Writing Character Traits that Aren't Saracasm

For some reason writers believe that sarcasm is a wonderful and 'unique' character trait. Biting one liners that often make the weaker characters cry and the baddies curse like demented sailors. Well, wonderful people who are actually published, sarcasm isn't the only character trait in the entire world. Books, anime, and every other medium of story telling has proved that there are more quirks and traits than sarcasm. Yet new writers immediately think that the only trait that makes a very strong character is a bad attitude with a salty mouth that spits out acid.

Look everyone, sarcastic characters ARE fun. Look at Raistlin Majere from Dragon Lance, Levi Ackerman from Attack on Titan, or Tony Stark from Avengers. These characters are some of the most beloved in their respective series because of their sarcastic mannerisms. However, thanks to their success, other writers get the idea that their characters will be loved thanks to having a similar personality. This, dear friends, isn't true. There are a boat load of quirks that can be injected into your characters to not only make them unique, something the market desperately needs, but also interesting and loved. 

So let's start with one. Miri from Princess Academy has a love for learning. Now I know that this book wasn't made for older audiences, but bare with me for a moment. Miri's love for learning goes beyond the normal 'I want to know 1+1', it stems from wanting to help her family, to becoming her main character trait. She wants to know absolutely all she can so that she can help those around her, outshine others, and be seen as useful to her community. This proves that her strong character can be built up entirely around one trait, learning.

Now let's try another character. Anyone who's watched anime knows that there is at least one character, usually male, who loves to scream and shout how awesomely awesome he is. Well lets spin our random generator and pick a guy...Oh look it's Black*Star from Soul Eater!

Alright, since I said that this guy basically brags about how awesome he is it should be clear that this is a main character trait. The fact that he is so confident gets down to every single part of him, allowing him to push himself further to the next point so that he can become the best of the best. This confidence branches out to other people as well, he is confident that his weapon will also become just as awesome as him since he's wielding her.

See, two very interesting characters and neither use excessive sarcasm.

Now should we just throw sarcasm away into the 'over played Mary-Sue' dumpster? No. Some characters wouldn't be as awesome or fun without their sarcasm. There is a time and place for sarcastic characters, they just don't have to be the center of every other book in existence. Especially the urban fantasy genre, but I'll get to that topic on another day.