This is a writers haven, or nest if you will

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Phillip Lansing

An idea for a character, He's got dark brown hair and a thick beard. Most of the town knows him as a drunk and a kook. But those who get to know him see him as a philosopher who's well acquainted with the art of drinking. He wears plaid flannel shirts and sweatpants every day, he's always speaking his mind against whats going on in the world, a cynic in slight. He keeps an amount of toothpicks in his shirt pocket wherever he goes, chewing on one at every moment of the day. He even uses his toothpicks to eat, if he cant use a toothpick he doesn't eat it. In truth he's more than a bit crazy but he'll be an interesting character to write about.

He's also the garbageman for the town.

I know this Blog has become a vent for my ideas and it may seem annoying but I gotta put them somewhere. This kinda stuff is the quirks I want in my characters, the things that make them human, now it doesn't have to go to such an extreme as this but... the stranger (within reason) the better, I hate stereotypes and I'm trying to cut them off with such a move, hope it works :)

8 comments:

Alev said...

I'm sure it'll work. :)

Ryan said...

:D

Poet In The Jar said...

I like this being a writer's nest. :) Don't cut it out, I think it's brilliant to keep your ideas in a single place. I got this, what do you call it, folder at my desk labelled "materials for writer projects", and it's got all sorts of info on a whole row of writing projects I've delved in to in the past. That way, if I feel like writing but don't know what, I just pick something from the folder. Also, if I get stray ideas, I can just put them in there for safekeeping.
Stereotypes are dangerous, and as writers we all try to avoid them, although in a way most of our characters will always have some nuance of stereotype in them. But a lot of it can be avoided. By putting a lot of effort into authentic, real-sounding dialogue and letting the reader guess some things about the character, not telling everything served on a plate, you can keep the stereotypes on a fair distance :P =)

Ryan said...

exactly Becca, never worded better :)

Phil will be the anti-stereotype, he'll be the lovable drunk, who's superstitious but also kills a vampire within the pages.

Ryan said...

^
after which he throws up, curses loud, laughs hysterically and walks away while drinking a flask of cheap rum.

Poet In The Jar said...

That's as far away from the stereotype you could get!
I love that idea for a character!

Ryan said...

Yeah I'm thinking up more quirks for him as I go...

I also thought of a scene where Woden, after being earlier invited into Phil's home walks in as Phil's on the toilet, drinking a flask as he shits. What Woden doesn't know is Miranda is also in the home, seeking vengeance on the one who took her son away, knowing that Woden would come...

Miranda literally lights Woden on fire... I'm keeping quiet on how tho...

c. grace said...

I like the part about eating with a toothpick. Wouldn't it be cool if instead of just keeping an amount of toothpicks, he always kept a certain amount, like...he always has 13 toothpicks in his shirt pocket, never more, never less. Just a thought. I always think a touch of obsessive compulsion makes crazy people even scarier.