Mannerisms and quirks of characters.
Story Student #6
Characters each have their own way of showing themselves in front of a story. Whether it is swaying side to side while they’re talking or they stomp their feet around when they’re mad, each character has their own way of expression, depending on the mood, what they grew up in, and perhaps even their personality.
Each character has their own way to reacting, but heck, even every person has their own quirks too. For instance, I express outwardly with a pained facial expression and a gasp of breath on when I did something wrong. It causes others to react with how I’m the worst at hiding stuff (which admittingly, I am.) It doesn’t happen always, but with something that I need to hide, despite me learning about different skills, I can’t help but react aloud, with a laugh, a deep breath in or a tense smile more or less depending on the situation. Another person would react differently to how I would react, maybe even the opposite to how I would respond, and would appear more stoic when they are faced with a similar situation to me.
Think about how you would respond in comparison to others. Maybe there’d be some similarities to how you would respond in between your friends and family, but more likely, there will be some differences.
Don’t forget that these mannerisms can be out of the ordinary to the majority of people. Maybe when someone could give the body language of yes, they would usually nod, and shake your head for no. Perhaps there’s a possibility where no is used by shaking the head, which can cause confusion between the characters who would interpret it as the nodding is the character saying yes when it is actually the character saying no. This brings conflict between the characters, while it makes the character themselves more interesting to learn about.
Now, what is also important is to observe these quirks on what makes each person them. Think of how you would see the two or more set of characters into a room. There could be certain gestures that you would see with that one particular person that you wouldn’t see with most other people. Or maybe the way that they do that particular gesture that makes it interesting enough to point out. Maybe that person doesn’t really like looking at people, but they make the effort to go and glance at the point of view character, who mentions on what nice eyes they have, or that it looks relaxing to look into their gaze.
Here are some ways where you can apply mannerisms:
Observe on how people would react in different situations. What would they do differently to some of the other people you have met?
Look at what they say and how they say things. What are their catchphrases? How loud or quiet do they speak?
How does the character react to the world, surprises and what not? Are they great at it, or does it freak them out quite a bit?
Think of also the other characters response to the mannerisms that the characters shows. Are there some things that one character adores about another? Or is there that one single trait that grates this character the wrong way to the point that they mention it to the other person, for better or worse?
Also; consistency is key! It’s good to establish those early on, so you can tell on which character is doing what. If there is something that breaks it, then, it wouldn’t be that good for the character, and you lose the immersion.
Thank you for checking out this fortnight’s update! Learning about the habits and mannerisms between the characters is such a nice thing to know as you become more immersed while you are learning more about the characters that you are writing.
Let me know in the comments on how you have created the habits and quirks in your story and how it changes over time! I am looking forward to hearing your responses!