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Character Trait Thesaurus Entry: Wounded

Published: January 7, 2012 by BECCA PUGLISI

Definition:  injured, hurt, or suffering from a wound (physical, mental, or emotional)

Characters in Literature and Pop Culture: Melinda (Speak), Severus Snape, Dally (The Outsiders), Will Hunting (Good Will Hunting)

Common Portrayals: psychopaths and sociopaths, serial killers, criminals, gang bangers, bullies, the homeless, villains, victims of violent crimes, suicides

Clichés to Avoid: the Wounded who struggles to change but ends up taking his or her own life to escape the pain, the tough-on-the-outside-soft-on-the-inside Wounded, the hooker with the heart of gold

Twists on the Traditional Wounded Character:  

  • More often than not, a character’s wounds are inflicted by others. What about a person becoming who they are solely through their own actions, whether accidental or intentional?
  • Instead of the angry, vengeful walking wounded, how about one who is hopeful and optimistic? Make the results of their wounds somehow attractive, instead of repulsive to others. This could lead to a slew of new conflicts between your hero and the people around him.

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.

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Filed Under: Writing Help

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Dan Clarke says

    January 11, 2012 at 8:53 am

    Nicely thought out, and useful for beginners.
    I’ve seen too many wounded characters to feel much sympathy for most of them. But a few still manage to tug my heart strings. Severus Snape by the end was one of them.
    And I completely agree, a character who commits suicide to escape the pain is useless. Having him or her go out in a blaze glory or to help people is the way to go.
    Cheers
    Dan

  2. authormariagrace.com says

    January 10, 2012 at 12:32 pm

    Thank you for this resource. I find myself referring to it often as I am sketching characters. I especially love the suggestions for making characters more interesting.

  3. Diane Carlisle says

    January 9, 2012 at 5:26 pm

    Hooker with a heart of gold. Wow! 🙂

    Great post! I love rooting for the wounded character, but you’re right, don’t have them commit suicide or something weak like that. A protagonist is supposed to overcome their flaws, or at least accomplish their objectives despite them.

    Death is typical with your anit-heros, but suicide is a sign of weakness, and no hero should be that weak. If the anti-hero must die, have them killed off by something not of their own will.

  4. Janice Lane Palko says

    January 9, 2012 at 3:35 pm

    Great post. I find I’m fascinated by characters like Don Draper on Mad Men. He cheats on his wife, belittles his underlings and leads a double life, but his troubled childhood and occasional good deeds keep him interesting.

  5. Anne E. Johnson says

    January 9, 2012 at 1:03 pm

    Great post. Literature (and movies) gain a lot from characters being motivated by their pain.

  6. Leslie Rose says

    January 8, 2012 at 11:51 pm

    Wow. I never thought as wounded in the sense of a trait, but you’ve defined it perfectly. I’m reading THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE and poor Henry is constantly dealing with wounds and injuries that progress through the book. It makes him so visceral as a character.

  7. Heather says

    January 8, 2012 at 2:49 pm

    You SO had me with the picture. *sigh* Damaged are by far my favorite type of characters.

  8. Julie Musil says

    January 8, 2012 at 12:46 pm

    This is awesome. A great example of this was both characters is Hate List. I felt sympathy for the villain, even though he’d done horrible things. The author did a great job of showing a wounded soul. Great stuff, Becca!

  9. Becca Puglisi says

    January 7, 2012 at 11:15 pm

    Great point, Riv. I hadn’t thought of that one.

  10. Riv Re says

    January 7, 2012 at 9:32 pm

    Another great entry. Definitely gave me what to think about on the “cliche’s” bit.
    Another cliche to avoid (most often when writing something that has romance in it): The fierce hero with tons of battle scars that make him more attractive. (Why do all girls seem to fall for guys with battle scars?)

  11. The Golden Eagle says

    January 7, 2012 at 3:12 pm

    I’d never thought about using a wounded character before. It would make for an interesting trait–and I love your example of Snape!

  12. ralfast says

    January 7, 2012 at 2:02 pm

    Great stuff as always. I have written several wounded characters. The MC in my second book is a war veteran of recent wars and has to deal with the aftermath of both physical and psychological wounds (not actual full blown PTSD although other characters do show the effect of it) as does the MC of my Renaissance Fantasy Ricardo (who watched his father abuse his mother in front of him multiple times).

    Not easy to write, not without falling into broken stereotypes or “abusing” the Freudian excuse curve.

  13. Traci Kenworth says

    January 7, 2012 at 1:10 pm

    OMG, needed this for a character I’m writing. Thank you so much!!

  14. Jemi Fraser says

    January 7, 2012 at 12:06 pm

    Great list! Wounded characters are a lot of fun to write! 🙂

  15. Lisa Gail Green says

    January 7, 2012 at 12:02 pm

    Awesome as always. I love that you used Snape as an example!

  16. Stina Lindenblatt says

    January 7, 2012 at 9:19 am

    I love these character trait posts. I’m constantly using them while planning my new WIP. 😀

Trackbacks

  1. Resources For Describing Characters | Stephanie Tillman says:
    August 6, 2019 at 4:33 pm

    […] Wounded […]

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

    […] Wounded […]

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