Definition: Humility, freedom from conceit, a moderate attitude toward of one’s own abilities.
Characters in Literature & Pop Culture: Forest Gump (Forest Gump); Dr. Watson (Sherlock Holmes, book); Samwise Gamgee (Lord of the Rings)
Common Portrayals: Female characters living during historical or medieval times when humility and modesty were prized; the hard working employee grateful for a job rather than trying to be a corporate climber; Executives or Political Players who use false humility as a play for affection or approval from those in power (be it higher ups, or voting constituents); socially reserved people (or children) who do not like attention and avoid it.
Clichés to Avoid: the historical ‘chaste and modest daughter’ trope as a bid for suitors; the falsely modest corrupt character so transparent that readers see through them immediately yet the other characters involved do not.
Twists on the Traditional Modest Character:
▪ To stay out of the ‘unassumingly modest and therefore invisible’ cliché, give your character strong goals. Modest characters can have big dreams just like anyone else!
▪ Modesty does not have to be equated with ‘weak’ or social ineptitude. Give us a character who strives to achieve but views his gifts and talents as being a part of who he is rather than making him special or ‘better’ than others, and we’ll root for him all the way.
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.
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Borderline personality disorder (BPD) (according to the ICD-10 World Health Organization disease classification, emotionally unstable personality disorder, borderline type) is a personality disorder marked by a prolonged disturbance of personality function, characterized by unusual variability and depth of moods. These moods may secondarily affect cognition and interpersonal relations.
Awesome post! It’s easy to spend only a few moments on a trait like this. It’s so much more complicated.
Female characters who are stereotypical, modest individuals always bother me. Modesty is an interesting trait, but it can’t support a character on its own.
Great post!
This works for one of my characters right now. I think she’s strong too – but I’ll keep it in mind as I go. Thanks!
Great post. Wonderful examples. Forrest Gump is a good character example.
I love the trait thesaurus. Awesome stuff as always. 😀
I live this. Great examples, too.
Modesty can be a winner: Samwise’s character shows this but you’re right, it’s best to use care with this type of character to avoid cliches.
Great tips on how to portray a modest character. I love the twist suggestions.
And I love Forest Gump and Samwise. They’re great examples.