5 Types Of Character Traits To Help You Create Your Complex Characters
Characters are arguably the most important part of any fictional work. Whether in a book, television show, or movie, characters are the ones audiences identify with and the vehicles for telling the entire story. But how do you go about creating characters that people will love, fear, want to know more about, and find utterly unforgettable?
It all begins with a character’s traits. Character traits are the essential building blocks of every character in a story, and choosing the right traits can help establish unique identities that will engage your audience from start to finish. Here’s what you need to know about writing great characters, the unique words you need to describe those characters, and how to get started on creating your own complex characters from scratch.
What are character traits?
When you meet a new person, you often learn about them by observing their traits. A trait is “a distinguishing characteristic or quality, especially of one’s personal nature.” The characters in stories have traits as well.
A character trait is a literary term for adjectives and descriptions that writers use to add personality and depth to characters. In fictional stories, character traits serve a number of purposes, including:
- Helping readers connect and identify with a character.
- Providing insight into a character’s motivations.
- Making it easier to differentiate between two characters.
- Solidifying a character’s role, such as villain or hero, in the story.
- Adding complexity to each character.
Character traits may be internal or external. External traits are things another person might notice, like how someone looks, their particular accent when speaking, or how they carry themselves. Internal traits have more to do with what’s going on inside a character’s mind. They are the emotional elements, private thoughts, and actions that make up a character’s personality.
The many different kinds of character traits
When it comes to deciding on traits for your own characters, there are no rules. Just like no two people on earth are exactly alike, no two characters in a story will ever be exactly alike. Let’s check out some words you might use when describing your own characters’ one-of-a-kind traits.
Personality
charming
stoic
approachable
reclusive
ambitious
impulsive
demanding
poised
distrustful
even-tempered
Physical attributes
lanky
energetic
petite
elegant
curvaceous
rugged
stately
graceful
fumbling
brawny
Beliefs and morals
philosophical
judicious
greedy
pious
deceptive
spiritual
altruistic
haughty
stingy
revolutionary
Classic hero traits
courageous
adventurous
honorable
sincere
visionary
persistent
humble
reliable
honest
noble
Classic villain traits
envious
demonic
unscrupulous
furtive
mischievous
deceitful
brutal
powerful
wounded
resourceful
Building characters
Now that you’re armed with a great character vocabulary, let’s learn a little more about how to build characters.
Option one: Start with the character
One method of character building is to begin with an idea of your character’s role or defining trait and build from there. For example: a queen.
Ask yourself questions about your character’s motivations and the way others see them.
- What does the queen look like?
- How did the queen ascend to power?
- Do people like this character? Why or why not?
- What is someone’s first impression of this character?
- What is this character afraid of?
- What does this character want more than anything?
As you answer questions about your character, their physical appearance, beliefs, personality and motivations will begin to emerge. The next step is to write them into a scene and see how these qualities impact their actions and interactions.
Option two: Start with traits
On the writing podcast Death of 1000 Cuts, author Tim Clare frequently uses timers and lists to flesh out ideas for everything from characters to story locations to plot points. The idea is to let the creative flow and avoid overthinking things.
Try setting a timer for 10 minutes and making a list of interesting traits a character might possess. These might include physical attributes, personality quirks, preferences, and strengths and weaknesses, like:
smart
anxious
curly hair
wears a lot of purple
loves video games
hates chocolate
lives in outer space
holds grudges
ambitious
Once time has lapsed, look at your list and start to dig into the traits you wrote down. Circle 8–10 character traits and begin to flesh them out. How do these traits work together? How did your character come to possess these traits?
As you begin to write your characters into scenes, their traits will solidify and you will get to know them better. Before you know it, they will feel real, and the traits you spent time cultivating will help drive the rest of your story.
Copyright 2024, XAKKHRA, All Rights Reserved.
Characters are arguably the most important part of any fictional work. Whether in a book, television show, or movie, characters are the ones audiences identify with and the vehicles for telling the entire story. But how do you go about creating characters that people will love, fear, want to know more about, and find utterly unforgettable?
It all begins with a character’s traits. Character traits are the essential building blocks of every character in a story, and choosing the right traits can help establish unique identities that will engage your audience from start to finish. Here’s what you need to know about writing great characters, the unique words you need to describe those characters, and how to get started on creating your own complex characters from scratch.
What are character traits?
When you meet a new person, you often learn about them by observing their traits. A trait is “a distinguishing characteristic or quality, especially of one’s personal nature.” The characters in stories have traits as well.
A character trait is a literary term for adjectives and descriptions that writers use to add personality and depth to characters. In fictional stories, character traits serve a number of purposes, including:
- Helping readers connect and identify with a character.
- Providing insight into a character’s motivations.
- Making it easier to differentiate between two characters.
- Solidifying a character’s role, such as villain or hero, in the story.
- Adding complexity to each character.
Character traits may be internal or external. External traits are things another person might notice, like how someone looks, their particular accent when speaking, or how they carry themselves. Internal traits have more to do with what’s going on inside a character’s mind. They are the emotional elements, private thoughts, and actions that make up a character’s personality.
The many different kinds of character traits
When it comes to deciding on traits for your own characters, there are no rules. Just like no two people on earth are exactly alike, no two characters in a story will ever be exactly alike. Let’s check out some words you might use when describing your own characters’ one-of-a-kind traits.
Personality
charming
stoic
approachable
reclusive
ambitious
impulsive
demanding
poised
distrustful
even-tempered
Physical attributes
lanky
energetic
petite
elegant
curvaceous
rugged
stately
graceful
fumbling
brawny
Beliefs and morals
philosophical
judicious
greedy
pious
deceptive
spiritual
altruistic
haughty
stingy
revolutionary
Classic hero traits
courageous
adventurous
honorable
sincere
visionary
persistent
humble
reliable
honest
noble
Classic villain traits
envious
demonic
unscrupulous
furtive
mischievous
deceitful
brutal
powerful
wounded
resourceful
Building characters
Now that you’re armed with a great character vocabulary, let’s learn a little more about how to build characters.
Option one: Start with the character
One method of character building is to begin with an idea of your character’s role or defining trait and build from there. For example: a queen.
Ask yourself questions about your character’s motivations and the way others see them.
- What does the queen look like?
- How did the queen ascend to power?
- Do people like this character? Why or why not?
- What is someone’s first impression of this character?
- What is this character afraid of?
- What does this character want more than anything?
As you answer questions about your character, their physical appearance, beliefs, personality and motivations will begin to emerge. The next step is to write them into a scene and see how these qualities impact their actions and interactions.
Option two: Start with traits
On the writing podcast Death of 1000 Cuts, author Tim Clare frequently uses timers and lists to flesh out ideas for everything from characters to story locations to plot points. The idea is to let the creative flow and avoid overthinking things.
Try setting a timer for 10 minutes and making a list of interesting traits a character might possess. These might include physical attributes, personality quirks, preferences, and strengths and weaknesses, like:
smart
anxious
curly hair
wears a lot of purple
loves video games
hates chocolate
lives in outer space
holds grudges
ambitious
Once time has lapsed, look at your list and start to dig into the traits you wrote down. Circle 8–10 character traits and begin to flesh them out. How do these traits work together? How did your character come to possess these traits?
As you begin to write your characters into scenes, their traits will solidify and you will get to know them better. Before you know it, they will feel real, and the traits you spent time cultivating will help drive the rest of your story.
Copyright 2024, XAKKHRA, All Rights Reserved.
5 Types Of Character Traits To Help You Create Your Complex Characters
Characters are arguably the most important part of any fictional work. Whether in a book, television show, or movie, characters are the ones audiences identify with and the vehicles for telling the entire story. But how do you go about creating characters that people will love, fear, want to know more about, and find utterly unforgettable?
It all begins with a character’s traits. Character traits are the essential building blocks of every character in a story, and choosing the right traits can help establish unique identities that will engage your audience from start to finish. Here’s what you need to know about writing great characters, the unique words you need to describe those characters, and how to get started on creating your own complex characters from scratch.
What are character traits?
When you meet a new person, you often learn about them by observing their traits. A trait is “a distinguishing characteristic or quality, especially of one’s personal nature.” The characters in stories have traits as well.
A character trait is a literary term for adjectives and descriptions that writers use to add personality and depth to characters. In fictional stories, character traits serve a number of purposes, including:
- Helping readers connect and identify with a character.
- Providing insight into a character’s motivations.
- Making it easier to differentiate between two characters.
- Solidifying a character’s role, such as villain or hero, in the story.
- Adding complexity to each character.
Character traits may be internal or external. External traits are things another person might notice, like how someone looks, their particular accent when speaking, or how they carry themselves. Internal traits have more to do with what’s going on inside a character’s mind. They are the emotional elements, private thoughts, and actions that make up a character’s personality.
The many different kinds of character traits
When it comes to deciding on traits for your own characters, there are no rules. Just like no two people on earth are exactly alike, no two characters in a story will ever be exactly alike. Let’s check out some words you might use when describing your own characters’ one-of-a-kind traits.
Personality
charming
stoic
approachable
reclusive
ambitious
impulsive
demanding
poised
distrustful
even-tempered
Physical attributes
lanky
energetic
petite
elegant
curvaceous
rugged
stately
graceful
fumbling
brawny
Beliefs and morals
philosophical
judicious
greedy
pious
deceptive
spiritual
altruistic
haughty
stingy
revolutionary
Classic hero traits
courageous
adventurous
honorable
sincere
visionary
persistent
humble
reliable
honest
noble
Classic villain traits
envious
demonic
unscrupulous
furtive
mischievous
deceitful
brutal
powerful
wounded
resourceful
Building characters
Now that you’re armed with a great character vocabulary, let’s learn a little more about how to build characters.
Option one: Start with the character
One method of character building is to begin with an idea of your character’s role or defining trait and build from there. For example: a queen.
Ask yourself questions about your character’s motivations and the way others see them.
- What does the queen look like?
- How did the queen ascend to power?
- Do people like this character? Why or why not?
- What is someone’s first impression of this character?
- What is this character afraid of?
- What does this character want more than anything?
As you answer questions about your character, their physical appearance, beliefs, personality and motivations will begin to emerge. The next step is to write them into a scene and see how these qualities impact their actions and interactions.
Option two: Start with traits
On the writing podcast Death of 1000 Cuts, author Tim Clare frequently uses timers and lists to flesh out ideas for everything from characters to story locations to plot points. The idea is to let the creative flow and avoid overthinking things.
Try setting a timer for 10 minutes and making a list of interesting traits a character might possess. These might include physical attributes, personality quirks, preferences, and strengths and weaknesses, like:
smart
anxious
curly hair
wears a lot of purple
loves video games
hates chocolate
lives in outer space
holds grudges
ambitious
Once time has lapsed, look at your list and start to dig into the traits you wrote down. Circle 8–10 character traits and begin to flesh them out. How do these traits work together? How did your character come to possess these traits?
As you begin to write your characters into scenes, their traits will solidify and you will get to know them better. Before you know it, they will feel real, and the traits you spent time cultivating will help drive the rest of your story.
Copyright 2024, XAKKHRA, All Rights Reserved.