• 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
    • Free Show-Dont-Tell Pro Pack
  • WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®
WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®

WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®

Helping writers become bestselling authors

Character Traits Entry: Dishonest

Published: July 23, 2011 by BECCA PUGLISI

Definition: untrustworthy; lacking honesty, untruthful

Characters in Literature: The Great Gatsby; Rita Skeeter (Harry Potter) Pinocchio, Pirate Characters (ie Jack Sparrow; Captain Hook)

Common Portrayals: Pirates, Gamblers, Swindlers, Politicians, ‘the bad kid’, the co-worker who lies and uses ill-gotten information on others to climb the corporate ladder, Bank Robbers, Pedophiles, Drug addicts, cheating spouses

Clichés to Avoid: con-artist twenty-somethings running a scam on elderly/grandparents for money; the cop on the take; ‘the sullen bad boy’ teen; dishonest big corporations; the rich cheating husband; a falling for a rogue and then being shocked at eventual dishonesty/betrayal, used car salesman

Twists on the Traditional Dishonest Character:

  • Why do dishonest sorts always need to be rich jerks, seedy street folk or people who are bad to the bone? Try a dishonest nun! Let’s see a funeral director lie to a grieving family. Better yet, how about a doll-haired, cookie-baking granny who can lie through her teeth!
  • I would love to see a genuine dishonest-to-honest transformation that came about because of an internal epiphany, not through the love/guidance of someone else. Show us people can change, but they don’t need other people to ‘show them how’.
  • Create a scenario where dishonesty is the best course and will cause the least amount of hurt to others, and the stubborn, dishonest character chooses to be honest in order to go against ‘what other people deem as right’.

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 

 

BECCA PUGLISI
BECCA PUGLISI

Becca Puglisi is an international speaker, writing coach, and bestselling author of The Emotion Thesaurus and its sequels. Her books are available in five languages, are sourced by US universities, and are used by novelists, screenwriters, editors, and psychologists around the world. She is passionate about learning and sharing her knowledge with others through her Writers Helping Writers blog and via One Stop For Writers—a powerhouse online library created to help writers elevate their storytelling.

Share this:

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

Related

Filed Under: Writing Help

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Beth says

    July 25, 2011 at 7:37 am

    This feature is always terrific, but I especially like your suggested twists. Really thought-provoking.

  2. Sarah says

    July 25, 2011 at 6:08 am

    This is so interesting–I love this post! I love how you identify potential causes of dishonesty. As with any character flaw, to keep a reader engaged, it helps to have a level of understanding as to why a character might have turned out a certain way.

  3. Medeia Sharif says

    July 24, 2011 at 11:56 am

    Great suggestions at the end!

    I’m writing a dishonest character at the moment, so this helps.

  4. Laura Pauling says

    July 23, 2011 at 11:25 pm

    I love dishonesty – and I go to church! Secrets, lies, betrayals – love them all. And then you had to go and paste in my favorite guy of all times. Jack/Johnny!

  5. Juliana L. Brandt says

    July 23, 2011 at 11:08 pm

    I like this one! And isn’t it true, that dishonest people will change only when they’ve figured things out and not because someone has shown them the light? At leave I’ve found this to be true 🙂

    Great post.

  6. Julie Musil says

    July 23, 2011 at 9:55 pm

    This is awesome! I love the idea of making an seemingly innocent person be dishonest. How fun.

  7. Angie Cothran says

    July 23, 2011 at 9:44 pm

    Awesome post Angela. I’ve got some very trustworthy pirates in my WIP, it’s nice to know I’m breaking a cliche.

  8. Becca Puglisi says

    July 23, 2011 at 4:12 pm

    A perfectionist liar. I’d love to see that!

    Ange, you picked this trait just so you could talk about pirates, didn’t you? I’ll be sure to leave all the zombie-related traits for you, too.

  9. Becca Puglisi says

    July 23, 2011 at 4:10 pm

    This comment has been removed by the author.

  10. Jemi Fraser says

    July 23, 2011 at 3:27 pm

    I’d like to see that kind of transformation too 🙂 Nice list!

  11. Jeff King says

    July 23, 2011 at 2:36 pm

    Nice…

  12. Carrie Butler says

    July 23, 2011 at 1:26 pm

    “There is a certain reliability with someone who is dishonest in the sense that you can count on them to always act untrustworthy unless truth directly benefits them.” Absolutely! In fact, it perfectly describes one of the characters in my manuscript. The fun part is the challenge of making him a redeemable character. By the end of the book, I want people to hate the fact that they actually like him. 😉 Great post!

  13. Lisa Gail Green says

    July 23, 2011 at 11:49 am

    Oh my gosh! This actually just inspired an interesting thought… I will have explore. Thanks! 😀

  14. Angela Ackerman says

    July 23, 2011 at 11:36 am

    Ha, thanks guys! I agree, there is something incredibly appealing about a dishonest character–often their motivations are not simple, and being honest does not always mean ‘being a bad person’.

    I love pirates and especially Jack! How could I not post a pic of him here, lol?

  15. Heather says

    July 23, 2011 at 11:14 am

    This one holds a special place in my heart because I’ve come to love the character of Jack Sparrow so much! He is the perfect example of how to take a clique and turn it completely around.

  16. alaw says

    July 23, 2011 at 10:17 am

    Ooh! Ooh! Smeagol/Gollum! Or Saruman!

  17. mshatch says

    July 23, 2011 at 9:53 am

    oh good post and dreamy pic 🙂 I’ll have to remember this when I write my next – book of thieves.

  18. Stina Lindenblatt says

    July 23, 2011 at 9:28 am

    I’m going to start pre-planning my next book soon. I’ll definitely be hanging out on this site when I do. 😀

    (Not that I don’t normally)

  19. SP Sipal says

    July 23, 2011 at 8:56 am

    You forgot the “Captain” to Jack Sparrow. Of course, I had to read anything that started with his picture! 🙂

    Captain Jack is an interesting example because he is honest in his dishonesty. Remember — “Pirate!”

    Yes, I know this post is about more than Johhny Depp, but I can’t seem to talk about anything else. 🙂

    I love these character resources you post because I do struggle with character, and when I do, resources like yours, and envisioning a real person I know or an awesome character like Captain Jack, truly helps!

  20. irishoma says

    July 23, 2011 at 7:47 am

    Thank you for such a thorough post with so much detail. You got me to think this morning!
    Donna V.

  21. tracikenworth says

    July 23, 2011 at 7:41 am

    LOVE the picture you referenced for the character trait: so fitting. A dishonest character can adds such flaws and depth to our writing. Thanks bunches!!

Trackbacks

  1. Character Traits Thesaurus Collection | Writers Helping Writers says:
    October 11, 2013 at 4:33 pm

    […] Dishonest […]

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.

Subscribe to the Blog

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

Find it Fast

Read by Category

Grab Our Button

Writers Helping Writers

Software that Will Change the Writing Game

One Stop for Writers

Join our Writers Helping Writers Newsletter

NO AI TRAINING: Any use of this content to “train” generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to generate text is expressly prohibited. The legal copyright holder, Writers Helping Writers®, reserves all rights to license uses of this work for generative AI training and development of machine learning language models. WRITERS HELPING WRITERS® · Copyright © 2025 · WEBSITE DESIGN BY LAUGH EAT LEARN

 

Loading Comments...