The Negative Trait Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Flaws
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- Create Date：2021-04-03 15:01:41
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Angela Ackerman
- ISBN：0989772500
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Summary
Crafting likable， interesting characters is a balancing act， and finding that perfect mix of strengths and weaknesses can be difficult。 But the task has become easier thanks to The Negative Trait Thesaurus。
Through its flaw-centric exploration of character arc， motivation， emotional wounds， and basic needs， writers will learn which flaws make the most sense for their heroes， villains， and other members of the story’s cast。 This book’s vast collection of flaws will help writers to explore the possible causes， attitudes， behaviors， thoughts， and related emotions behind their characters’ weaknesses so they can be written effectively and realistically。 Common characterization pitfalls and methods to avoid them are also included， along with invaluable downloadable tools to aid in character creation。
Written in list format and fully indexed， this brainstorming resource is perfect for creating deep， flawed characters that readers will relate to。
“In these brilliantly conceived， superbly organized and astonishingly thorough volumes， Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi have created an invaluable resource for writers and storytellers。 Whether you are searching for new and unique ways to add and define characters， or brainstorming methods for revealing those characters without resorting to clichés， it is hard to imagine two more powerful tools for adding depth and dimension to your screenplays， novels or plays。”
- Michael Hauge， Hollywood script consultant and story expert， author of Writing Screenplays That Sell and Selling Your Story in 60 Seconds: The Guaranteed Way to Get Your Screenplay or Novel Read
Through its flaw-centric exploration of character arc， motivation， emotional wounds， and basic needs， writers will learn which flaws make the most sense for their heroes， villains， and other members of the story’s cast。 This book’s vast collection of flaws will help writers to explore the possible causes， attitudes， behaviors， thoughts， and related emotions behind their characters’ weaknesses so they can be written effectively and realistically。 Common characterization pitfalls and methods to avoid them are also included， along with invaluable downloadable tools to aid in character creation。
Written in list format and fully indexed， this brainstorming resource is perfect for creating deep， flawed characters that readers will relate to。
“In these brilliantly conceived， superbly organized and astonishingly thorough volumes， Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi have created an invaluable resource for writers and storytellers。 Whether you are searching for new and unique ways to add and define characters， or brainstorming methods for revealing those characters without resorting to clichés， it is hard to imagine two more powerful tools for adding depth and dimension to your screenplays， novels or plays。”
- Michael Hauge， Hollywood script consultant and story expert， author of Writing Screenplays That Sell and Selling Your Story in 60 Seconds: The Guaranteed Way to Get Your Screenplay or Novel Read
Reviews
Nicole Taylor
，
Useful reference GuideThis book is a well written reference guide for all writers and aspiring writers。 The authors have been comprehensive and have provided useful examples of where these traits can be found in literature and onscreen。 Well worth reading。
Kirsten McNeill
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I read the Positive Traits first， then slowly made my way through this one。 Great guides to building believable and well rounded characters。 A perfect thesaurus collection for any writer！
Sarah Lapalme
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Great resource for writer's on identifying the negative traits of your characters。 Super helpful！ Great resource for writer's on identifying the negative traits of your characters。 Super helpful！ 。。。more
Becca Dupuis
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This is absolute perfection！ So incredibly helpful for creating a well rounded， believable character。 I will refer to this book everytime I'm character building from now on。 This is absolute perfection！ So incredibly helpful for creating a well rounded， believable character。 I will refer to this book everytime I'm character building from now on。 。。。more
Nikki Kincaid
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Fantastic。
Rita Peterson
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This book helped me to find other ways to describe or show through words what the character is doing。 Really helpful！
Katie
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A very helpful resource for anyone interested in writing （or just thinking about human nature）。
Jordan Sanders
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Good information for the toolbox and as a writer I need the biggest toolbox possible。
Jane Nash
，
this is a brilliant resource for authors who are stumbling with writer's block - all of this series are a great brainstorming exercise done for you - now it's time for you to make the magic on the page with all these juicy tidbits。 this is a brilliant resource for authors who are stumbling with writer's block - all of this series are a great brainstorming exercise done for you - now it's time for you to make the magic on the page with all these juicy tidbits。 。。。more
Kasey Dietrich
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Great series to learn the fundamentals of writing stories and characters that make sense。
Chester Hart
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You don't really read this book as you would a novel or some of the other craft books I've been through recently but I think I've been through enough of the traits to mark this one as read。 It is an amazing tool to use when thinking about characters。 I picked it up after reading K。M Weiland's creating character Arcs and the two work very well together。 Not really a beginners book but a very good weapon to add to the arsenal for writers looking to improve and deepen their characters。 You don't really read this book as you would a novel or some of the other craft books I've been through recently but I think I've been through enough of the traits to mark this one as read。 It is an amazing tool to use when thinking about characters。 I picked it up after reading K。M Weiland's creating character Arcs and the two work very well together。 Not really a beginners book but a very good weapon to add to the arsenal for writers looking to improve and deepen their characters。 。。。more
Dan
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I have a lot of thoughts about this book。 First， it was super useful to me and it’s going to stay on my desk as reference for a long time; it lays out whatever trait and gives a laundry list of associated behaviors， possible causes， and example characters to look at。 In such a simplistic format， it’s really easy to browse and get inspiration or find what you’re looking for。 It covers a lot of ground （106 discrete traits， if I counted right）， and each one contains a small list of conflicting trai I have a lot of thoughts about this book。 First， it was super useful to me and it’s going to stay on my desk as reference for a long time; it lays out whatever trait and gives a laundry list of associated behaviors， possible causes， and example characters to look at。 In such a simplistic format， it’s really easy to browse and get inspiration or find what you’re looking for。 It covers a lot of ground （106 discrete traits， if I counted right）， and each one contains a small list of conflicting traits that guarantee drama when you put characters that exhibit them together in a scene。Now， the bad。 There’s no discussion of theme or Doylist readings of content; in the entry for a trait， there is no critical analysis of whether it is truly “positive” or “negative” or whether such a thing exists， no words on the messages that your characters and the way you portray them send to your readers。 If you’re hoping for wisdom on exactly how to develop or redeem a character， especially one who’s “evil” or “violent，” you’re going to be disappointed。 I would question the choice of many of the examples， as well; it would be nice if any of them were from media made in the last two decades， and not just from things I as a twenty-something only know from being referenced on the Simpsons。 A final critique: much of the content in this book is ablist as hell。 That’s pretty standard in a society that produces “Me Before You” and “Million Dollar Baby，” but that doesn’t make it any less disappointing。 “Mental disorders” （quote） are used as possible causes for traits， characters that are outdated stereotypes from 90s movies are used as examples， and a number of associated behaviors for traits are offensive tropes for disabled and chronically ill people （for example， “Health issues （irritable bowel syndrome， migraines， nausea， etc）” under “worrywart”）。 There is an overall impression that should a trait be because of mental illness or neurodivergence， this can be solved through a character arc like any other “flaw。” This is troubling for me because this isn’t just some ablist novel， it’s a guide for writers。 It’s supposed to teach aspiring authors how to sculpt characters， how to develop three-dimensional characters and develop them into better people， and it has no differentiation between traits like “evil” and “verbose，” or “promiscuous” and “manipulative。” When you list autism as a possible explanation for a character being “humorless，” you are not only alienating all of your autistic and disabled readers， you’re teaching other writers that this is acceptable。 When you include the phrase “mental deficiency” in any context， regardless of intent， you are saying that there are people who are less person than others， which is a slope that very quickly leads into eugenics。 Obviously this wasn’t intended， but it doesn’t matter; writers always send messages that they don’t plan to， and when those messages are prejudiced they cause real harm。I’m frustrated because this book has been very helpful to me in visualizing behaviors and character arcs， and I’m going to continue to reference it for the foreseeable future。 But I’m also going to cringe whenever I turn a page and see ”mental handicaps” as a reason for a character to be “unintelligent。”Hope this wasn’t too “oversensitive” of me。 After all， I’m autistic。 。。。more
Phyllis Kerr
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Good reference book to help build multi dimensional characters。
Charul Palmer-Patel
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Perfect for a brainstorming tool
Elle Stephens
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Helpful for narrowing down flaws and how to portray them within my writing
Amy Whitcomb
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I purchased both the POS and NEG Trait Thes and love them both！ Pooling various traits REALLY helps figure out who your character is。 It allows you determine how they would act in certain situations。 Love， love， love these 2 books！
Ellie T
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This is very useful。 The part where I mess up is me forgetting that my character’s flaw is ‘humorless’ and they aren’t humorless。
T。H。 Hernandez
，
As with the rest of the books in this series， THE NEGATIVE TRAIT THESAURUS is a must-read for all fiction writers。 A brief introduction covers how negative traits help develop well-rounded characters。 No one has only positive traits， so weaving in negative traits allows us to create lifelike fictional beings that will take shape in believable ways， allowing readers to identify with them。 After that， the book again provides a large number of negative traits， including a brief description and poss As with the rest of the books in this series， THE NEGATIVE TRAIT THESAURUS is a must-read for all fiction writers。 A brief introduction covers how negative traits help develop well-rounded characters。 No one has only positive traits， so weaving in negative traits allows us to create lifelike fictional beings that will take shape in believable ways， allowing readers to identify with them。 After that， the book again provides a large number of negative traits， including a brief description and possible influences that could be responsible for them within your character。 Each entry dives deeper with similar attributes， associated behaviors and thoughts， possible emotional responses， and what traits in supporting characters may cause conflict。 Also included are example characters from literature to really drive the point home。If you’re looking to develop in-depth characters who come across as authentic， add this to your arsenal， along with THE POSITIVE TRAIT THESAURUS。Bottom LineIf you want to create deep， realistic characters， look no further than the Writer’s Guide series。 。。。more
Elle
，
A good resource， but of more use in conjunction with Ackerman & Puglisi's other writing help book， The Emotional Wound Thesaurus。I've experienced some disconnect due to the book's definition of some traits don't always match my understanding/association of the trait/name， which can make it frustrating to find what you're looking for at times， especially if led there from the Wound Thesaurus。 Of course there's a limit to how many traits can be included in one book， but several times I've been una A good resource， but of more use in conjunction with Ackerman & Puglisi's other writing help book， The Emotional Wound Thesaurus。I've experienced some disconnect due to the book's definition of some traits don't always match my understanding/association of the trait/name， which can make it frustrating to find what you're looking for at times， especially if led there from the Wound Thesaurus。 Of course there's a limit to how many traits can be included in one book， but several times I've been unable to find a trait I'm looking for and the 'close' traits included just don't seem close enough。 There's also some debate to whether certain traits should be in Positive or Negative Thesaurus， especially when the authors spin all traits in both books into both positive and negative uses/outcomes。 Maybe a single Trait Thesaurus would have been best， so readers don't have to search two different books to wonder if they want the positive use of a Negative-classified trait or the negative use of Positive-classified trait。A good reference， but not a must-have due to its limitations and confusions。 。。。more
Ivy Seablom
，
Great toolI think this book is an awesome tool that I will be able to use while writing my book。 It really breaks things down to help me build up my characters better。
Lucy Mitchell
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Will Never Write Another Book Without This！ This book is fabulous and I wish I had bought it sooner。 I think this book adds a new dimension to your characterisation。
D。H。 Sayers
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Powerful Storytelling ToolI purchased this for use in character creation for an upcoming rpg， and after reading it can see further uses in storytelling， writing and more。
Karen
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This is a great reference book。 I'm looking forward to making use of it。 I'm also glad Angela talks about the upside of negative traits， because I find myself in most of them。 This is a great reference book。 I'm looking forward to making use of it。 I'm also glad Angela talks about the upside of negative traits， because I find myself in most of them。 。。。more
L。R。 Braden
，
This is the fourth book I've purchased in this writing craft series， and I'd highly recommend adding it to your shelf if you are a writer。 It is a great tool for adding depth and variety to your characters。Heroes versus villains。 Good guys should have good traits and bad guys should have bad ones， right？ But people aren't all good or all bad。 Every character needs to have both positive and negative traits to be believable， but it's a tricky balance。 It's all a matter of degree。One of my favorite This is the fourth book I've purchased in this writing craft series， and I'd highly recommend adding it to your shelf if you are a writer。 It is a great tool for adding depth and variety to your characters。Heroes versus villains。 Good guys should have good traits and bad guys should have bad ones， right？ But people aren't all good or all bad。 Every character needs to have both positive and negative traits to be believable， but it's a tricky balance。 It's all a matter of degree。One of my favorite articles prefacing the thesaurus itself （each of these books comes with a section of short， informative articles） is about the different degrees to which a negative trait can complicate a character's life。 They call them Sparks， Fireworks， and Explosions。 For example， a character can have a negative trait like "stubborn。" That might result in butting heads with a coworker if it's a spark level trait， but if it's the character's major flaw it could also mean a leader letting his men die because he refuses to admit he was wrong。There's also the fact that all traits can be seen as both negative and positive depending on the situation。 The general who wouldn't let his troops retreat because he was too stubborn to admit he was wrong could be the same general who gets a medal because he held his ground against hostile forces until reinforcements arrived， thereby turning the tide of battle。 In that case， we might replace the word stubborn with determined， unwavering， or stalwart。 As such， each entry in this thesaurus includes a sections on the "positive aspects" of the trait。Obviously the authors couldn't fit every possible trait into a single book， but there are enough， and enough variety， that you should be able to find something close to your character's flaws and get some good ideas about how to portray them realistically， and how your character can overcome them。 For more information on this and other books in the series， check out the Writers Helping Writers website。 。。。more
Jaimee Walls
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A must-have for characterization！
Catarina
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This thesaurus， like the others I've read by the same authors， is very thoroughly researched and explained carefully to the reader。 As always， reading these kind of self-help books fueled my motivation and gave me lots of new ideas and approaches to my writing projects。My reading experience was a little different than that of the Positive Trait Thesaurus: This time around I took special notice of the intro pages and started to feel a little overwhelmed by the challenges I knew I'd face with my w This thesaurus， like the others I've read by the same authors， is very thoroughly researched and explained carefully to the reader。 As always， reading these kind of self-help books fueled my motivation and gave me lots of new ideas and approaches to my writing projects。My reading experience was a little different than that of the Positive Trait Thesaurus: This time around I took special notice of the intro pages and started to feel a little overwhelmed by the challenges I knew I'd face with my writing - because let's face it， positive traits are a lot easier to hand out to your characters than negative traits。。。 and I know I have a lot to work through before I start re-writing my first draft。 However， I regained the trust in myself / my writing abilities when I read found "inner / outer motivation" section - it really but everything into perspective， helped me understand how to implement this thesaurus in my writing process。 Likewise， I found the "examples from litterature and movies" immensely helpful， too。Another interesting part of this thesaurus was the "villains / protagonists" section。 It taught me a lot as well as surprised me with how many types of villains exist in the world of fiction writing - and I'll definitely keep all the advice in mind for any future projects of mine that might include a villian。 。。。more
Lyn
，
Couple with The Positive Trait Thesaurus， a must-have for any writer's library to help build believable， well-rounded characters with all their glorious faults。 Couple with The Positive Trait Thesaurus， a must-have for any writer's library to help build believable， well-rounded characters with all their glorious faults。 。。。more
Adam
，
A very useful index of character flaws， complete with suggestions for "other character flaws" that would naturally come into conflict with "this one"， a good way to build conflict into characters that surround the main protagonist or antagonist。 A very useful index of character flaws， complete with suggestions for "other character flaws" that would naturally come into conflict with "this one"， a good way to build conflict into characters that surround the main protagonist or antagonist。 。。。more
Steven Altsman
，
Very good book for looking at ways to give your character some darkness
Zita
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