's my thing. Apparently I'm good at it too, so I'm happy and shall be looking to do it more often because it seems to be a strength. Smiling, looking people in the eye, as well as female lip-biting occur often. Another reader once noted I enjoy the word "trapped" - used it like 3-4 times in a single scene. Oops. But yeah, food - that's basically my thing
Same here! I always have an insomniac character. I've noticed an inordinate amount of grabbing in my books. Like, two characters are in a heated fight, and one will grab the other by the front of their shirt to snarl in their face. Or someone's trying to get someone else to come with them and they grab their arm. My characters have no respect for personal space.
Oh, god, yeah. The other night I was proofreading something and found a paragraph where two characters grabbed each other three times in the course of one paragraph. So grabby! Someone's gotta teach them kids some manners.
I couldn't think of one until I started reading some of my old stuff over to answer this question. Don't take this the wrong way - it's not creepy (I hope!) - but in almost everything I've written, at some point the main character strips naked or nearly naked. It isn't sexual; none of the scenes in which this happens are sex scenes (I've never written a sex scene in my "serious" stuff - my characters tend to be celibate for some reason). But I've had my characters strip to go swimming, or to submit to a medical examination, or to change clothes because the ones they were wearing got burned and torn, etc. Maybe I'm just weird and I like to imagine my characters naked. Another thing that struck me is that, while all my MCs are male (I'm gay; I like writing about guys), there always seems to be a woman in a position of authority over them. Either the expedition leader is a woman, or a woman is editor of a magazine my MC writes for, or the minister of a church the MC must attend is female, or some such thing. Personally, I'm not married and I'm retired now, and I've never had a female boss in any job I've had. No woman other than my mother when I was a kid has ever had any authority over me, so I'm not sure where this quirk came from.
I tend to have at least one sort-of-insane element in my stories. Whether it be a character, the rest of society, some element of the world, or everything...it just happens to show up a lot. Perhaps it's because I find alternative perspectives interesting, and that's just one easy way of looking at the world differently- making characters who see everything in a different light. Also, I seem to love reflections. As in, half the things I write are made largely of someone reflecting on simething. It's a side effect of what I call ramble-writing. So yeah, that's just a couple of things.
Characters of mixed heritage/species seems to be my thing. I've got two prominent characters that are half human, and axed a third one after realizing I was getting a little carried away this. Another quirk, which stems from a real life fascination is artificial intelligence, they pop up in at least two other stories I have.
Ooh yeah, now that you mention it. I've had three MCs who were of mixed heritage. I really enjoy writing the cultural and linguistic conflicts that come up. (Like, beyond the shallow identity crisis a lot of stories wind up with.) In fact, cultural and linguistic conflicts in general would be another one of my things I unwittingly include. Or maybe that's just wittingly.
In my superhero story, the MC is a chubby young girl with a white father and black mother. Although the focus of the story isn't her race obviously, and aside from being a bit shy, she's also pretty well balanced in her personal life, so it's none of that teen emo-angst bullshit either. More than anything it's about her deciding to become a 'hero' and the rather serious/comedic disaster that ensues.
Skipping stones across the water happens a few times in my book but that's because it's a common thing my friends and I have done when hiking or camping. Once when there is no water, my protagonist throws stones toward a nearby tree when she's upset and thinking about things.
My "thing" seems to be confrontations, my often wimpy heroes versus stronger villains. Instead of typical combat, I have no shame in having said wimpy heroes do wimpy things to stave off monstrous villains, like throwing things at them. That wasn't something that I noticed until my sister pointed out while playing a Harvest Moon spin-off game, and having the character watch a show within the game. Said show involved a character throwing things at someone, when she commented "That seems like something you'd have your characters do." Me: Huh? My characters do what? Sister: Throw things. I looked through some of my old works... and sure enough. One scene involving a character standing on top of a roof... throwing heavy crates at vicious devil monkeys. (Don't ask what the hell is with the monkeys. I don't know either.) I also like to write sexy, off-topic scenarios when writing longer stories. I will have to do some more digging if I hope to spot my "themes".
I found another one while I was editing today: Alexei sighs a lot. In frustration. When he's having trouble expressing himself in English. When someone doesn't understand what he means. Softly. Sadly. On and on and on. A character quirk is one thing. But at one point today I muttered, "Dude, you're not a fire-breathing dragon" and had to go back and rewrite.
In something of a side note to this topic of including things in characters, how much of yourself do you think you include in your characters? I've never done a straight copy/paste of myself into a story, though I have found aspects of myself in all my characters to one degree or another. Some intentional, some not. Of the intentional I'll sometimes add small ditties, like one character's favorite soda is Dr. Pepper, like me. Another loves bacon, my favorite food, and another is fond of history.
I haven't shared my current WIP with anyone yet, nor my Back-Burner WIP. so no one yet has told me common habits of my characters.. though I am sure they are they are there. .
Nakedness and sexual innuendo is my thing. My story requires that four sailors aboard a merchant ship plying a long river in France (1792) play a bawdy song with one of the MCs... a 12 year old girl named, Adeline who plays the mandolin along with them. This is a snippet from the outline of the next chapter I'll begin writing soon... A good place to have one of Adeline’s journal entries, describing the captain and the coarseness of the crew, the horrible smell… the boring couple of days she’s spent with nothing to do except tend to Madame Luciana’s constant complaining and coughing. She could end the entry saying that Luciana was asleep and that she’s going to get some air on deck and practice with her mandolin. It’s evening and the ship has dropped anchor for the night. Adeline steps on deck and watches the men at work for a short spell, then sits down and begins to play. One of the men, an older fellow smoking a pipe asks if she knows any proper seafaring tunes. She knows Vivaldi, of course… “But if I catch a tune I can play it by ear,” she assures the sailor. He leaves for the moment and returns with a fiddle. One of the sailors join him with a squeeze box and another with a flute. And one more completes the quartet, a young man named Corbin who will sing this little ditty… (this will perhaps be too raunchy for a YA audience, probably so, but it will serve as a placeholder for now) There were four whores from Madrid Drinking the blood red wine And one unto the others said, “Yours is smaller than mine.” Thru me roly-poly, tickle my holey Come to my briney slough And drag your nuts cross me bow I’m one of the whorey crew “You’re a liar,” sang the first “Mine’s as big as the air The gulls fly in, the gulls fly out And never touch a hair.” “You’re a liar,” sang the second “Mine’s as big as the sea The whale swims in, the whale swims out And never did trouble me.” “You’re a liar,” sang the third “Mine’s as big as the moon The men jump in, the men jump out And never touch the womb.” So take up the sheets me hearties Swab the deck with brine Dip your oars, you sons of whores Yours is smaller than mine “You’re a liar,” said the last “I’d blush to be so small There’s many a ship that sails right in And never comes out at all!” It’s then that Madame Luciana steps out on deck and is horrified at the sight of her charge playing music with rough men in the night air. She grabs Adeline and they return to their cabin.
I have a similar problem with eyebrows... narrowing, arching, raising, wryly doing something expressive. It's just so easy to convey emotion that way! But too many times and it catches badly on the ear when I read back what I've written. They're a bitch to replace with something else!
I talk about food a lot. I notice in most books when the characters are eating you don't know what they're eating. Never the case with me, but then, I do read menus for fun. I'm sure I have others that I'm still unwitting about...
