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Character Trait Entry: Loyal

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Definition: unswerving in allegiance

Characters in Literature: Sam Gamgee (Lord of the Rings), Lloyd Henreid (The Stand), Rikki-Tikki-Tavi

Common Portrayals: soldiers, yes-men in the business world, cult members, best friends, the mafia

Clichés to Avoid: comparing someone’s loyalty to that of a dog, kissing the ring as a pledge of loyalty, criminals who choose prison or death rather than rather than rolling over on an accomplice

Twists on the Traditional Loyal Character:  

▪ Instead of blind loyalty, show the conflict of a truly loyal person torn between supporting the one they love and adhering to another valued ideal (the truth, the law, another important relationship)

▪ Loyal characters tend to attract other loyal characters. Make life difficult for your character by pairing him with someone who does not value loyalty, or someone who is equally loyal to an opposing person or ideal.

▪ How about a loyal character who has another, equally strong character trait that makes it difficult for him to be loyal? (see below)

Build a worthy protagonist with a mix of unique strengths that will help him overcome obstacles and achieve meaningful goals.

This sample, along with the rest of the character trait entries, has been expanded into book form. Together, the bestselling NEGATIVE TRAIT THESAURUS: A WRITER’S GUIDE TO CHARACTER FLAWS and POSITIVE TRAIT THESAURUS: A WRITER’S GUIDE TO CHARACTER ATTRIBUTES contain over 200 traits for you to choose from when creating memorable, compelling 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.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Leslie Rose says

    I love a story where the loyalty comes from the heart instead of pure duty. Sam’s speech to Frodo about how they will be remembered in tales always brings me to tears. It’s an anthem to loyalty.

  6. Angela says

    I agree with you about blindly loyal characters…it is always a nice twist when the loyal character (usually the best friend) has a personal conflict with his / her loyalty to the MC.

  9. Traci Kenworth says

    I so love your choice for this.
    Samwise was a hero in his own right
    and if it hadn’t been for his loyalty
    well, the ring would never have been
    thrown into the pit. Loyalty is a
    worthwhile trait to have on board in
    any story.Sometimes it lights the way
    in the story.

  11. CP Design says

    Ah Sam, the epitome of loyal. How did you know I needed this post? The book I’m editing has an extremely loyal character in it and this will help me so much!

  14. ralfast says

    See now, you can’t keep doing this thing, with the great posts that make me write posts of my own expanding on already an excellent post.

    Not fair!

    🙂

  16. Jennifer Lane says

    I never considered before how a military background would contribute to a character’s loyalty. I wrote about a former Navy lieutenant whose brother was a Mafia thug, and my character really struggled with his loyalty to his values vs. his brother. Great post!