Another tool to add to your writer’s toolbox is Ian’s Shoelace Site. The tagline is “bringing you the fun, fashion, and science of shoelaces.”
How does your character tie his or her shoes? The choices they make may tell the reader much about their personality, their past, culture, and experiences with shoes.
Do they tie them tight or loose? Use a specific technique for tying? Why? How? How do you describe how they tie their shoes?
Are they athletic? Maybe they were in the past and tie their shoes based upon the technique they used for their football, baseball, ice skates, hockey skates, or running shoes, even though they haven’t touched the sport in decades.
Maybe they are old and need the helix twisted shoe laces to hold their shoes on because their arthritis can’t tie a bow any more. Or maybe they had to go through physical therapy to relearn how to tie their shoes after an accident or stroke. How would they do that and what are the different shoelaces and shoes available to help them?
What types of laces do they have in their shoes? Leather shoes often have thin strings for laces. Many people today slip colorful shoelaces into their tennis shoes for fashion or attention.
Can you name the parts of a shoelace? Are they shoe ties or shoelaces? What’s the tip called that helps slip through the loops or rings to threat a pair of shoes? What is it made of? Are there different kinds?
Did you know that there are almost 2 trillion ways to thread a shoelace through eyelets to tie a pair of shoes?
Ian’s Shoelace Site offers answers to all these character development questions. Ian even has a book published in 2007 called “Laces” to help you learn even more about shoe laces with detailed pictures and graphics.
Check out the following web pages on Ian’s site to learn more about how your character might tie their shoes.
Writers in the Grove 
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