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January 10th, 2008
I have a phobia…

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Phobias to Make Characters Interesting

Phobia ~ an irrational fear of a particular person, place or thing.

1. Ailurophobia – fear of cats.

2. Nyctophobia – fear of the dark.

3. Demophobia – fear of crowds.

4. Erythrophobia – fear of blushing.

5. Gephyrophobia – fear of bridges.

6. Gamophobia – fear of marriage.

7. Kakorrhaphiophobia – fear of failure.

8. Phasmophobia – fear of ghosts.

9. Triskaidekaphobia – fear of number 13.

10. Hypengyophobia – fear of responsibility.

11. Musophobia – fear of mice.

12. Ergophobia – fear of work.

13. Lalophobia – fear of speaking.

After typing all these I’ve developed a fear of spelling one of them wrong! I thought I could inflict a phobia on one of my characters. Which one sounds interesting to you? I thought fear of blushing of was an interesting phobia and wondered how the person was going to stop blushing or avoid those who blushed.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others’ comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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  5. Fuzzy Writer’s Brain

24 comments to “I have a phobia…”

  1. Jenyfer Matthews
    January 10th, 2008 at 12:51 am · Link

    The obvious phobia for romance is fear of marriage but I say go for fear of bridges. Depending on where you live it could lead to some interesting problems!!



  2. Cass
    January 10th, 2008 at 2:20 am · Link

    What a nifty TT. Umm Thursday Thirteen that is. I didn’t mean your ta-tas, although I image they are spectacular. :P

    I was tagged, Shelley, so you are too. LOL Go to my website’s blog and you’ll see I’ve changed the rules a bit. Oh…and bring all your characters. Hee, hee…

    http://cassandracurtis.com/blog



  3. Nicole Austin
    January 10th, 2008 at 4:21 am · Link

    Fear of work…ROFL! Most of the latest generation of workers have that, don’t they. *g* There I go being very unPC again. Shoot! I’ll never get the hang of it.



  4. Gina Ardito
    January 10th, 2008 at 4:34 am · Link

    I just finished reading a story with a heroine who’s terrified of the dark. I’ll be coming back to check this list later. What a great idea!



  5. Jennifer Shirk
    January 10th, 2008 at 5:30 am · Link

    Ha! Doesn’t every Hero have #6 in a romance novel. LOL!

    I really like the idea of giving a character #3.
    Pretty cool list. :)



  6. Adelle Laudan
    January 10th, 2008 at 6:04 am · Link

    Gamophobic and proud of it



  7. Jennifer McKenzie
    January 10th, 2008 at 6:28 am · Link

    I definitely have Kakorrhaphiophobia but I don’t know if that makes me an interesting character. LOL.



  8. Debbie Mumford
    January 10th, 2008 at 7:37 am · Link

    You’re a brave woman to attempt to spell all those phobias! (Not that I’d have a clue if you’d missed a letter or two *lol*)

    Great List!

    http://debbie-mumford.blogspot.com/



  9. Tina brunelle
    January 10th, 2008 at 7:43 am · Link

    well i should have a fear of posting now since the first one was eaten by gremlins in cyber space. I was going to lend you my three pound yorkie kirby who gets rid of all phobias but the site here saw him and decided i shouldnt post, he must be really scary… though he suffers from Ergophobia. LOL



  10. Wylie
    January 10th, 2008 at 7:49 am · Link

    Interesting list. I personally have 4 of them

    I wonder if there’s a classified phobia for those of us scared to begin writing chapter one



  11. Jennifer Bianco
    January 10th, 2008 at 8:10 am · Link

    Fear of speaking? I know some people I wish had that phobia. ;)
    This is a great list. I’ll have to come back to it next time I’m outlining. Very inspiring.
    Hmmm, which character will I torture?



  12. Alice Audrey
    January 10th, 2008 at 9:00 am · Link

    Oooo I like 4. 6 is overdone.



  13. SavvyONE
    January 10th, 2008 at 9:27 am · Link

    Erythrophobia – fear of blushing-

    I think I have that! And I can blush beeeeet beeet red!

    Great list today!



  14. Paige Tyler
    January 10th, 2008 at 9:45 am · Link

    Cool list!

    *hugs*
    Paige



  15. Savannah Chase
    January 10th, 2008 at 10:24 am · Link

    I have a phobia of thunder and lightining…



  16. Karen Erickson
    January 10th, 2008 at 10:42 am · Link

    Fear of blushing? I’ve never heard of that one!!!

    I sometimes think I have Demophobia – the mall can freak me out. I’ve turned into a hermit!



  17. Dayle
    January 10th, 2008 at 12:24 pm · Link

    A friend used to say I had circumvenaterraphobia: The fear of being landlocked! (I grew up by a big lake, and can’t imagine not being within driving distance of a very large body of water. I live about 2 miles from the ocean now!)



  18. Heather
    January 10th, 2008 at 12:42 pm · Link

    Great list, Shelley!

    I’d say whichever phobia your character has should depend on the plot. If she’s afraid of cats, then have her interested in a vet, or assigned to do community service at an animal shelter. If she’s afraid of bridges, have her overcome that fear by crossing a high, spindly bridge. Afraid of the darK? Power goes out at dusk.



  19. Susan Helene Gottfried
    January 10th, 2008 at 1:01 pm · Link

    I’d imagine that whichever of these you pick will color the character entirely. Fear of blushing, for example. Does it turn the heroine into a wallflower who’s afraid to attract attention?

    If she’s afraid of bridges, how does she get about (okay, you need to understand I live in Pittsburgh, which has more bridges than any city other than Venice)?

    It’s going to be a defining characteristic, so play with them all and see what works most naturally.

    Good luck!



  20. AJ
    January 10th, 2008 at 1:27 pm · Link

    What a great idea to get a jumping off point for a story. Fears always make great motivations and these were some I had never thought of. Thanks for posting it.



  21. Amy Ruttan
    January 10th, 2008 at 2:23 pm · Link

    What about sharks. Big fear of those suckers to the point I won’t fly over water. It’s sad …



  22. Gabriele
    January 10th, 2008 at 3:08 pm · Link

    I’m busy developing a fear of writing short stories. I can’t get the damn sucker to work, and it’s due Jan 15.



  23. Christine d'Abo
    January 10th, 2008 at 5:28 pm · Link

    Oh I’m writing some of these down. Having a fear of blushing sounds like an awesome idea. Especially if it’s the hero.

    I have a terrible fear of heights. I can’t go up step ladders. I’m working on it.



  24. Connie
    January 12th, 2008 at 7:34 pm · Link

    Thursday Thirteens is cute idea.