Need help with a character's mannerism

[NiQuinn]

In my story, some complication happened where my Main Character, later on, needs to hide her identity. A few years pass and she returns to a city her father used to visit quite often. One of her father's acquaintances later meets her and finds a spark of familiarity upon meeting her. He doesn't get suspicious though until after he sees this particular mannerism she does.

My problem is, I can't seem to go beyond the twiddling or tapping of fingers as ideas for a certain idiosyncratic give away for her. Any suggestions? What would be unique but otherwise overlooked mannerism someone could have?

 

[yansusustories]

Some things that would come to my mind spontaneously:

• nervous twitch of eyelids
• rubbing some part of your face/head (like the bridge of your nose, your temple, the back of your head)
• fiddling with some part of your clothes (might depend on the style but e.g. long sleeves are great for that)
• tapping your feet or I don't know how to call that but when you don't tap with the ball of the foot but instead raise and then lower the heel?
• some kind of eye movement like hurriedly looking to one side and then the other while speaking with people

 

[NiQuinn]

fiddling with some part of your clothes (might depend on the style but e.g. long sleeves are great for that)

This is promising. Will think about tweaking this one. Thanks!

 

[jinxs2011]

the way she brushes her hair behind her ears
scratches her nose when she's unsure/embarrassed/something else
unique facial expressions - the way she raises her eyebrows, a wry smile, etc
if she's musically inclined, the tapping of fingers on any surface (table, wall, own leg) when idle
even the way she sits could be an indicator.

 

[Deleted member 5560]

I mean, it depends on what circumstance the mannerism happens under. If it's something she subconsciously does when thinking or nervous, thus never thought to fix it, you could take those small, normal things you thought of and just tweak them a little so she does them a specific, identifying way - for example, when it comes to tapping fingers, a weird, specific-to-me way I tap my fingers is that rather than just drumming them on the tabletop, I tap my thumb to the tip of each finger in order, back and forth over my hand (index, middle, ring, pinkie, ring, middle, index, middle, ring, pinkie etc.).

Or: I had an acquaintance once who would never, ever write notes on the back of her hand or arm, she would always write them on her inner wrist, and only there. It's not an incredibly unusual quirk, but it was something odd enough that it jumped out at me and I still remember it ten years later. People often write notes on themselves, but this one person doing something very normal in a particularly unusual way really did make it memorable and identifying.

An example of how you could tweak twiddling fingers: most people twiddle their thumbs when it comes to finger twiddling because they're the most dexterous, but she might have a distinctive way of hooking her pinkies together when she twiddles her thumbs. If you try doing it yourself, it's just awkward enough that it feels unnatural, unless it's a habit you developed since you were young.

tapping your feet or I don't know how to call that but when you don't tap with the ball of the foot but instead raise and then lower the heel?

Just for anyone else who doesn't know: this is called bouncing your foot/leg.

 

[Lukha]

If the main character is still hiding her identity after returning to the town, I think someone who has lived so long trying to hide their identity would also try to hide their usual mannerisms as well. I think it would be easier to recognize familiarity through expression, like a certain way someone smiles or how someone says something. You’re always looking at someone’s face or expression and I think that’s mostly how I recognize people is through their face or remembering a certain feature they had or a way they spoke or said something. I don’t really remember if they tap their fingers or behavioral acts unless it’s REALLY strange but if it’s that noticeable, I think the MC would probably try to hide it when hiding her identity right?

But like flucket said, it all depends on the circumstances in which the MC is returning to the town under.

 

[tak]

• Playing/twirling hair with finger. But can be considered ill-mannered
• Checking menu. My mom skip to the section she wants. My sibling read the whole thing. I search drinks & dessert first, then read the whole thing.
• (Restaurant/cafe setting again) how they position their cup. Some on their left of the plate, some on the right, i put it so the plate is between me & cup. Phone on the side lol)
• Checking nails
• "Caressing" walls or railings when passing by closely
• Seeing stray animals. Some just glance and let it be, some point out to their friends, some calls out to the stray, and some goes to the stray. (In my case.. Cat. I point it out to my friend that likes cat. Friend A will mimic cat voice, friend B will pet the cat if free)
• how they sneeze. Some short, loud, soft, twice. And after that some took a deep breath, say bless you, touch their nose, etc

 

[HURGMCGURG]

Maybe it should just be a line she had been known for saying before, or a line she had said once before to the character and she speaks it the exact same way. Alternatively, she could react to a bug or animal just as she used to. Rather than something she should be expected to do all the time, it should be based around a specific reaction to something.

 

[Vanny]

I touch my nose, often, and sometimes I fold two of my fingers inwards whenever I walk quickly.

 

[NiQuinn]

Ok, I'm seeing a lot of face touching, hair swirling, fingers tapping, and honestly, those aren't really something you'll notice on someone since it's so common. I guess as a brief context, it's been almost a decade. While she was gone, she's been under the tutelage of a strict but eccentric master. Suffice it to say, a decade is enough time to get new mannerisms. Someone suggested a routine her father does that she can't help but replicate especially since she thinks it's not a big deal. Still thinking about what though.

 

[S.D.Mills]

Basic physical gestures are cliché, not to mention overused and boring. There's another problem with picking something random: it's not realistic to the human experience. People don't just have extremely unique mannerisms for no reason. There is always a reason.

Here's what I suggest. The man knew her father more than he did her. A very realistic element of human habits is that they are informed by experience. Very few of anybody's habits are original. Most are learned by modeling others, especially parents during our formative years. Instead of focusing on the uniqueness of the habit, I would suggest you make it something her father constantly did. Come up with a reason why he did it, then have her do it too because it's a learned habit from modeling her father's behavior when she was young.

Personally, I'd have it be something she says all the time. For example, my grandmother does this thing when she's decided she's done talking where she'll say "Well, we'll be seeing ya." She does it regardless of whether or not you are actually parting ways.

It could also be something her father did for a reason that she doesn't have, but she still does it anyway. An example would be rubbing a part of his body that had an injury that never quite healed, like his knee.

 

[Phantomheart]

Oh! I actually have a similar habit of mine that my friends often comment is unusual. Usually, during a random conversation, I'll begin to crack my finger joints, but I have a strange pattern that I picked up from my own father: start at the middle finger and then continue towards your right and then to the two remaining fingers on that hand; move onto the next hand and then stop; turn your hands into fists and face them knuckle side to each other and then push hard against them until you hear a pop. A quirk I learned from my mother was rubbing her fingernails... I find these much stranger and unique than any other hand gesture.

 

[XianPiete]

No one piece of body language would make you remember someone from a few years ago that you weren't very intimate with unless you are a Sherlock Holmes with extraordinary powers of observation. It would have to be multiple things, the way someone says a word, along with how they like to hum songs, with how they tap a finger or how they drink or eat. So many things you think of us yours alone when taken one by one are things someone else might do.