Thursday, January 23, 2014

Quirky Characters: Weird or Funny?

From renting office spaces to the movie Office Space. That's where the trail of sparklies took me on this fine January morning where it's like 15 degrees outside and my toes are freezing because I don't have slippers. I used to have slippers, but a kid took them a while ago.
That might be what I love most about the kids moving out of the house. When I put something down, it stays where I left it. Over the years, I've purchased about twenty-seven pairs of tweezers, forty-nine hair brushes and twelve pairs of slippers as well as numerous other things like nail clippers and scissors. These items disappear never to be seen again. If I didn't know any better, I'd think they were eating these things, or selling them on eBay.

Where was I?

Right. Freezing my toes off.

I finished the article I was writing, and went back to the movie page for Office Space. I liked that movie. It was released in 1999 when I had one of my boring office jobs, so I could relate. For me, the best part of the movie was the quirky guy in the basement. He mumbled to himself constantly and had a favorite stapler. He'd been fired 5 years ago, but a computer glitch kept issuing him paychecks. 

I absolutely love quirky, weird characters.



"The ratio of cake to people is too high."

That made me start thinking about my favorite shows and characters in television, movies and books. They all have some kind of quirk that makes them memorable and funny. My all-time favorite show is Monk. It was on for almost a decade, and I was still sad to see it finish.

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Trivia: The Monk series was based on the characters and basic structure of the Sherlock Holmes mystery stories.


The love I have for quirky characters has made me think about how I add them into my stories. It reinforces my choice to have quirky traits in each of them. Nothing drastic like Monk who was afraid of everything including milk, but a few details to make them memorable.  

What do you think about quirky characters? Are they too weird for you, or do they make you laugh?

*** (I almost forgot. Please, take a moment and click the poll in the upper, right-hand corner. Let me know what you'd like week four's theme to be. Thanks!)

13 comments:

  1. Love that movie. I gravitate to people like that. Probably because my family seems weird. I'm certainly not weird or quirky, but I relate best to characters who are.

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    1. I *am* people like that. My family spends a lot of time rolling their eyes or looking at me strangely. ( Okay. Mostly the teenagers. They think everyone is weird.)

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  2. Love Office Space...our girls bought my hubby the official stapler for Christmas this past year for his office and the flair...oh the flair! The movie was filmed in Dallas not too far from us. Monk rocks...we have spent many hours watching him and his assistants, "wipe please". I have no comment on the missing personal items...I am still living that nightmare. ;)

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    1. I would love a stapler. I'm a fiend for office supplies, which you all know if you remember my notebook post! I didn't know that about the movie. You provided me with trivia today!

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  3. Oh, now I must go watch that movie LOL I LOVE quirky characters!

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    1. If you've ever worked in an office, you'll be able to relate to it! Let me know what you think when you do.

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  4. I know this sounds kinda stalkerish of me, but I look forward to your writings! This one made me giggle. I find myself always missing a sock. As we speak I am wearing mix-matched socks. Either my oldest is taking them or the washing machine wanted a snack. I have never seen Office Space, but I get lost in the series "The Office". I really hate that they ended it :( I wonder if Office Space is on Netflix. Thanks for sharing your writing with us!!

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    1. That's not stalkerish at all! I kind of wish more people would stalk me. I love that you enjoy my stuff. It makes me grin. Feel free to stalk away.

      I haven't had a pair of matching socks in years!

      I have Netflix, and I checked. No Office Space. I'm a little peeved that they took Monk away from the "streaming" section. You can only get the DVDs.

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  5. Quirky characters don't appeal to me personally. I do find them somewhat funny but I prefer the "less" quirky characters who usually have more meaningful depth to them. Just my preference. =) They can make me laugh for sure though and be funny when I'm in the right mood!

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    1. I don't necessarily think quirky characters have less depth than more serious characters. It's definitely a personal preference! I'm glad you stopped by to share your opinion and likes. Maybe I can get you to change your mind with my quirky tendencies!

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  6. Oh, I have to go find Office Space, I think I only caught the end of it years ago. I work in a basement office, I fear I may find too many similarities... onward.. on my cold day watch list :) ummm, no kids at home anymore, but my dogs keep me wondering where the other sock is and slippers?! ha!! I gave up on those after a few turned chew toys. it's barefoot for me or those ugly slipper socks I swore i'd never wear! I have a drawer full (mismatched of course). I was a huge Monk fan, loved his quirks and his intuition.. I was mostly drawn to his intuition :)

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    1. If you have a red stapler, you might find that you are just like him!

      Monk without his ability to solve crimes is just... well I don't know. A guy who should think about an institution of some sort?

      Oh boy. Slipper socks? Tell me it isn't so!

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