The old adage, write what you know, has never been as pertinent to me as when writing character flaws, quirks, phobias, and mannerisms. I am one of those authors who draws from real life as much as I can to make my characters feel more alive, fully formed and fleshed out.
Case in point: fears and phobias.
We all have fears. They are a normal part of the human condition and are there, inside us, to keep us safe. Fear of being burned is what prevents us from running into a building engulfed in flames.
But phobias are different. They don't seem to be naturally formed in our brains but occur for a myriad of reasons that propel people to a psychiatrist's coach every day.
I love having my characters possess phobias because it gives an insight into their brains, emotions, and the way they handle stressors.
I had one heroine be absolutely phobic about spiders, to the extent when she spotted one in her house, she moved out to a hotel until an exterminator cleared the place. Now, this situation I handled with a great deal of humor, but to a person afflicted with real arachnophobia, this situation wouldn't be funny. And it wasn't to my character.
For an alpha male hero, I gave him a phobia about flying. His aerophobia was so real that he got physically ill at the thought of being up in the air. When the only way he could rescue the kidnapped heroine - and his love interest in a ticking timebomb situation - was to board a two-seater puddle jumper and head for the jungle, he was so conflicted and so terrified, he white-knuckled even the prospect of getting in the plane, determined to find another way.
He didn't and wound up in the passenger seat. Again, this scene was handled with a great deal of humor, but I've known people who will take any mode of transportation no matter how slow, just to avoid getting on a plane.
Personally, I have a phobia - a paralyzing one - about bees. I was stung by a wasp as a child and have never been the same when I see anything flying in the vicinity - including flies. But bees? That's a whole 'nother kind of crazy I put myself through. My apipohobia ( or melissophobia) is so real that when I even hear a bee buzzing anywhere around me, I immediately feel like I've been injected with a paralytic anesthetic. I can't move. I can barely breathe. I begin to sweat, my heart rate triples, and I can't feel my tongue anymore.
Terrifying.
Also...fodder for a character.
