Pebblepup's Writing Den

We use the term “character trait” to describe the words we use to describe a character’s personality. these words describe the qualities that make them who they are. It’s important to be able to describe your characters personality. It’s how you make your characters believable as people.

When developing characters, you should be aware that no one is all good or all evil. We are a mixture of both positive and negative traits. One can be an alcoholic and still be courageous enough to save someone’s life.

The internet has a list of characteristics you can use. These lists will help you to describe your character’s personality. Take the positive ones and add a few negatives. If your hero is someone who serves others, make him or her a slob who can’t seem to keep themselves organized.

The key here is to balance positive and negative traits. Even the villain should have some good traits to go with their bad ones. I once saw a murder mystery show on TV where the killer took a child who knew a bit too much out on his boat. The hero/detective arrived at the marina as the boat was coming back. The child got off the boat and the killer got off after him. He looked at the detective and said he couldn’t kill a kid. That’s what I mean. That illustrates the concept of balance.

The killer in that show was capable of strangling a woman but couldn’t kill a kid. Give your characters an ethical boundary or two. The killer in my example had an ethical boundary. It was a bit cockeyed, but it was there.

Your hero can be brave in some ways and a coward in others. another example is the character of Merlin in the BBC TV show of the same name. He thought nothings of charging into danger to save Arthur. Still, he was afraid to tell Arthur he could use magic.

We can be brave in some instances and yet fearful in others. It’s said courage is not the absence of fear but being able to function despite it.

Balancing positive and negative traits in your characters will make them come alive. They will be more believable and readers will find it easier to relate to them. That is the goal after all.

Engaging readers requires that you have a good story with believable characters. If your character is human, alien, a vampire, werewolf or whatever, they still have to be believable. The reader must be able to relate to them.

So when you create your characters, mix in some negative traits to the positive. Allow them some bad traits, or vice versa, if you are creating a villain. Balance them with a mix of both good and bad traits. The villain should have a touch more evil traits. We don’t want to love him or her after all. The hero needs to have some negative things as well. If he or she is too good all the time, she or he becomes annoying.

Creating a good character is like making concrete. Too much of the dry ingredients makes it brittle. Too much water and it will never set. Be proportionate with your mixture of traits. Consider each one with care as you mold your character. Then watch them come alive as you write.