Comments on: A List of Character Traits

By: ShyViolets

ShyViolets — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 13:32:31 +0000

Hmm, I can see your point B.Mac but many protagonists who don’t seem directly relatable end up being so because of their experiences. I personally found the fact ender was bullied and didn’t get alone with his brother made he relatable and Princesses Mia from the Princesses Diaries movies(i hated the books but loved the movies) came off as very relatable too. I can’t think of too many books, comics, or graphic novels that of read where the characters are totally unreliable but still likable. (Batman being the only one I can think of off the top of my head as I never really liked Tony Stark). I do think your right though that relatability can be an after thought as long as the character is likable. If the character if borderline unlikable the relatability may need to be amped up or the character changed to be more likable.

By: B. McKenzie

B. McKenzie — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 01:47:28 +0000

“the most important thing about a protagonist is that he or she be likable and relatable.” I agree with you that some degree of likability is crucial for most protagonists, but I think relatability is optional. There are many successful characters for whom relatability is at best an afterthought (e.g. Batman, most royal characters, Tony Stark and Ender Wiggin and most other super-geniuses, most military action protagonists, most detective protagonists, etc).

By: ShyViolets

ShyViolets — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 00:15:44 +0000

I’m no expert, but from what you’ve said your character sounds like he’d be hard to like. Generally, the most importing thing about a protagonist is that he or she be likable and relatable. Just because he has heroic tendencies doesn’t mean readers will like him. You might want to try and make his good personality traits more prominent. He does however sound very interesting which is a plus when trying to make a character stand out.

By: RL Junior

RL Junior — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 00:07:40 +0000

Here is a character i came up with. Let me know what you think about his traits

Uriah Black
Heroic
creative
intelligent
analytical

eccentric
maladjusted
nihilistic
sarcastic

He inherits a power-suit from his grandfather. His grandfather leaves him the suit because he recognizes Uriah’s nihilistic attitude and wants him to realize that there is meaning and purpose in life.

Uriah’s nihilism causes him to have very little respect for authority and conventional systems. He analyzes everything and is extremely intelligent and curious.

He has a hard time adjusting due to his eccentricities and his relationships are forced and lack depth unless he has a point or he feels they can enhance him in some way.

But beyond it all he is a heroic nihilist. When he inherits the suit he decides that even though life is nothing, maybe he should be something to fill it.

By: ShyViolets

ShyViolets — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 00:05:57 +0000

As many as you want but I personally find 3-5 easiest to work with.

By: RL Junior

RL Junior — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 22:08:48 +0000

whats good everyone? I was wondering how many traits are good for a character?

By: ShyViolets

ShyViolets — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 04:48:28 +0000

For Theo I’m thinking of replacing curious with persuasive (she can talk people into her crazy plans and lie very well)

And for Eli I think replacing enchanting with analytical (he can analyze pretty much any situation both quickly and effectively which puts him at odd with Theo because her plans usually sound like terrible ideas because most people don’t have as much info about the elements of her plan as she does. Her advanced perception makes explaining things very difficult for her)

As for Ian, his personality starts out with heavy emphasize on the negative traits but he mellows out as time goes on and becomes a somewhat more positive person. If he was very depressed and bitter the whole time he would probably get somewhat annoying so I’m going to have him change slightly as he gets over the death of his girlfriend.

By: B. McKenzie

B. McKenzie — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 16:12:27 +0000

Hmm. I think curiosity is sort of a given with intrepidity (which actually is a word, I think). It might if Theo and maybe Eli had some traits that were more unexpected together. I think Ian’s combination of self-reliance and depression/bitterness is the freshest of the three.

By: ShyViolets

ShyViolets — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 04:39:11 +0000

Hi everyone!
I have a few character personalities id like to run by you guys.

The first is my main character:

Theodosia “Theo” Knight
Positive: intrepid, curious, and resourceful
Negative: blunt and sarcastic (blunt isn’t necessarily bad but she can’t keep her mouth shut at times)

Elieazar “Eli” Gunner
Positive: playful (bordering on flirtatious), enigmatic, and enchanting
Negative: wild and mistrustful

Ian McKenna
Positive: driven and self-reliant
Negative: volatile, depressed, and bitter
(he is kind of in a funk due to the death of is girlfriend but never fear he will come out of it before he has time to crash the story)

By: Brian McKenzie (B. Mac)

Brian McKenzie (B. Mac) — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 13:45:29 +0000

It's a little bit conventional, JD. For example, almost all of the charming characters I've seen are confident/intrepid. And rebellious frequently goes along with foolhardy/immature.
Granted, I'm not sure what the character's role in the story or his backstory is like, but I'd recommend giving him at least one major trait that doesn't go hand in hand with the others to help flesh him out a bit more. Whimsical could work there, depending on how far you plan on going with it. (For example, my own Agent Orange is intrepid/confident, charming, rebellious and whimsical, but I think whimsical is the most obvious of the four--if you're interested in seeing how that plays out, please see my script here, password brian ).

By: JD

JD — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 08:44:12 +0000

This site is awesome! Also, it’s extremely helpful.

Hey, I have this character named Gabriel and I just got done with his personality traits. Can someone tell me if this is a good mix:

Positive:

- Confident

- Whimsical

- Intrepid

- Rebellious

- Charming

Negative:

- Foolhardy

- Immature

- Pensive

- Disorganized

- Obstinate

By: Grenac

Grenac — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 23:35:51 +0000

Let’s see if I can actually form these into coherent words instead of just abstract thoughts.

Ianthe

Positive:
- Helpful
- Carefree
- Persistent

Negative:
- Selfish
- Spiteful

Ianthe’s got a “save the world” mindset (there’s a reason for it). That becomes her motivation for becoming a hero. She’s very helpful towards others and doesn’t like to see anyone sad or hurt. She was raised in a very happy environment, her mother and sisters are all very supportive and encouraging. Since her father’s departure, she’s been harboring feelings of selfishness and anger, but she tries her hardest to keep those hidden.

Cirocco:

Positive:
- Exuberant
- Honest
- Just

Negative:
- Obstinate
- Rude
- Impulsive

Cirocco’s disliked by most everyone because of her attitude. She’s a good person at heart, but it’s overshadowed by her rude tendencies. This pushes her self-confidence down to the floor. She decides to become a hero to become famous and be liked by everyone. She cherishes Ianthe as a true friend. Coco is also very judgmental and once she has an opinion on someone, it’s highly unlikely to change.

By: Crystal

Crystal — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 00:34:03 +0000

Yeah…Sorry, I totally forgot to do one for Eva. I seem to have a hard time explaining the characters’ qualities. Actually, Adam and Eva are the most alike. The word I would use the most to describe them is ‘child-like’.
Um, just a quick note about Adam’s positive qualities: Most of them were his qualities before the story started. When he finally meets Rebecca in person, he’s a lot different.
When Adam goes crazy, all the harm that he does to people is physical. However, when Rebecca is very angry, she just tends to yell at them. She’s been around longer than most people, so she knows everything about everybody… Including how to hurt them.

Eva
Positive:
Carefree
Lighthearted
Energetic

Negative:
Wings don’t really count as a real power.
Immature. Yes, she’s only twelve, but is having a twelve-year-old on your team really a good idea?
A bit of a crybaby at times. (This may also apply to Adam.)
Definitely not as experienced as everyone else. Even Adam had a few years of training. Eva, she gets to train for a month, and then is expected to run out and fight.
Won’t hurt another person. Well, no one wants to, but, again, Eva is the youngest. Not that she refuses to defend herself. You just won’t find her with a gun or any of the technology that the others have.

I know that it looks like she has a lot of negatives in comparison to positives, but, actually, Eva is becoming my favorite character.

By: B. Mac

B. Mac — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 06:27:02 +0000

Hello, Crystal. Okay, with each of these characters, I’d recommend cutting/consolidating down to 2-3 notable strengths and 1-2 flaws. I think that’ll help the most important traits stick out more.

I notice that Adam is faithful, Daniel is dutiful, and Rebecca is dutiful and dedicated. In practice, I feel these traits usually play out very similarly. If you notice that the characters are acting the same way in a wide variety of situations, I’d recommend tweaking the characters a bit so they overlap less. Similarly, both Rebecca and Daniel are serious and honest, and I get the impression that both Adam and Rebecca are unstable (“when she gets angry… watch out!”)

By: Crystal

Crystal — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 01:25:47 +0000

Whoops…I forgot to turn off the bold for that last part. Sorry!