• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • About
    • About WHW
    • Press Kit
    • Resident Writing Coaches
    • Contact Us
    • Podcasts & Interviews
    • Master Storytelling Newsletter
    • Guest Post Guidelines
    • Privacy Policy
    • Charities & Support
  • Bookstore
    • Bookstore
    • Foreign Editions
    • Book Reviews
    • Free Thesaurus Sampler
  • Blog
  • Software
  • Workshops
  • Resources
    • List of Resources
    • Recommended Writing Books
    • WHW Descriptive Thesaurus Collection
    • Free Tools & Worksheets
    • Free Show-Dont-Tell Pro Pack
  • WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®
WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®

WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®

Helping writers become bestselling authors

The Negative Trait Thesaurus: Temperamental

Sourced from The Negative Trait Thesaurus

DEFINITION: Marked by unpredictable changes in mood
 
SIMILAR FLAWS: Capricious, erratic, mercurial, moody
 
POSSIBLE CAUSES
Insomnia or poor sleep habits
Prolonged illness or stress
Excessive social or financial responsibilities
A mental disorder (bipolar disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, etc.)
Behavioral issues
High anxiety
Dysfunctional family dynamics
Being bullied or abused
Alcoholism or drug abuse
Being highly creative
Paranoia
Hormonal shifts (menopause, etc.)
 
ASSOCIATED BEHAVIORS AND ATTITUDES
Erratic mood changes
Growing angry when others voice disagreement
Having a low tolerance for the mistakes of others
Venting
Being highly opinionated
Overreacting to slights, comments, and opinions
Outbursts (shouting, laying blame, etc.)
Low-level violence (breaking objects, bumping into things and knocking them over, etc.)
Mild violence against people and animals (pushing, hitting, pulling with too much force, etc.)
Using unnecessary force (gripping someone’s wrist painfully)
Being easily provoked
Difficulty taking criticism
Blowing mistakes out of proportion
Apologizing for one’s outbursts
Poor communication when one is upset
Always having an excuse for one’s behavior
Being sensitive to specific stressors (one’s mother-in-law, a co-worker’s annoying laugh, etc.)
Using risk and danger to blow off steam
Seeing one’s opinions, needs, and feelings as being more important than others
Assertiveness
Feeling hemmed in or trapped by responsibility
Frustration at delays or a lack of organization
Acting before thinking
Being happy one minute and depressed or cranky the next
Becoming touchy and argumentative when certain topics are broached
Taking offhanded comments as personal criticisms
Feeling overwhelmed
Taking everything personally
 
ASSOCIATED THOUGHTS
Why did she make meatloaf for dinner when she knows I hate it?
I was so excited about this weekend but now Brandy’s going. She ruins everything!
I can’t believe I bruised her arm. She must have sensitive skin, because I barely touched her.
Why did he pick The Burger Joint for dinner? They’ll probably give me food poisoning.
 
ASSOCIATED EMOTIONS: Anger, depression, elation, excitement, happiness, overwhelmed, sadness
 
POSITIVE ASPECTS: This flaw breeds wariness, so others will watch their step with a moody character, often choosing to cater to their preferences. People with this flaw have high expectations and can challenge others to improve by demanding only the best from those in their charge.
 
NEGATIVE ASPECTS: A temperamental character can behave erratically and explosively, leaving relationship shrapnel in his wake. Friends don’t always know what will set him off, and many will avoid the character rather than deal with his outbursts. Others will placate the character in order to head off drama, thereby enabling his erratic tendencies. Those who stick around are always walking on eggshells, taking great care in what they say or do in order to avoid conflict.
 
EXAMPLE FROM LITERATURE: Sherlock Homes is a complex, moody character in book and film. His emotions swing quickly—first brooding and dismal, then manic in his desire to acquire knowledge and information. An abuser of both drugs and alcohol, he is an eccentric who pushes the limits, and very likely suffers from a mental disorder of some kind. 
Other Examples in Literature: The Queen of Hearts (Alice in Wonderland), Tinkerbell (Peter Pan), Edward Cullen (Twilight saga)
 
OVERCOMING THIS TRAIT AS A MAJOR FLAW: For a character to avoid this level of emotional touchiness, he would need to examine his life and see what stressors are prompting his reactive behavior, then work at lightening the load. Yoga, meditation, and therapy all might help the character learn to better accept the world for what it is and his own place within it. Taking up a hobby that brings joy will help him find fulfillment and make him feel more centered and able to deal with what life throws his way.
 
TRAITS IN SUPPORTING CHARACTERS THAT MAY CAUSE CONFLICT: Abrasive, confrontational, disciplined, flaky, needy, oversensitive, tactless, volatile

More about this book
See the full list of entries in this book
Buy the book in print and ebook or PDF formats



Share this:

  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • More
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print

Primary Sidebar


Welcome!

Writing is hard. Angela & Becca make it easier. Get ready to level up your fiction with game-changing tools, resources, and advice.

Subscribe to the Blog

Check your inbox to confirm! If gremlins tried to eat it, you might have to check your spam folder.

Find it Fast

Read by Category

Grab Our Button

Writers Helping Writers

Software that Will Change the Writing Game

One Stop for Writers

Join our Writers Helping Writers Newsletter

NO AI TRAINING: Any use of this content to “train” generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to generate text is expressly prohibited. The legal copyright holder, Writers Helping Writers®, reserves all rights to license uses of this work for generative AI training and development of machine learning language models. WRITERS HELPING WRITERS® · Copyright © 2025 · WEBSITE DESIGN BY LAUGH EAT LEARN

 

Loading Comments...