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WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®

WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®

Helping writers become bestselling authors

Character Trait Entry: Ruthless

November 19, 2011 by ANGELA ACKERMAN

Definition: Having no pity; merciless; without compassion

Characters in Literature: Rumpelstiltskin (Brothers Grimm); Michael Corleone (The Godfather); Uncles Balder & Grim (Troll Fell)

Cliches to Avoid: The Hitler-esque military leader; the vampire killer bent on eradicating a species; the ruthless & beautiful female assassin; the guillotine-happy ruler or king; the stereotypical cardboard ‘power at all costs’ villain

Twists on the Traditional Ruthless:  

  •  Ruthless individuals are almost always cunning and intelligent. If a character with this trait did not have smarts to fall back on, how would they compensate?
  • Because ruthlessness and success go hand-in-hand, a archetype triangle is often created: rich, powerful & influential. Cast that cliche aside! Give us a ruthless grandmother, a cunning soccer mom or a shrewd bus driver.
  • Ruthless is most frequently presented as a negative. Challenge yourself to create a character who uses this trait for the greater good.

GOOD NEWS! 

This sample, along with the rest of the character trait entries, has been expanded and streamlined 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 character traits that can be referenced for your character creation efforts. 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. Print, digital, and PDF versions are available for purchase from a variety of distributors. 

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.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kelly Hashway says

    November 21, 2011 at 8:14 am

    Funny would be a great contrast. I’m getting ideas already!

  2. Traci Kenworth says

    November 21, 2011 at 8:08 am

    Ruthless grandmother? Reminds me
    of those V.C. Andrews books.
    Creepy. Great blog!!

  3. Rachna Chhabria says

    November 21, 2011 at 1:40 am

    Love this post. I am in the process of creating an antagonist that kids will hate on sight and this post comes as a blessing.

  4. Julie Musil says

    November 20, 2011 at 11:08 pm

    I love your idea to create unlikely ruthless characters! Love this, thanks

  5. Roza M says

    November 20, 2011 at 9:29 pm

    I love the show “The Grimm”. Anyways, thanksgiving is right around the corner and I am currently going around and thanking each blogger that follows me. So thanks for following and I hope you have a fantastic weekend!

  6. Cynthia Chapman Willis says

    November 20, 2011 at 9:22 pm

    A ruthless grandmother or soccer mom–that’s great! This is perfect information for an antagonist. Very inspiring.

  7. Diane Carlisle says

    November 20, 2011 at 10:50 am

    A ruthless child is always creepy to me. I’m thinking of the movie “Orphan”.

  8. Jemi Fraser says

    November 19, 2011 at 10:43 pm

    My villain won’t come into my story for a few chapters yet, but I’ll be coming back to this post for some tips! 🙂

  9. Loree Huebner says

    November 19, 2011 at 9:57 pm

    Loved this post.

    I remember the Flowers In The Attic grandmother…she was creepy. Louise Fletcher played “Grandmother” in the movie, Flowers..she also played another ruthless character in Cuckoo’s Nest – “Nurse Ratched”.

  10. Michael Offutt, Expert Critic says

    November 19, 2011 at 4:01 pm

    If you are a manager, having no ruth at your side allows you to accomplish many capitalistic goals. Sometimes, I guess, it is necessary to kick Ruth to the curb.

  11. ralfast says

    November 19, 2011 at 12:47 pm

    Ah, a common “villain” trait, but as the cliche section warns, a difficult one to use if the character lacks any depth.

    I would also caution against the “win for winning” sake attitude slapped onto these characters. Their motivations, no matter how petty they may seem, have to be believable.

    Just my 2 cents. 😉

    Carry on! 😀

  12. Angela Ackerman says

    November 19, 2011 at 12:26 pm

    Thanks Becca!

    Laura, FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC is a great example! Boy it’s been forever since I read that book–I would love to reread it! 🙂

    Angela

  13. Laura Pauling says

    November 19, 2011 at 9:56 am

    Ruthless grandmother? I think Flowers in the Attic. Creeeeeepy.

    I think this type is hard to write as the villain b/c it’s hard to create empathy and a well rounded character. But obviously it can be done. Maybe these characters aren’t meant to have empathy though.

    Love the picture!

  14. Becca Puglisi says

    November 19, 2011 at 7:39 am

    Love the idea of a ruthless grandmother. And Al will be excited to see the Corleones represented. Great breakdown, Ange!

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