As writers, we want to make our characters as unique and interesting as possible. One way to do this is to give your character a special skill or talent that sets him apart from other people. This might be something small, like having a green thumb or being good with animals, to a larger and more competitive talent like stock car racing or being an award-winning film producer.

When choosing a talent or skill, think about the personality of your character, his range of experiences and who his role models might have been. Some talents might be genetically imparted while others are created through exposure (such as a character talented at fixing watches from growing up in his father’s watch shop) or grow out of interest (archery, wakeboarding, or magic). Don’t be afraid to be creative and make sure the skill or talent is something that works with the scope of the story.

Clairvoyance

Description: The ability to “see” a mental image or know information about a person, place or event through means outside of the senses. Some clairvoyants have visions, read auras, see colors, symbols or even spirits. This ability is commonly used to find lost things, discern information about specific individuals, places or things that one has no prior knowledge of, or to make prediction of the future. Clairvoyance often comes through Clairsentience…

Beneficial Strengths or Abilities: while many believe that any psychic ability is simply there or it is not, others feel it is a latent ability that any can access if willing to. Others still believe no such thing exists. For those who do believe in this discipline, having strong control…

Character Traits Suited for this Skill or Talent: focused, calm, intuitive, determined, unbiased…

Required Resources and Training: Learning to meditate and take in all the sensory information around oneself will increase mental clarity, acting on one’s gut will hone one’s intuition, practicing with different types of divination (tarot cards, crystals, etc.) to find one that resonates, and following hunches to see…

Associated Stereotypes and (Mis)Perceptions:

• That most people claiming psychic abilities are fakes who are actually using mentalism to discern information
• clairvoyants are shunned by small-minded individuals
• clairvoyants have a strong affinity for nature…

Scenarios Where this Skill Might be Useful:

• finding a missing person
• interpreting dangerous situations and people (either for one’s own interactions, or on behalf of others, such as working in a terrorist prevention task force)
• to prepare for what will come and warn others…

Talents and skills not only make our characters stand out, they often help them attain their goals. So choosing them strategically can greatly enhance both the character and the story.

If this is something you’d like to learn more about, you can find the entries in their entirety at One Stop For Writers, where all our thesauruses are cross-referenced and linked for easy navigation. If you’re interested in seeing a free sampling of the Talent and Skill Thesaurus and our other descriptive collections, head on over and register at One Stop!

Image via Antranias @ Pixabay