Strengthen Your Characters with Positive Traits

I gave Gemini AI my notes on The Positive Trait Thesaurus, by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi (affiliate link) and asked it to find the twelve nuggets of information most useful to writers. If you enjoy these, be sure to pick up a copy of the book to find dozens more (I took 8 pages of notes!):

• Early Empathy Requires Positive Traits: Sympathy stems from a character’s hardship, but true reader bonding occurs when you reveal hints of positive traits—such as kindness or responsibility—early in the narrative.
• Morality Drives Trait Selection and Conflict: A character’s moral code dictates their core attributes, and tempting or challenging these deeply held beliefs generates powerful inner turmoil.
• Unmet Core Needs Can Shift Morality: When fundamental physiological or psychological needs go unmet for extended periods, anxiety can cause even a virtuous character’s moral compass to sway.
• Balance the Four Trait Categories: Round out characters by selecting positive attributes across four specific domains: Moral, Achievement, Interactive, and Identity.
• Heal the Fatal Flaw by Facing the Core Lie: Internal story arcs require protagonists to overcome a fatal flaw rooted in a false “lie” they believe about themselves, which was caused by a past emotional wound.
• Explore the Dark Side of Positive Traits: Positive traits are not purely good; extreme loyalty, for example, can lead a character to lie or support wrongful actions.
• Match Plot and Character via “Worst Case” Scenarios: Plot-focused writers should ask “Who is the worst possible person for this situation?”, while character-focused writers should ask “What is the worst thing that could happen to this character?”.
• Convert Perceived Weaknesses into Strengths: Readers find it deeply fulfilling when a character learns to recognize a seemingly useless trait or perceived vulnerability and transform it into their greatest asset.
• Contrast Internal Thoughts with External Actions: Characters are rarely completely honest; revealing internal thoughts that contradict outward behavior helps show their true, authentic self.
• Flesh Out Villains with Strengths and Warped Morals: Antagonists must be as thoroughly developed as heroes, possessing real strengths, clear motivations, and a moral code warped by past trauma.
• Avoid Passive Protagonists: Characters who merely react to circumstances frustrate readers; protagonists must make active choices and drive the plot forward, even through mistakes.
• Raise Stakes Using Primal Desires and Deadlines: Maximize narrative tension by grounding stakes in universal human needs (such as survival, safety, or love) and enforcing tight deadlines or ticking clocks.