The Negative Trait Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Flaws

Becca Puglisi · Angela Ackerman

Oct 2013 · JADD Publishing

About this ebook

Crafting likable, interesting characters is a balancing act, and finding that perfect mix of strengths and weaknesses can be difficult. Not only does a well-drawn protagonist need positive attributes to help him succeed, he must also have flaws that humanize him and give him something to overcome. The same is true of villains and the rest of the story’s supporting cast. So how can writers figure out which flaws best fit their characters? Which negative traits will create personality clashes and conflict while making success difficult?

Nothing adds complexity like character flaws. Inside The Negative Trait Thesaurus you’ll find: 

* A vast collection of flaws to explore when building a character’s personality. Each entry includes possible causes, attitudes, behaviors, thoughts, and related emotions

* Real examples from literature, film, or television to show how each flaw can create life challenges and relational friction

* Advice on building layered and memorable characters from the ground up  

* An in-depth look at backstory, emotional wounds, and how pain twists a character’s view of himself and his world, influencing behavior and decision making

* A flaw-centric exploration of character arc, relationships, motivation, and basic needs

* Tips on how to best show a character’s flaws to readers while avoiding common pitfalls 

* Downloadable tools to aid writers in character creation

The Negative Trait Thesaurus sheds light on your character’s dark side. Written in list format and fully indexed, this brainstorming resource is perfect for creating deep, flawed characters readers will relate to.

About the author

Becca Puglisi

As an author, Becca loves nothing more than coming up with new content for her Writers Helping Writers® descriptive thesaurus collection (including the best-selling Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression, now an expanded Second Edition), which has sold over half a million copies. She also is co-founder of One Stop For Writers®, a unique online resource containing many helpful tools, craft tutorials, and the entire hyperlinked and searchable thesaurus collection to help writers elevate their storytelling. Becca is an international speaker who enjoys teaching workshops and presenting various writerly topics. Her books are represented by foreign rights agent Marleen Seegers of 2 Seas Agency.

Angela Ackerman

The author of numerous bestselling resource books printed in 8 different languages, Angela enjoys sharing her passion for writing craft. She is a writing coach, international speaker, and a firm believer that writers succeed best together. The desire to help writers in new, innovative ways led to One Stop for Writers®, a unique site originally co-founded with Becca Puglisi and Lee Powell (the creator of Scrivener for Windows and Linux). This creative portal contains game-changing tools and resources that enable writers to craft powerful fiction.