Legends of Windemere

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Did you know that Luke Callindor plays the ocarina and Nyx can sing?  Sari is obviously a dancer, but she dreams of learning how to make candy.  Aedyn is a reader, Nimby whittles, and Fritz studies creature physiology.  Selenia Hamilton enjoys darts.  All of these hobbies and interests, but only a few of them get into the books.

Truthfully, it gets strange when one has a tiny detail like this and tries to force it into a story.  A character relaxing can get away with things like this such as Luke resting under a tree and playing music.  Others might mindlessly slip into their indulgence when distracted like Nyx.  It’s all about subtlety with these hobbies because they’re not plot essential.  So, contriving a situation for this ability to come out and has no impact on the story can be an issue with readers.  Remember that these are typically quirks to give a little more realism to the characters.

Realism is the key here.  Think about yourself and people you know.  You have your job or some kind of career path then you have hobbies.  The hobbies do not always coincide with the job.  Most times they’re an activity one does to relax from the job, so it doesn’t exist in the same vein.  Some hobbies work entirely off of being lazy and low activity like watching a favorite show.  For characters, these activities can help an author get an idea of personality and demeanor.  Even if it doesn’t get into the story, you have an idea of what kind of person would be into the hobby.  For example, a character who paints in his or her spare time can be seen as observant, creative, and patient.  Much of this comes off an author’s personal interpretation of a hobby and what is needed to enjoy it.

You might be wondering how to pick a hobby for your hero.  First, realize that this isn’t a necessary thing, so don’t force yourself.  Not everyone has a hobby and if you don’t see a point in doing this when it might not appear in the book then don’t worry.  Now if you’re going through with it then examine your character.  If it’s a physical activity then make sure they can do it and the same goes for mental activity.  An ogre who is shown to be stupid shouldn’t have the hobby of acing crossword puzzles unless he’s really smart and hiding it.  It’s a simple rule really, which makes adding a hobby to a character fairly easy and low stress.

My favorite method for choosing a hobby is brainstorming.  I list hobbies while imagining the character performing them.  Whatever feels the most natural for them is what I go with and many times it will be something surprising.  Nyx having a talent for singing was surprising when I was listing because it originally felt more like a Sari thing.  Yet, I slipped it into a few scenes and it oddly worked.  I think it brings out the vulnerable and sensitive side that she keeps hidden so much.  Maybe that’s another use for these hobbies if you have a deeper character.  They have the persona that is shown on the surface, but these interests stem to a secret self that might not be something they share easily.

So, any characters that you wrote or like have a unique hobby?