WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®

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Introducing…the Character Traits Thesaurus

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Quick, name your favorite character.

Now list a trait or two that defines him/her.

Chances are, you were able to come up with a defining trait fairly quickly. That’s because likable characters are memorable. They exhibit qualities that we admire or can relate to. Creating memorable characters is key to creating memorable stories. To test this theory, ask yourself if your character’s story is on your list of favorite books.

Like any important job, character creation isn’t easy. You have to consider what traits to give your hero to make it possible (or seemingly impossible) for her to achieve her goals. She’ll also need characteristics that readers will relate to or empathize with. Having a flaw to overcome is always nice, too. And you don’t want to recreate any existing characters, so you’ll need to combine her qualities in a way that has never been done before.

It’s a tough job, but we all have to do it. Here’s hoping that our new CHARACTER TRAITS THESAURUS will help.

The goal of this resource is to examine many existing character traits through the lens of character creation. What might have caused this trait to surface in my character? What are the positives and negatives of this quality? How might I pair it with other characteristics to create someone truly original and interesting?

Our hope is that these entries will shed new light on existing traits, enabling you to create some new favorite characters. You can find all entries for this thesaurus here.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  7. Anonymous says

    This has gotta be the best thesuarus yet. I’m always up all night trying to spice up the characters.

  8. Bailor says

    OH, I am so excited to see what you guys come up with. C: your blog is so helpful.

  11. Lydia K says

    What a great idea! Your Thesauruses (thesauri?) are awesome.

    Thanks for your supportive comment on my post. The best pro-conference therapy ever!

  20. alaw says

    Can’t wait to see it! By the way, this is a great blog…I know it’s going to help me with my writing a LOT!

  21. alaw says

    Can’t wait to see it! By the way, this is a great blog…I know it’s going to help me with my writing a LOT!

  22. Angela Ackerman says

    Thanks everyone. We are totally jazzed about this new thesaurus and hope it really helps you think about traits in a new way!

    @EEV I love Pippin. And Merry. They are both such awesome characters, so they inspire us to create new versions of them!

    @Valley, yes there is a positive and negative aspect–you’ll have to have a look and tell us what you think of it.

    @SP, at some point, I could see us creating a list in a single post, but of course these tags should always be used in moderation anyway. If you’re looking for something close to beat tags that is also emotional showing, look up our emotion thesaurus entries in the sidebar.

    Angela

  24. SP Sipal says

    This will be a great resource! I can think of another thesaurus like this that I’d love to have, but might require more than one or two words — action tags. I way overuse some, like “he shrugged,” “she grinned,” etc, and am constantly struggling to come up with a new way of phrasing things but also keeping it simple.

  25. Caledonia Lass says

    Oi, I listed a dozen characters in my writing and their traits in the space of a few seconds…. I love all my characters and LOVE creating them. XD
    This sounds like an awesome thesaurus to have on hand and I am glad I am following you now. 😀

  27. Nancy Kelley says

    You are my hero. Character creation is really the bane of my existence. Once they’re formed in my mind, I can easily put them in the story… it’s just getting to that point that takes some time. Thanks for this new thesaurus!

  34. valleyofthemuse says

    This sounds like it’s going to be a fantastic resource! Really looking forward to it.

    Are you going to delve into the positive and negative aspects of a particular trait? E.g. someone who is unorganized is also likely to be spontaneous?

  37. Videkov says

    Thanks so much for the new addition you planned. It sounds fabulous. Your blog is my very favorite and I read/use it daily.

  42. EEV says

    Loved the idea!

    P.S. Can someone explain me why I’m so obsessed with Pipin from LOTR? When someone asks me to think about a character, he pops up automatically. I love the little guy. 🙂 LOL
    – EEV

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