Character Catch Phrases

Okay, I’ve got a new one for you aspiring writers.

What are your characters’ catch phrases? Do they say “ah” a lot when they are nervous? “Damn the asteroids” when they are aggravated and things aren’t going well?

Think of the boss in the movie Office Space. What does he say? “Rrrrriiight. If you could just go ahead and…” Memorable. Grates on the main character, doesn’t it? It has purpose, that catch phrase. It also makes a character identifiable. Who says “Doh!” “Don’t have a cow, man”? Yep, Homer and Bart Simpson, respectively. If you have catch phrases that make your characters distinguishable, there is one more spot in your work where you can skip dialogue tags. Sweet.

Not every character needs to have a catch phrase. In fact, overdoing them can hurt your work and ruin what you are attempting.

For fun, here are a few catch phrases. What images come to mind when you hear these catch phrases? What kind of person says this? What do they look like? Talk like? Dress like? What are their hobbies?

* Bogus!
* Whatever
* Damn the asteroids
* That’s what she said
* God will get you for that
* You got it Pontiac
* Where’s my Prozac?

Tips on choosing and using a catch phrase:
- Don’t overuse it. Even 3 times in 100,000 words can be enough if used appropriately.
- Use it appropriately. In a ‘stellar’ context that makes sense and adds to the scene you are creating. Don’t throw it out there willy-nilly.
- Use it purposefully. Have the catch phrase add to the scene, what’s going on as well as that character and the sense of him/her that you are creating.

In other news, the University of Ottawa says we should avoid catch phrases in our writing unless quoting others as a stale catch phrase can be considered <gasp> cliche. So be careful young grasshoppers or the cliches will getcha.