Consider This … When Coming Up with Character Traits for Characters in Your Novel

by Ane Mulligan @AneMulligan

The blog title caught my eye. It mentioned introverts and HSPs. I am definitely not an introvert, although the longer I write, I find I'm taking on some introverted characteristics—or is it because I prefer to be with my characters? But I digress. 

I'm not a Millennial or a member of the X, Y, or Z generations (I see they are starting the alphabet over again with Alpha Generation. That gave me a good giggle), so the acronym HSP was foreign to me. I think I'd seen once before but I couldn't recall the meaning. This time, I Googled it: Highly Sensitive Person.

Ooooh. That is not on my Character Traits list! (I shared that list in April in The Characters We Write Must Have Traits, Habits, and Flaws) If you copied my list, make sure you add this one.) 

No more rabbit trails. HSP really grabbed my attention, and I knew I had to give a character that trait. It would walk hand-in-hand with one of the 8 Basic Lies our characters believe—in particular It's All My Fault.

Can you see it? This character usually strives for respect and validation. They carry a lot of guilt for things the perceive to be their fault. They always believe if they had done things differently, the outcome would not be a disaster.

If another character says the event was not a success, the HSP character would immediately think the remark was aimed at them—even if it wasn't. That's their mindset. It's a terrific trait to give a character, although I think it would work best for a secondary character. I can envision the POV character dealing with it—might could be fun.

Because I'm such a proponent of the character lie, I'm going to update the characteristics of each one. That will be another blog post.

So, what is another good trait you have used for a character? How did it play into your story?

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Consider This … When Coming Up with Character Traits for Characters in Your Novel - @AneMulligan on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet) 

Ane Mulligan lives life from a director’s chair, both in theatre and at her desk creating novels. Entranced with story by age three, at five she saw PETER PAN onstage and was struck with a fever from which she never recovered—stage fever. One day, her passions collided, and an award-winning, bestselling novelist emerged. She believes chocolate and coffee are two of the four major food groups and lives in Sugar Hill, GA, with her artist husband and a rascally Rottweiler. Find Ane on her website, Amazon Author page, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, The Write Conversation, and Blue Ridge Conference Blog.