Traits, Quirks, and Jobs

I'm working on three new characters, and it's a bit like making soup. A little of this, a little of that. Playing around. In general, my characters' appearance, quirks, and personality traits seem to come in one developed package. Their professions often elude me, since I do not work a "real" job but am a f/t writer/editor at home. I just have a hard time thinking of jobs I might want to write about. I am also well aware, 20+ novels into my writing career, that choosing elements of traits, quirks, and professions with room for conflict is extremely important.

So what's the difference between a trait and a quirk? I tend to think of a trait as a deep-rooted element of someone's personality. I'm extremely, fiercely loyal--and stubborn. I'm tenacious, and I have an exterior of optimism painted over a very worried interior (Russian side of the family--we "fret"). I tend to think a lot, don't like to sleep, and have--I'm told--a wicked sense of humor. My quirks? Where do I even start? Despite not being Catholic, I make the sign of the cross if someone talks about death. I I make a pot of coffee each day to drink 1/2 of a cup. Then I might make a second pot to drink a "fresh" other 1/2 of a cup. I keep those little mass cards from funerals I've attended in my purse. Why? I have no idea. Then I will run across the names and prayers of dead people while rummaging for a tissue. But I never throw them out, and if they happen to be mass cards with Renaissance paintings on them of angels or things, I take "extras" at the funeral. I tend to be very, very honest . . . but I will be complicit in my father's petty theft by allowing him to put things in my--again--very large purse. Most of my glassware is stolen. Quirks.

My job? Writer. Editor. Mom. Chauffeur. Laundress. Pirate Mom. Occasional shrink.

So . . . my main character in my wip . . . doctor. Thoughtful. Reserved. Taciturn. Passionate. Has only loved one woman his entire life. His quirks . . . he has a half-dozen Russian expressions he uses depending on various occasions. He likes to barter instead of pay for things outright. He likes trading bottles of liquor he receives from patients at Christmas for other things he might like. He hates the American convention of saying "I love you," until the world goes crazy and now he says it three or four times a day. He only has one real friend not because he doesn't trust people but because getting to know him is a process of intensity and depth and loneliness he has felt and he doesn't expend the energy to reveal it all except with his one friend and his one lover.

So . . . what are you all working on? Traits . .. quirks . . . job . . .