Everyone loves an odd duck. When writing characters, featuring strange eccentricities and ironic contradictions stands out to readers.
Writing characters with contradictions has fueled my writing. My Delilah Duffy mystery series features a young woman who loves the beach but is scared to death of water. She knows how to swim, but a near-drowning as a child incites panic whenever she gets too close to the shore. The irony that she’s a beach girl with a water phobia is one of my favorite weird things about her. The final book, Odd-a-Sea, is coming soon!
To develop characters, it’s useful to think in odd combinations. People often start things, like career paths, with the best intentions, only to undergo life changes that upset their plans. Perhaps a character flaw prevents them from pursuing a dream. Or they win something that sets them on a new path. Or maybe your character has a love/hate relationship with something, like Delilah.
Here’s a list of ironic characters to inspire your writing:
- A diabetic candy maker or candy store owner
- An alcoholic bartender
- A fire fighter who’s an arsonist
- A germaphobic sanitation engineer
- A librarian who hates reading
- An atheist preacher
- A teacher who dislikes kids
- A dirty cop (Though arguably overdone, it still makes the list.)
- A surgeon with an aversion to blood (I stole this idea from Doc Martin)
- A vampire with an aversion to blood (Did I make that up or is that a thing already?)
- A giant afraid of bugs
- An agoraphobic freedom fighter
- A feminist homemaker
- An actor or supermodel who fears attention
- An accountant who’s terrible with her own money
- A rich miser
- A poor philanthropist
- A guy with heart problems who can’t stop eating high-salt fast foods.
- A writer without readers *tear*… a writer without story ideas (that’s crazy!)… a writer who writes romances/adventures/thrillers/mysteries but fears having any of these himself… Ironic writer ideas flow pretty easily around here. 🙂
What odd combinations set your characters apart? Start or join the conversation by sharing below.
Want more writing ideas? Grab a cup of coffee and check out my blog!
