Spice up your fiction with a quirky character or two. They’re unpredictable, memorable, and a whole lot of fun to write.

Let’s examine my quirky character, Miss Sallie Baker. I’ve listed some of her major traits and inserted helpful commentary in italics.

• Miss Sallie fancies a wardrobe of flouncy square-dancing skirts and turtlenecks. Hmm, that’s an odd combo.
• Miss Sallie is a petite woman with delicate features and limbs. Unfortunately, she possesses an exceedingly prominent Adam’s apple.  Yikes! Could that be why she favors turtlenecks?
• Miss Sallie has a husky voice; she sounds like a sex talk operator.  Oops, gave away her occupation!
• Miss Sallie is dyslectic; she dropped out of high school because of it.  Gosh, could that be why she’s a sex talk operator?
• Miss Sallie attends church every morning.  Really? Does her occupation make her feel guilty?
• Miss Sallie has never had relations with a man. Holy Toledo! But she’s a sex talk operator!

Yep, that’s right.  A sex talk operator who’s never done it.  Miss Sallie is full of strange contradictions and inconsistencies, many of which relate to one another. Therefore, her story lines should be interesting because she’s not going to act in a predicable manner. Plus, she’s got that turtleneck/square dancing skirt look going on.  Plenty of visual opportunity there.

Try your hand at a quirky character today.

I guarantee you’ll love it!