When it comes to writing characters, I don't describe them that much. Sure, I also have an idea on what they look like, but sometimes it's good to let the readers think up of the appearance...

I tend to focus more on their personality and the environment they're in - you know, make the readers feel like they are in the scene.

As far as punctuation marks I am fond of, I think it is easy to see I have become infatuated with dashes lately. I just like the sudden shift in tone. (BTW, I had to fight really hard to not put a dash in that sentence.)

For academic essays, I am right with you on the anecdotal introductions. It at least gives the teacher something interesting to read in case the rest of the essay is not so interesting.

I also like to be flamboyant when writing essays -- not necessarily showing off, but making a greater effort to write in an interesting way. Generally, I like to avoid the whole "list your main points in the thesis" thing, because I feel stifled with that sort of thing. Improvising is my way of writing essays (most everything else, too, actually). I'll have a rough idea of the points I want to make, but as far as what order they come in or how exactly I make those points, it's a crapshoot.

(Smug anecdote alert: One time, my high school was doing a statewide essay writing test to gauge our writing ability, and I plunged straight into it without writing any sort of plan. (Protip: Probably not the way to go, but I am an incredibly arrogant writer, so I do it anyway.) The guy sitting across from me saw this and said, "Ooh, you shouldn't do that." So, annoyed, I replied, "Fine," ripped out a blank piece of paper, wrote out the five points I wanted to make in the vaguest abstractions possible and said, "There, you happy?" I ended up with the highest score in the class. The moral: There is none. I am just a jerk!)

In fiction writing, the inability to describe characters thing hits home. I don't know -- it just bugs me when writers describe every little thing unless there is some point to it. I do not need to know every obsessive detail about what some douchebag looks like. Just give me a few solid details, and I will fill in the blanks. That is mainly what I stick to when I describe the looks of my characters.

My characters are also talky little whelps. It is just fun having two or more characters talk and wondering where the conversation is going to end up. Also, I am not the best at making actions seem interesting, so I kind of squirm when I go too long without dialogue lol.

I love writing in a deadpan style. It comes off as corny to me when too much emphasis is placed on an important event, so I like to underplay things. To me, it adds a sense of surreality that makes the stories that much better -- the insane is treated with as much nonchalance as the normal.

Um, what else ... I do this only when it's appropriate, but I am also a fan of bizarre metaphors/similies. I think that's my love of film noir and old school crime novels shining through.

EDIT: lolenormouscomment

I adore writing and reading detailed action sequences as well. I think I can go a bit overboard, though, and before long I start pitying the fact that I can't animate. If people could simply see what I do in these scenes... That would really be something.

But I'm also a girly girl and like to feel the emotion behind everything in my stories. I roll my eyes at myself quite often.

@Katana:

......that's it, I'm going back on vacation!

Pssst, the bold tag...