Characterization through Objects / Possessions

[xssve]

"Yeah, maybe, it would look good on you and Red isn't my color anyway. What else you into? I have a wide assortment of vintage kitchen equipment you might be interested in", he said, leering again and eyeballing her up and down.

I gotta draw a bath for the brat.

 

[xssve]

"Quality stuff", he added, lifting his gaze from her curvy frame, and back up to her dark, hooded eyes. There was an intensity there, just under the cool surface.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

"And while you're at it, I'll let you inspect my etchings."

 

[xssve]

Lol, if any of my possessions define me, it's my eclectic furnishings, Thrift Store Modern. I have this beautiful Ash table, Sixties art deco with these graceful, arched legs, so retro it looks modern, and I just found some Danish chairs to go with it.

I think I'll sell it though. Hate to, it's a real piece of art, but I'll never find a buffet to match.

 

[xssve]

"And while you're at it, I'll let you inspect my etchings."

Yeah, that was a twist on that one for a laugh, kind of an obscure pop reference too, ala Bill Murray in Stripes. Obscurity piled on obscurity, these kids think I'm speaking a foreign language.

I once told this girl hanging out with my roommate at the time that there was "chewing gum" in the candy dish, in case things got out of hand while I was out - she goes "oh boy!" and dives for the candy dish.

Never seen Coneheads, go figure.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Stereotypes catch a ton of shit from the Usual Suspects/Special Needs Crew, but they work well at creating character quickly.

At 9 am he pulled the tab on his first beer of the day, then dumped the ashtray before liting up a smoke.

 

[damppanties]

Stereotypes catch a ton of shit from the Usual Suspects/Special Needs Crew, but they work well at creating character quickly.

That they do.

We're mostly talking about possessions here though. At least I think we are.

Other than cars and clothes, what else do you think defines people? What other choices of yours make you, you? Is there a reasoning behind what you buy other than a style choice?

 

[jomar]

...
The conversation I was having ran like this...

Research shows that the two largest groups of people who own Subarus or Mini Coopers are lesbians or gay academicians. Unless it's a Subaru WRX, of course. Therefore, owning a Subaru or Mini coloured you in a specific way in the eyes of whoever chose to see Subaru or Minis owners as... a group.

Now how do we as writers use that in our stories?

FYP

It becomes a bit of an insider thing unless it's widely known. Otherwise, you could drop in a number of props to round out the image/impresssion - preppy clothes, Volvo, whitey tighties...

 

[jomar]

That they do.

We're mostly talking about possessions here though. At least I think we are.

Other than cars and clothes, what else do you think defines people? What other choices of yours make you, you? Is there a reasoning behind what you buy other than a style choice?

Pens, pc or mac, knives and guns, carrying sanitary wipes and using them (ocd-ish), jewely, men who wear signature rings, brand of hi-tech chair...can convey snobbishness, or desire for having the best, or ego, or appreciation for fine craftsmanship...

 

[Rumple Foreskin]

That they do.

We're mostly talking about possessions here though. At least I think we are.

Other than cars and clothes, what else do you think defines people? What other choices of yours make you, you? Is there a reasoning behind what you buy other than a style choice?

Just a quibble, DP, but a better term might be "enhancing characters." Here are a few non-auto-and-chothing possibilities:

What do they drink: diet sodas, power drinks, cheap beer, pricey wine, bottled water, etc.

Do they smoke? If so, what: cigarettes, cigars, pipes

Their taste in entertainment: favorite music, the books they read (if any), TV shows or movies watched (if any)

What food do they enjoy? Are they high cuisine snobs like Frazier Crain and his brother or meat and potato guys like their father?

And of course "going against type" can be very effective, for instance: a redneck who likes jazz, a yuppiie who listens to C&W when alone.

Rumple Foreskin

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

DAMP-PANTIES

I'll argue that beer and smokes are possessions, but I think I understand what you want. WHAT DOES YOUR COSTUME REVEAL ABOUT YOU? WHAT DO YOUR PROPS REVEAL?

I've observed 100s of lawyers in the last 20-something years. And while they all seem to wear the same costume, they dont.

Take the rich for example. If Grandpa made the millions he generally dresses ala Pennys or Sears or KMart style. Gramps probably drives an older pickup. His son generally dresses business casual or dresses for the golf course and drives a Cadillac. The grandson is covered with bling, drives a Corvette, and owns an airplane.

 

[xssve]

DAMP-PANTIES

I'll argue that beer and smokes are possessions, but I think I understand what you want. WHAT DOES YOUR COSTUME REVEAL ABOUT YOU? WHAT DO YOUR PROPS REVEAL?

I've observed 100s of lawyers in the last 20-something years. And while they all seem to wear the same costume, they dont.

Take the rich for example. If Grandpa made the millions he generally dresses ala Pennys or Sears or KMart style. Gramps probably drives an older pickup. His son generally dresses business casual or dresses for the golf course and drives a Cadillac. The grandson is covered with bling, drives a Corvette, and owns an airplane.

True.

 

[Belegon]

"...deciding to go at the last minute and throwing my gear in the back of the truck in a rush. In my haste I had remembered all the important stuff... weapons, wallet, insurance documentation.
I had not remembered the reading glasses that were probably laying on top of a fantasy novel in the bedroom."

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Now you guys have me thinking along the lines of a plot bunny where the girl sees this guy whose possessions say absolutely nothing. He drives a taupe compact SUV, wears off the peg clothes that fit, sits in a restaurant and orders well but not expensively. Why is he trying so hard to be invisible? What does he do that requires such an obsession with being incognito. She moves in to try and find out . . .

 

[xssve]

Now you guys have me thinking along the lines of a plot bunny where the girl sees this guy whose possessions say absolutely nothing. He drives a taupe compact SUV, wears off the peg clothes that fit, sits in a restaurant and orders well but not expensively. Why is he trying so hard to be invisible? What does he do that requires such an obsession with being incognito. She moves in to try and find out . . .

That is pretty much all porn stories: the males are largely just McGuffins, catalysts for the female character to riff off of.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

And that's just sad. Not that the situation for the story is sad, but that it only seems to occur in stories . . . unless my half of the population has been living in total obliviousness. And perhaps we are!

 

[Recidiva]

And that's just sad. Not that the situation for the story is sad, but that it only seems to occur in stories . . . unless my half of the population has been living in total obliviousness. And perhaps we are!

I've seen the "perfectly average, impersonal, hotel-room like average" mechanic used in crime stories (The Grifters, CSI) and Medical drama (House)

"Who is this generic? Nobody."

There's always money behind a velvet clown painting, a dual identity or a medical syndrome behind it.

Maybe there are people this generic. That's who Chuck Palahniuk hates and wants to blow up in "Fight Club"

 

[voluptuary_manque]

I've seen the "perfectly average, impersonal, hotel-room like average" mechanic used in crime stories (The Grifters, CSI) and Medical drama (House)

"Who is this generic? Nobody."

There's always money behind a velvet clown painting, a dual identity or a medical syndrome behind it.

Maybe there are people this generic. That's who Chuck Palahniuk hates and wants to blow up in "Fight Club"

Who is this generic? Someone with something to hide. And some of them are downright dangerous.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Serial killers frequently hide behind normalcy. The BTK killer was a church and scout leader, a city supervisor, husband, father...totally flying under the radar.

 

[Recidiva]

Who is this generic? Someone with something to hide. And some of them are downright dangerous.

Or a chameleon who makes no personal choices but is capable of all of them, as in "Who Am I This Time?"

 

[xssve]

Well it's the same in visual porn - they males in mf are largely disembodied cocks - another thing nobody noticed when I posted those mainstream porn images in the Carter thread - males are by far the largest consumers of porn, and the male characters are deliberately vague so that the reader/viewer can identify with him, putting himself in the picture, so to speak, instead of reacting with jealousy to a more substantial "character". i.e., it's deliberate.

Possessions could conceivably function the same way, it might be a work around for porn that appeals to women more while not alienating the male audience, who are, after all, your bread and butter (for most, Stella).

I might get accused of misogyny here, but women are more sensitive to setting, as a general rule - they like their male characters more fleshed out, less objectified, but the hero of your average bodice ripper is usually pretty well heeled, the lord of the manor, so to speak, not some random hunk living in his car.

i.e., I think men think about women as bodies, while for women, status, setting, and personality traits, a sense of humor, etc., all those other things enhance a good bod.

Not accusing women of being mercenary, it is tied to reproductive costs, i.e., the male represents potential childrearing resources as well as semen donation.

(Ducks...)

Actually, I think that would work for guys too - we fantasize about hitting the lottery when we aren't hypnotized by the gentle sway of your ass.

This of course, refers to mainstream stuff that's naturally a bit more formulaic - you can always buck the system if you're actually interested in breaking the mold, or catering to a different market demographic, but it helps to know the rules before you break them unless you're a savant of some sort.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

XSSVE

The average reader doesnt wanna do algebra word problems when she reads. She wants a nice puddy cat up a tree at the end of a limb, with a thuinder storm if possible, and a surprise solution for getting the cat down.

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD woulda been a much better book if Atticus Finch was the villain.

 

[xssve]

XSSVE

The average reader doesnt wanna do algebra word problems when she reads. She wants a nice puddy cat up a tree at the end of a limb, with a thuinder storm if possible, and a surprise solution for getting the cat down.

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD woulda been a much better book if Atticus Finch was the villain.

What does this mean?

BTW, it's also the reason Stephen Kings protagonists are typically walking cliches of social victimhood, it resonates with his audience, everybody has gotten picked on by a bully at some point, and many of his stories are little more than elaborate revenge fantasies.

It works on a subconscious level.

 

[PurpleTiara]

Who is this generic? Someone with something to hide. And some of them are downright dangerous.

Or maybe he is just living a life of quiet desperation.

I had a long well thought out post about what possessions say about us and then I decided that I may be missing the point here. I kept getting all tangety about language and context cues, and how they change. So maybe I should just say that while it is cool to present a holistic view of a character (because I think it is the little things that define a personality, as well as the big) it can be a hazard, especially if you are writing for an international audience. If you rely on scene painting too much, expecting that the reader is getting a certain subtext from your context cues, you may leave cross cultural readers in the dust. I enjoy ferretting out stuff like that, but I am a bibliophilic dork that way.

I have a weird urge to go watch the "Mr. Cellophane" part of Chicago now.

 

[Recidiva]

Or maybe he is just living a life of quiet desperation.

I had a long well thought out post about what possessions say about us and then I decided that I may be missing the point here. I kept getting all tangety about language and context cues, and how they change. So maybe I should just say that while it is cool to present a holistic view of a character (because I think it is the little things that define a personality, as well as the big) it can be a hazard, especially if you are writing for an international audience. If you rely on scene painting too much, expecting that the reader is getting a certain subtext from your context cues, you may leave cross cultural readers in the dust. I enjoy ferretting out stuff like that, but I am a bibliophilic dork that way.

I have a weird urge to go watch the "Mr. Cellophane" part of Chicago now.

I use this mechanism to mislead my readers from time to time.

I can have in mind that I'm setting up a "type" and if you buy into it as a reader, I'll make ya pay for it by the end. It's a particular "gotcha" I like. I appreciate it when authors/writers do the same thing to me, because it helps blow a particular circuit I didn't know was operating in my brain.

So I use it to defy itself and readers who have certain prejudices that they're not aware they have.