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Hello all!
I need a little help for the next book I am going to write. My MC is left handed. Problem is, I am not. Now, this left-handedness is one of the main things that stands out in a lot of areas for my MC and it’s often how people on the lookout for him who have never seen him are told to recognize him, etc.So, my questions are these:
What things do you do left-handed that really stand out?
When is it awkward or “different” for you to be left-handed in a mostly right-handed group. (example: I have heard eating at the table can cause a lot of elbow bumping if you are in the middle sharing a bench with a lot of people, etc)
What things do you do differently that make people notice that you are left-handed?
And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who couldn't hear the music
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@whalekeeper ? (if you aren’t, I’m pretty sure you said you knew someone who was….)idk anyone else.
And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who couldn't hear the music
I’m left handed! That’s an interesting trait to focus on. I’ve never thought about how that might be important, but in detail-oriented stories like spy stories and the like, I can see how it might make a huge difference in observation.
What things do you do left-handed that really stand out?
I don’t know if there’s anything that stands out to others. You can tell I’m left handed because I favor my left side. I using tools or writing with the left hand, and I lean on my left side more than my right. Normal stuff like that.
But the coolest part is that left-handed people learn to adjust to a right-handed world, which means we have more ambidextrous skills than the average person. The small percentage of people categorized as left-handed also includes ambidextrous people. I have a brother who is left handed but sometimes accidentally switches to right (he’s not very self-observant), and another brother who is ambidextrous.
The melody on a piano and on a theremin is played with the right hand; all the complex stuff happens with the right. A right-handed person would hate playing melodies with their left hand, but left-handed people have learned skills on the right out of necessity. That’s a personal example I can think of, but I’m sure there are more. My brother easily shoots and dribbles basketball with both hands, I favor my right foot in soccer because everyone else does, um… *thinks* Yeah. Left-handed people have more ambidextrous skills.
When is it awkward or “different” for you to be left-handed in a mostly right-handed group.
Everything is made for right-handed people.
Scissor handles cut into my hand because they’re shaped wrong. My drawing app sets the brush size menu on the right of the screen. Some video game apps do the same thing. The tip of my Apple Pencil unscrews when I draw because “righty-tighty-lefty-loosy.” ? Good Lord above, I almost lost the tip the other day and that pencil is at least 100$. Archery bows are mostly right-handed, so if I’m at camp, I have to wait for the only left-handed bow.
The very act of English writing is made for the right hand. The words go to the right, so if you are right-handed, your hand naturally drags to the right when you’re writing. But with a left hand, everything smudges as your hand drags across the words. You can tell someone is left-handed if their left hand is covered in graphite.
Leonardo da Vinci was left-handed, and he wrote all his notebooks in mirror writing. That’s when everything is written backwards and you can read it properly through a mirror. I used to do that, and my brother still does. But eventually it’s just a party trick because the only use for it is in private journals.
What things do you do differently that make people notice that you are left-handed?
Everything mentioned above, lol.
I am out of signature ideas
Oh, I also approach Jiu-Jitsu positions the opposite way, and if you’re dancing or fencing, there’s confusion there. Honestly every skill like that is affected and you get used to it.
Other than that, it’s not a big deal. It can definitely be a way to identify your character, but I recommend not making it a huge point of importance. It’s kind of like having a double joint somewhere or having glasses – not crazy, just a fact of life.
I am out of signature ideas
@ellette-giselle
Cool you are writing a book with a left-handed protagonist. I appreciate seeing writers doing that from time to time.What things do you do left-handed that really stand out?
It isn’t really a big deal for me. Most of the time, I’m not really conscious about it. There are some things I have even noticed I tend to do with my right hand, even though I haven’t been forced into it. Like when I use my phone. There is only the occasional task that can be awkward. Number 1 for me would be writing on whiteboards, where I can’t rest my hand on the board or else I will smudge the text, so my handwriting is even messier than normal. I’ve learned to draw pictures from right to left, but there isn’t really a way to do that with writing. I do find scissors awkward, but I had not connected it to being left-handed until one of my coworkers pointed it out.
Most things remain unaffected by this. Even occasionally, when I jam around on the piano, I find that a set of notes is easier with the hand I first learned it with. As for seating arrangements, my one sister is also left-handed and sits on the right of my right-handed brother at the table. Unless we try to squeeze another person on the bench, I don’t recall any elbow-bumping incidents.
Generally, people don’t notice too much, unless they see me writing or it comes up in a conversation about dominant hands. The place where most people noticed was when I worked at a pickleball club. The seniors thought my left-handedness would come to their advantage when I played on their team to help block off opposing balls.
As for the other side, I don’t typically notice myself when someone is left or right-handed. (It doesn’t really help that I get the two directions mixed up all the time. Sometimes when I draw my characters, they are using their non-dominant hand because I get mixed up.) So it’s more when I’m looking out for it for the sake of curiosity that I notice when others are also left-handed. So really, at the end of the day, it’s not a huge deal.
Sometimes it is necessary to paint the sky black in order to see the stars.
Thanks both of you!
Yes, I don’t think it’s a big deal, but culturally for my MC it is a big deal because his homeland is lovely and superstitious. ?
But yes! Thanks so much for these!
And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who couldn't hear the music
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:OOO I’m having the same problem with my book! The “main” Side character, Shelby Coffin, is left handed! And I have no clue how left handed people stand out and such… Funny enough the thing that stands out about her is her Heterochromia. But anyway- She breaks her right arm and it supposed to make it seem like she couldn’t possibly be the murder because her right arm is broken… But her cousin knows that it’s possible because she is left handed… But he’s unsure if he should tell because they’re cousins.
So anyway- I’m not sure how to make it seem like she’s left handed with subtle hints without shoving it in your face.
I am not left-handed, but I amazingly know four people who are. One happens to be @raxforge
Other than Andrew, I have a classmate who is left handed, plus my uncle and dad are both lefties.
Because I kinda want to integrate back into KP, I will answer your questions as someone who is not a leftie herself but is around them a lot. Feel free to ignore.
What things do you do left-handed that really stand out?
I wouldn’t say left-handed people usually stand out too much. I usually notice just because I find it interesting, but I also find eye colors interesting and recently creeped my entire CC class out by naming off their eye colors without hesitation and even mentioning the uniqueness of a former classmate’s. So apparently i am usually more aware of someone’s physical quirks than people around me are (Even though I can’t tell you for my life what all of them wore). I think it’s something that you only notice when you’re looking for it, so if your other charries are superstitious of left-handed people as I think you mentioned, then they might be more likely to notice.
When is it awkward or “different” for you to be left-handed in a mostly right-handed group. (example: I have heard eating at the table can cause a lot of elbow bumping if you are in the middle sharing a bench with a lot of people, etc)
As the actual left-handed people have mentioned, I have heard many a lament about dry erase markers and smudges on hands.
My Dad is a mechanic so he has trouble with certain tools being right-handed. He does get left-handed when he can, but he’s been fixing things and building things for at least forty years, so he’s kinda learned ambidextrous techniques for a lot of what he has done.
My uncle works for a taxi company, never heard him complain about anything being hard specifically because of being left-handed.
My classmate specifically mentioned having to learn to use scissors differently.
What things do you do differently that make people notice that you are left-handed?
Mostly just the writing is what makes me notice. They do usually favor the left side in general, but I also know righties who do the same and only write with their right hand.
When left-handed people write, they not only use their left hand but I’ve noticed they also hold their writing utensils differently most often. Some even go above where they want the words, and curl their hand down to right so they don’t smudge. Most hold their pen incorrectly. Holding their writing utensils incorrectly is something both righties and lefties do, but lefties make different types of mistakes usually. It’s kinda hard to explain.
Another thing that might be for other lefties, but might be only unique to Andrew is he prefers I sit on his left side. It’s not something where if I don’t sit on his left side he gets upset or disappointed, it’s just something he does when he can and it makes sense. I haven’t ever had problems with bumping elbows into him when he does this.
So that’s basically my observations as someone who is around lefties a lot. after a while, it kinda becomes a background fact. I know they’re left-handed, but it’s not something that I use to describe them to others. I’m more likely to say something like “They have gray eyes and a really nice smile” or something more specific like “Light blue eyes with dark blue spots in a vague circle around the pupil.” And yes, i do know someone with those eyes.
If it’s a big deal to the culture of your book, they probably would notice, and probably would use it as a defining feature though. You can make it mean more in your books than it usually does in real life if you build the worldbuilding enough.
This probably wasn’t helpful but oh well
Confuzzled, RAE
(PS. Pfp by SelkieSeal on Unvale. My dear Chase ❤️?)Thank you so much! This is helpful. (especially since you are noticing these things in left-handed people it gives me some insite on what things other notice)
Yes, this culture will be hyper sensitive to this so I’m trying to gather up all the things they might notice.
As for the eye thing, I do that too! I can’t tell if it’s an author thing or an artist thing.
And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who couldn't hear the music
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