This month I want to talk about mottoes. Merriam-Webster defines a motto as “a short expression of a guiding principle.”

I think an interesting exercise is to think of what a fictional character’s motto might be. It gives us insight into what drives them and motivates them. For example, in one of my recent novels, one guy’s motto might be this, which the Internet tells me was stated by Confucius: “”The scholar does not consider gold and jade to be precious treasures, but loyalty and good faith.” The guy he falls for, on the other hand, would probably claim this quote from Jane Eyre: “I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself.” (Ooh, do we see one of the sources of conflict in this story?)

In The Princess Bride, I think Inigo would choose this motto from Arthur Conan Doyle: “There is no satisfaction in vengeance unless the offender has time to realize who it is that strikes him, and why retribution has come upon him.” Maybe Westley, however, might take a note from the Beatles and tell us, “All you need is love.”

I have several personal mottos. The one I quote most often, usually with a lengthy sigh, is, “Do your job.” Actually, there’s usually an f-bomb in there too. I think it’s a good motto. If everyone did their job, life would go a lot more smoothly. But I have a few other favorites as well:

Choose your battles.

Don’t be an asshole.

Weird is better.

There’s always time for one more chapter.

Don’t crap on someone else’s joy.

I think the last one is especially important, and it’s one I have to remind myself about now and then. A thing may not be to my taste. I may think that thing is stupid or boring or ugly or tastes bad. But that thing may make someone else really happy, so instead of making fun of them, I should let them enjoy it (as long, of course, as no third parties are harmed).

What are your personal mottos? How about your favorite characters’?

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Kim Fielding is the bestselling author of numerous m/m romance novels, novellas, and short stories. Like Kim herself, her work is eclectic, spanning genres such as contemporary, fantasy, paranormal, and historical. Her stories are set in alternate worlds, in 15th century Bosnia, in modern-day Oregon. Her heroes are hipster architect werewolves, housekeepers, maimed giants, and conflicted graduate students. They’re usually flawed, they often encounter terrible obstacles, but they always find love.

After having migrated back and forth across the western two-thirds of the United States, Kim calls the boring part of California home. She lives there with her family and her day job as a university professor, but escapes as often as possible via car, train, plane, or boat. This may explain why her characters often seem to be in transit as well. She dreams of traveling and writing full-time.

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