• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • About
    • About WHW
    • Press Kit
    • Resident Writing Coaches
    • Contact Us
    • Podcasts & Interviews
    • Master Storytelling Newsletter
    • Guest Post Guidelines
    • Privacy Policy
    • Charities & Support
  • Bookstore
    • Bookstore
    • Foreign Editions
    • Book Reviews
    • Free Thesaurus Sampler
  • Blog
  • Software
  • Workshops
  • Resources
    • List of Resources
    • Recommended Writing Books
    • WHW Descriptive Thesaurus Collection
    • Free Tools & Worksheets
    • Grab A Free Show-Dont-Tell Pro Pack
  • WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®

WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®

Helping writers become bestselling authors

Character Traits Thesaurus Entry: Reckless

June 25, 2011 by ANGELA ACKERMAN

Definition: Marked by a lack of proper caution; careless of consequences

Characters in Literature: Alaska Young (Looking for Alaska), Mr. Toad (The Wind in the Willows)

Common Characteristics: boldness, fearlessness (whether real or perceived), impulsivity, lacking common sense, needing constant stimulation, exhibiting multiple self-destructive behaviors (drugs, alcohol, driving dangerously, unsafe sex, etc), lack of respect for authority, shooting off at the mouth, stubbornness

Clichés to Avoid: the tortured reckless character with a death wish; the reckless bully, always coercing and manipulating others to join in his behavior

Twists on the Traditional Reckless Character:

▪ Because reckless characters often have a negative past event that defines their behavior, how about making a character reckless for a different reason? The reckless character whose parents were crocodile wrestlers and raised her to be adventurous and fearless. Or a nerdy reckless character who wants to be like his treasure-hunting hero in his favorite comic.

▪ Mentors are wise and usually do right by their proteges. A reckless mentor would be a hoot, in my opinion.

GOOD NEWS!

This sample, along with the rest of the character trait entries, has been expanded into book form! Together, THE NEGATIVE TRAIT THESAURUS: A WRITER’S GUIDE TO CHARACTER FLAWS and THE POSITIVE TRAIT THESAURUS: A WRITER’S GUIDE TO CHARACTER ATTRIBUTES contain over 200 traits for you to choose from when creating unique, memorable characters. Each entry contains possible causes for the trait, as well as positive and negative aspects, traits in supporting characters that may cause conflict, and associated behaviors, attitudes, thoughts, and emotions. For more information on this bestselling book and where it can be found, please visit our bookstore.

Love working online and having your favorite description resources in one place? We’ve got you covered. The entries from the Negative Trait Thesaurus book have been integrated into our online library at One Stop For Writers. Now you can search and cross-reference between all our thesaurus collections quickly and easily. Interested in viewing a free sample? Register at One Stop and see all that this intuitive library for writers has to offer.

Thesaurus Pair

ANGELA ACKERMAN
ANGELA ACKERMAN

Angela is a writing coach, international speaker, and bestselling author who loves to travel, teach, empower writers, and pay-it-forward. She also is a founder of One Stop For Writers, a portal to powerful, innovative tools to help writers elevate their storytelling.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Claire Dawn says

    July 1, 2011 at 12:53 am

    As a bit of a reckless myself, I loved this post! 🙂

  2. Carrie says

    June 26, 2011 at 3:21 pm

    I agree! I’d love to see a reckless mentor. Great post! 🙂

  3. Becca Puglisi says

    June 26, 2011 at 2:28 pm

    Yay! Welcome, Miranda!

  4. L.J. says

    June 26, 2011 at 10:30 am

    Great idea about turning the usual “Reckless” character into something I’ve never seen before. Oh how the wheels are now spinning…

  5. Miranda Hardy says

    June 26, 2011 at 9:31 am

    Hi Becca! It was great to meet you yesterday, and this site is great. I’ll be spending the day browsing. lol

  6. Lisa Gail Green says

    June 25, 2011 at 8:33 pm

    Yup, another great one. And I love the pic. 😀

  7. Barbara Watson says

    June 25, 2011 at 1:09 pm

    Reckless for a different reason – I like that. Thank you for making us think beyond….

  8. Susan Flett Swiderski says

    June 25, 2011 at 12:53 pm

    Boy, you sure did nail the characteristics of a reckless person. Great job. And the idea of a reckless person also being accident-prone is downright intriguing.

  9. Jeff King says

    June 25, 2011 at 11:38 am

    Perfect… this came at the right time for me and my WIP.

  10. marissameyer says

    June 25, 2011 at 11:36 am

    I love your character trait posts! They always give me new ideas. Thanks!

  11. Heather says

    June 25, 2011 at 11:12 am

    I love the idea of changing a reckless character’s reason to make them unique. That is an awesome idea!

  12. Deborah Taylor-French says

    June 25, 2011 at 10:14 am

    This is perfect for a child character I’m still drawing in my novel. Ruthie is reckless, yet her very daring draws her best friend into fantastic adventures. Ruthie has been encouraged to jump in and have fun. Of course, this gets her and her friend in trouble.

    Thank you for defining different reasons why a character maybe a reckless type.

  13. Traci Kenworth says

    June 25, 2011 at 7:40 am

    Oooh, I like this!! Recklessness can do so much to become a character and make them a tool to further a scene/s with him/her. They can be the catalyst for so much. You’ve got to be one of the best writer tools sites I’ve run across, and you just keep improving!! Good luck to you both on everything.

Primary Sidebar


Welcome!

Writing is hard. Angela & Becca make it easier. Get ready to level up your fiction with game-changing tools, resources, and advice.

Follow Us

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Subscribe to the Blog

Check your inbox to confirm! If gremlins tried to eat it, you might have to check your spam folder.

Read by Category

Grab Our Button

Writers Helping Writers

Software that Will Change the Writing Game

One Stop for Writers

WRITERS HELPING WRITERS® · Copyright © 2023 · WEBSITE DESIGN BY LAUGH EAT LEARN

Cookies are delicious and ours help make your experience here better. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with our cookie use. Cookie settingsGOT IT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. More on our Privacy Policy here.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT
 

Loading Comments...