Lessons in Writing from The Golf Channel...

It's Golf Season and that means more times than not our TV is set to The Golf Channel - The Husband is an avid golfer and loves to follow the game. It also means that I watch The Golf Channel! I will say it has been educational.

It seems the demographic for The Golf Channel is made up of men because....

The commercials are limited to golf products and pharmaceuticals used to enhance drive (a different drive than the golf product would enhance). Who knew so many golfers had that problem (and wasn't Tiger's problem the exact opposite - unless, of course, he is taking some of those pharmaceuticals)?

After a while, the commercials get boring! I mean, how many ways can you advertise that any time is a good time for a little putting practice (see, I knew this would deteriorate into golfing innuendo)? But recently a new commercial has come up (don't go there, people) - and it teaches a valuable lesson for us writers:

Character Traits

I'd show the commercial, but I'm worried all the 'golfers' would know and I already have too much spam e-mail. Basically, the premise is the guy gets turned on ('cause now he can) when he sees his wife/girlfriend doing stuff she unconsciously does all the time (ie: twirling her hair). The narrator, which is a little freaky because there's always a narrator and doesn't that smack of voyeurism?), says, "The reason you fell in love with her in the first place."

As we write our characters, create 3D heroes and heroines from our imagination, we need to remember to give them a quirk or two. Make them as realistic as possible - because we all have our quirks. The commercial reminds me to use those quirks as vehicles in the relationship between the hero and heroine - perhaps the hair twirling gets on the heroine's nerves at first (really, what guy twirls his hair), but then the unconscious habit becomes endearing - and later, when she's needing a reason to play a round, that quirk will remind her of why she fell in love with him in the first place.

Or maybe she drums her fingers all the time. That could drive our hero batty - but later, when he's been torn away from her (kidnapped by renegade golfers determined to add another player to make up a foursome), the sound of drumming fingers by someone else brings her to mind and he realizes he loves her, can't live without her, uses the excuse of buying the next round, steals the beer cart and speeds his way back into his heroine's life.

The point is - characters need those little flaws that set them apart from all the other characters lining the shelves at Characters-R-Us! And those flaws, just like in the TV commercial, should play into your story. My only note to self - make sure the character flaw is not too generic (hair twirling by the heroine) or stereotypical (knuckle cracking by the alpha male).

For a list of great character traits, check out this link: 100 Character Quirks You Can Steal From Me - and the author, Anthony Owens, reminds me that to look closely at your other characters, too (especially the bad guy - he needs a good quirk to make him stand out amongst all the other bad guys - perhaps he's a golfer and practices his swing in any situation - or carries his balls in his pocket (sorry!).

Do you watch The Golf Channel? Any avid golfers in the crowd today? Would you like to weigh in on character quirks or golfing puns?

Character Quirks...

Quirky Behavior

Hey, psst, over here. On the wall.

Wow, you the only fly in here.

Yeah. Thank Larvae you showed up. If I had to spend one more minute in this room by myself, I’d pluck my wings off. Oh, by the way, don’t go near the window.

What in Spider’s name happened to them?

Not the brightest bugs in the bed. After the seventh attempt I told them we’d never escape that way, but would they listen? And you’d think one of these people would clean the carcasses off the sill. I spit up a little every time I look over there.

No use wasting good saliva on that. So who are these people?

As far as I can figure out they populate some writer’s stories.

They all look alike.

I thought so, too, but I’ve been watching and they all have little habits that set them apart. Like her, over there, in the funny dress. The one about to talk to the big guy in the metal vest? Hand Girl. She’ll burrow her hands in her skirts. And her shoulders will square. It’s like she’s nervous, but determined. There. See. Told you. She does it every time.

You named her Hand Girl?

Needed to give her some kind of handle. Oh, and watch him, Jaw Man. They’ve been arguing over the past day and a half and whenever she goes over to talk to him his jaw clenches and he curls his hands into fists. Watch for it. Yep, there it is. When I first got here they were happier and their mannerisms were very different. She’d place her hand over his heart and he’d section of a piece of her hair and rub it between his forefinger and this thumb. I don’t know what happened, but I’d have to say there was a fly in the ointment.

You know I resent that stereotyping.

Yeah, one overzealous ancestor and we’re all at fault. I shouldn’t perpetuate the myth.

You shouldn’t. Who’s the one flicking her hair over her shoulder?

Hair Girl. She’s obsessed with her hair. When she’s deep in thought, she’ll twirl a strand of it around her finger. Or when she’s agitated she’ll run her hands through it. But right now she’s flirting with that dark-haired man. Watch how she flicks her hair off her shoulder exposing her long neck. Then she’ll give her head a shake, subtle, but enough to make her hair move again.

She knows to catch a fly one needs plenty of honey.

Ha, good one. Oh, here comes my favorite couple. They dress similar to Hand Girl and Jaw Man so I think they might be friends. But watch the young woman. See? Her hands are constantly moving when she’s talking. She’s smacked the guy in the arm a couple of times, but she just keeps going. It’s like her mouth can’t move unless her hands and arms are in motion. I call her Whirlwind. And he’s the exact opposite, hands behind his back or arms crossed over his chest. Calm Man. Mind you, I don’t think he gets a word in so what else can he do but listen and wait for an opening.

Holy Beetle Bug, what are you doing? I told you not to go to the window. I don’t care if it looks like you can get out, you can’t. Trust me.

Thanks, fly. The light is hypnotizing. How long have you been here?

A couple of days, I think. If you focus on the people, the light won’t be so tempting. Oh, look at those two. The Shoulder Roller and Nose Wrinkler. He’ll crank his neck over to the side and then roll his shoulders. If it’s quiet in here, I can here his bones crack with the force of his neck movement. She wrinkles her nose all the time. I don’t think she knows she’s doing it, but whether she’s concentrating or listening or laughing she scrunches her nose up.

I want to try naming one of them.

Only if you stop rubbing your front legs together all the time.

Sorry. That guy, the one coming toward us.

He’s meticulous. Straightens anything that’s not positioned correctly. He pushes chairs in if they’ve been left out, turns pictures so they’re angled on the shelf, brushes crumbs off the table onto his hand. I’ve never seen him roll up a magazine befo –

(Copyright: Janet S. Corcoran 2009)

To sum up, People of Blogland:

Character Tags:

• A quirk or habit that sets each character apart and gives them a uniqueness that makes them unforgettable in the mind of the reader. Caution – don’t overdo it. Mention it a few times then let it be the reader’s subconscious that supplies the quirk. Bring it back up at a crucial moment.
• Subtle, with impact.
• Think voice, hair, clothing, gestures, scent, mental state, body carriage, dialect or speech mannerisms when creating a tag for your characters.
• No flies were hurt in the creation of this story. Purely fictional.

If you have any other hints or suggestions we can use to make our characters stand out, make them unforgettable, please leave them in the comment section. And have a great Monday :)

*This article first appeared over on The Prairies, May 2009

Excursion and People Watching...

Off to Halifax today. It's going to be a balmy 15 degrees with a light wind - perfect weather for walking along through the narrow streets of Halifax and along the boardwalk tying the historical properties together on the Halifax Harbour (picture is of waterfront).

On the agenda - shopping, of course. And people watching. I love to people watch and can happily spend hours sitting on a bench or a chair in malls, restaurants, or airports watching people. I love to see how they react to situations, check out what they read, how they pass the time. Their quirks give me inspiration for the characters I write about. And when there's a crowd, I love to watch their interactions and responses to strangers.

In the Vancouver airport recently, I had the pleasure of sitting for 3 hours waiting for my plane to take me to Saskatoon. When I sat down, the gate was relatively quiet. But there were a few people here and there, and planes would offload and I could inspect those deplaning - what were they wearing, what kind of luggage did they carry, were they angry at their spouses for some unknown infracture (facial expressions give away plenty, as does body language). Then, the seats began to fill up. People with laptops, cell phones, books, newspapers - all passing the time. Couples, singles, children - all shapes and sizes. Then the highlight...

A young couple strolled into my line of sight, moved through those of us sitting on the less than comfortable chairs, and sat right across from me. My first reaction - don't stare (my mom's influence). Then complete attention to this situation. The woman carried a dozen purple, bordering on black, roses. She wore a tight black mini-skirt, a purple stretch top, sunglasses, and very high heeled black patent leather shoes. A quick glance around and I noticed that all the men had perked up.

The young man - dressed in black casual suit with a lilac shirt, his hair tied back in a pony tail (thinning on top - why do men do that?) left his lady. She sat, and placed her purple patent leather handbag (bigger than a breadbox) with his laptop case next to her. She placed her roses there, too. Her platinum blond hair was short and spikey. Her make-up, dark, dramatic, lush. Her bare arms and legs covered with tattoes including a black rose and a pin-up girl. Definitely the odd one out in a section of the airport where jeans and running shoes were the norm.

Then I began to notice the people around her. A middle-aged couple whispered together, the woman's eyes traveling often to the unusual young lady. A college aged girl, dressed in a tone downed version of grunge including hoody pulled up over her head, couldn't keep her eyes off the young lady - perhaps wondering about a new way to express herself. Two business men, who had been typing away madly on their laptop, not bothering to speak to each other (they were traveling together) or acknowledge anyone else the whole time they had been there, shot glances her way often. And their typing went from 25 words per minute to 1!

Most interesting to me was the fact that this woman had on sunglasses and I couldn't tell where she was looking. Was she aware of the many sets of eyes checking her out? Did she bask in the attention or hate the fact that people were openly staring at her? She didn't get out a book to read, didn't fuss with her clothes - just sat perfectly still and waited. Perhaps, I thought to myself, she was a people watcher, too.

I'd like to think that people watching is part of my job - I love my job. Do you people watch? Do you use that information to give more depth to your characters?