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Tags and Traits

JBStarr

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Hi guys! Been a member a while but this is my first post. I have a question. I'm a little confused about character tags and character traits....what is the difference between the two? How would you demonstrate either?
 

cornflake

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Hi guys! Been a member a while but this is my first post. I have a question. I'm a little confused about character tags and character traits....what is the difference between the two? How would you demonstrate either?

What's a character tag? Is that what you sew on them before they go to camp?
 

regdog

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Porting to Basic Writing Questions, please keep hands and feet inside the thread at all times.
 
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mccardey

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I googled.
In the parlance of fiction writing, a character tag is a repetitive verbal device used to identify a character in the mind of the reader. More than a simple description, a character tag calls to mind aspects of the character's personality and uniqueness.Character Tags in Fiction - Daily Writing Tips

because character tag was a new expression for me, too. But you can't confuse it with a character trait because
Character traits are all the aspects of a person's behavior and attitudes that make up that person's personality. Everyone has character traits, both good and bad. Even characters in books have character traits. Character traits are often shown with descriptive adjectives, like patient, unfaithful, or jealous.Character Trait Examples - YourDictionary

So I'm not really sure what the question is. Maybe OP is thinking of character tags and dialogue tags?
 
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Bufty

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I'm also unsure as to what the OP's question is. 'Character traits' is self-explanatory and not confined to writing. No idea what a character tag is.
 

Maryn

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I understand the question, so I get a cookie, right?

While every important character has a whole slew of traits, like a real person, the character tag is a memory aid to help the reader keep straight who's who. So Antonio the slimy ladies' man addresses females as "Babe" constantly without getting called on it nearly as often as a real guy would, Mimi pushes up her glasses on her nose scene after scene even though any competent optician could make them fit, and Barniss grooms his wings during conversations when everybody knows leathery wings are pretty much self-cleaning. All these little tags just help the reader remember which character is who.

Maryn, :e2cookie:
 

Devil Ledbetter

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I understand the question, so I get a cookie, right?

While every important character has a whole slew of traits, like a real person, the character tag is a memory aid to help the reader keep straight who's who. So Antonio the slimy ladies' man addresses females as "Babe" constantly without getting called on it nearly as often as a real guy would, Mimi pushes up her glasses on her nose scene after scene even though any competent optician could make them fit, and Barniss grooms his wings during conversations when everybody knows leathery wings are pretty much self-cleaning. All these little tags just help the reader remember which character is who.

Maryn, :e2cookie:
I didn't know that was what it was called. I believe in awarding certain gestures or turns of phrases to one character to help differentiate. That said, I always keep in mind a certain novel I read where one character tugged at his earlobe in every single scene he appeared in. A grown man. Nervously tugging his ear like an anxious kindergartner. And in the one scene where he didn't, the author mentioned that he didn't. Argggghghghghghghghg.

Do it, but please for the love of Mike don't overdo it.
 

Bufty

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Hmmmm.

Have a jam tart, Maryn. :Hug2:

I didn't know that either, but I can't help wondering if I'm any the better for knowing what it is. :snoopy:
 

Aggy B.

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So, usually I try to use traits as much as possible to avoid tags. So, my MC might have a limp and put her leg up when she has a chance to sit, but she's also prone to hit people who threaten her, dedicated to the idea that she must find and save her father, etc.

Or, she's constantly smoothing unruly hair into place, but also thinking about how the belief in destiny determines the future, striving to use words instead of her fists/gun, desperate to find a companion/desperate to keep her friends alive.

Or, touching her gun for reassurance, but also not a prude, committed to revenge, recognizing that she is becoming the thing she's hunting.

Tags are easily overdone. They are useful in specific situations, but work best in conjunction with a group of traits that distinguish the hearo (strengths and flaws) from supporting characters (who may have similar traits, but should probably not have identical traits.)
 

BethS

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All these little tags just help the reader remember which character is who.

And they can get real old real fast.

- - - Updated - - -

Is this another Nynaeve-tugging-on-braid type thing?

If only I could have reached through the pages of the book to set her hair on fire.

Get in line...
 

Maryn

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Of course tags can get old. But used wisely, they can keep a reader going instead of sighing and closing the book because they can't remember who the hell Michelle is and what her relationship might be with Gwen--who might be the teacher or maybe the barista.
 

CJSimone

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Do it, but please for the love of Mike don't overdo it.

And they can get real old real fast.

Of course tags can get old. But used wisely, they can keep a reader going instead of sighing and closing the book because they can't remember who the hell Michelle is and what her relationship might be with Gwen--who might be the teacher or maybe the barista.

So I'm wondering what's overdoing the tags because that's something I could easily do. Like keep it to a few times in an entire novel?
 

Devil Ledbetter

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I would, especially with gestures. I doubt there is a specific optimum number, but it would be related to the number of uses compared to the number of scenes that the "tagged" character is in, length of the novel, number of characters for the reader to keep track of, etc.

In the example I gave about the character tugging his ear (from Real Life & Liars, an otherwise good novel), it was in a secondary character, the only son of the MC who had 3 or 4 grown kids who all had about equal weight in the story. The fact that he was the only son made him memorable enough within the cast, and he was well very drawn and consistent as a character. But he tugged his ear in every single scene he was in. Even if he was in only 4 scenes, that would have been too many ear tugs for him, IMO.

So I'm going to squint at my thumb in the air and say keep it between 20% and 30% of the scenes the character appears in. I just made that up; please don't take it as any kind of rule.
 

CJSimone

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I would, especially with gestures. I doubt there is a specific optimum number, but it would be related to the number of uses compared to the number of scenes that the "tagged" character is in, length of the novel, number of characters for the reader to keep track of, etc.

In the example I gave about the character tugging his ear (from Real Life & Liars, an otherwise good novel), it was in a secondary character, the only son of the MC who had 3 or 4 grown kids who all had about equal weight in the story. The fact that he was the only son made him memorable enough within the cast, and he was well very drawn and consistent as a character. But he tugged his ear in every single scene he was in. Even if he was in only 4 scenes, that would have been too many ear tugs for him, IMO.

So I'm going to squint at my thumb in the air and say keep it between 20% and 30% of the scenes the character appears in. I just made that up; please don't take it as any kind of rule.

Thanks, Devil Ledbetter, that helps (even if you're making some things up). :)
 

JBStarr

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Thanks everyone for the input! Sorry it took so long to get back to this, too!
 

BethS

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So I'm wondering what's overdoing the tags because that's something I could easily do. Like keep it to a few times in an entire novel?

IMO and fwiw--

I think gesture tags are particularly easy to overdo, because if the character does it often enough that he can be identified by it, then it's become a personal tic, which are generally very annoying. And if it exists only to identify the character (as opposed to saying something meaningful about him), then it's nothing more than a crutch.

For me, something distinctive about a character's appearance or speech patterns would work much better. If gestures are used, keep it minimal and make them mean something, even if it's not apparent what it means at first.
 
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Bufty

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IMO and fwiw--

I think gesture tags are particularly easy to overdo, because if the character does it often enough that he can be identified by it, then it's become a personal tic, which are generally very annoying. And if it exists only to identify the character (as opposed to saying something meaningful about him), then it's nothing more than a crutch.

For me, something distinctive about a character's appearance or speech patterns would work much better. If gestures are used, keep it minimal and make them mean something, even if it's not apparent what it means at first.

I agree. Subtle speech patterns are easily recognised and registered without being intrusive.
 

divine-intestine

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If you want to see an exceptional character done well, look no further than Bella in Twilight . . .

















(that was a joke, put your axe away)