![]() (HINT: the “why” of moral choices will be embedded in his backstory, and who/what helped shaped his view of the world.) Morals are the pulsing heart of motivation and action, so determine your character’s sense of right and wrong. Think deeply about the moral code your character lives by, and what lines he will not cross. Uncover Your Character’s Moral CenterĮvery character has a set of moral beliefs, even the villain. Understand what the character learned from both past trials and successes, and how each lesson will help to shape his personality. So think about your character’s positive experiences and past influences along with negative ones as you dig around in their backstory. In real life, the good experiences (and people) are what keep us going no matter how bad it gets. And while yes, backstory turmoil and pain should be exploited to create conflict and tension in the present, there is always good mixed with bad. Just like every one of us, your character has a past. So how can we achieve balance? Understand Who and What Shaped Your Character Too many positive attributes, and they come across as altruistic, unrealistic or even (yawn) boring. Too many flaws (or even choosing the wrong type of flaw), and a character becomes unlikeable. Character creation, when done well, is not an easy process. These are not simple questions to answer. What positive traits would logically survive such a painful past? If say, the character was a victim of horrible abuse and to cope, they became a mistrustful, anti social liar, how can they also be friendly or kind? How can they logically be generous or carefree while harboring such deep flaws? They add layers of negative traits like suspicious, mistrustful and erratic, all carefully planned around an elaborate backstory that supports the necessity of emotional armor (flaws) that make them who they are.īut when it comes to admirable traits, they struggle. They pile up flaws, forged by a hard past filled with emotional wounds that refuse to heal. Other writers EMBRACE the flawed character. But when it comes to choosing flaws, they pull their punches, worried that if they add a trait like selfishness, perfectionism, or impulsiveness, readers will view them as unlikeable. They find it easy to create a blend of traits like loyalty, helpfulness, intelligence and determination, forming a true hero that can handle anything. Some writers want to create protagonists that ONLY have the best qualities, ones that prove they are good human beings that readers will admire and root for. They have a balance of positive and negatives that give them a wholly unique viewpoint, attitude, belief system and personality. But that’s the point, isn’t it? The best characters are realistic and believable because they are just like real people. They have strengths and weaknesses in different areas, making them both skilled and inept at the same time. Each has a set of good, admirable qualities, even while displaying frustrating or off-putting flaws. If writing the Positive Trait & Negative Trait Thesaurus books have taught me anything, it is that compelling characters are neither good nor bad, perfect or fundamentally flawed.
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