Young Writers Society

Before you can define what your character us, you have to understand their personality. Ask yourself a question, such as “What do they like to do?” or "who are they as a person?" When you can answer that question, then you can use the information to discover what their personality is.

Types of Personality Traits

There are many different personality types, and it is sometimes difficult to classify a person into a single type as there are many different personality traits they can possess.

Personality traits are simply:

Actions
Attitudes
Behaviors they possess
Positive Personality Traits

Some personality traits are positive:

Being honest no matter what the consequences are is one personality trait people should aspire to.

Having responsibility for all of your actions and being a little bit of a perfectionism are also personality traits.

Adaptability and compatibility are great and can help you get along with others.

Having the drive to keep going, and having compassion and understanding are positive personality traits.

Patience is a virtue and also another trait.

Getting up the courage to do what’s right in those tough situations and loyalty to your friends and loved ones are also personality traits.

Here's a few more to consider:

Adventurous
Affable
Conscientious
Cultured
Dependable
Discreet
Fair
Fearless
Observant
Impartial
Independent
Optimistic
Intelligent
Keen
Gregarious
Persistent
Capable
Charming
Precise
Confident
Dutiful
Encouraging
Reliable
Exuberant
Helpful
Humble
Suave
Imaginative
Meticulous
Obedient
Trusting
Valiant
Negative Personality Traits

Other personality traits are negative. For example:

Laziness
Picky
Sullen
Pompous
Dishonesty
Finicky
Sarcastic
Pompous
Arrogant
Cowardly
Sneaky
Rude
Quarrelsome
Impulsive
Slovenly
Self-centered
Boorish
Surly
Unfriendly
Unruly
Thoughtless
Stingy
Bossy
Vulgar
Malicious
Conceited
Obnoxious
A whole host of other bad characteristics can also be considered personality traits if you practice these things habitually.

Determining Personality Types

Just answering a few questions about likes and dislikes and where they would like to go in life, background stories etc.

In psychology, there are five factors that determine different personality types. The big five factors are:

Openness is appreciation for a variety of experience.
Conscientiousness is planning ahead rather than being spontaneous.
Extroversion involves going out with friends and being energetic.
Agreeableness is, as it says, being agreeable.
Neuroticism refers to worrying or being vulnerable.
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Another way of determining your characters personality type is to just ask questions. Ask things like: “If a child is hurt and alone, what would they do?”

How Do I Create My Personality?

The personality of your characters is entirely up to you. It is in the actions they take and the decisions they make. Either they are a patient person, or not; a responsible person or not.

I see this post demonstrates a rudimentary understanding of psychology. However, it does not have a grasp of context or repercussions to various personality traits/values, instead painting everything in black and white.

For starters, honesty isn't always a "good" personality trait, just like a no killing moral can be your detriment. For an example of the latter, watch "Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker".

For those who don't want to sit through the movie:



All traits have consequences to them. Being unflinchingly honest can be a huge can of worms, because you don't hide your feelings, then. You don't consider when it's the best time to say something. You can lose your job, friends, homes. The list goes on. Look up how society treats whistleblowers to see how many problems honesty can cause. The most recent example is Edward Snowden who, by being honest, is facing espionage/possibly treason charges and had to flee the US.

Sometimes you have to lie, or at least keep up a facade. Or cover your tracks to the point you're impossible to find.

This brings me quite nicely into my next point: not all "negative" traits are bad. Snowden currently has his life because he's been sneaky. Spies make a living on being sneaky. And spies are rather critical for how information is distributed; have been since Biblical times.

Sarcasm isn't a necessarily negative trait. It's an art, and those who are around sarcasm and/or are very good at it are generally better creative problem solvers. Being able to understand sarcasm in a spoken form is usually deemed a sign of intelligence, and those who do not understand it tend to be considered not as socially intelligent. It is also a fantastic way of driving points home. Sometimes incredibly grating, but that doesn't make it a negative trait.

Also, the word "bossy". This tends to only be considered a problem with women, considering the double standards that run rampant. If a man takes charge of the situation, he is considered to be a leader, a future CEO. There are times and places for taking charge and those places come up more often than you think.

Speaking of culturally sensitive traits, "extraversion" is one. About half of the world's population are known as introverted. They do not desire to go out and socialize. Instead of thinking broadly, they think deeply. This puts them at odds with society, despite them having many qualities that the world desperately needs. This article goes into more detail on introversion and its uses. If one puts extraversion as the ideal, then introverts once again get left behind.

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Instead of focusing on "good" and "bad" traits, instead focus on traits. One long list of things your character can be. Determine this by:

Upbringing
Preferences
Job
Dreams
Coping mechanisms
Natural tendencies/things they like to do
Cultural expectations/tendencies within society

All traits have repercussions. Traits society has deemed "good" can result in some horrible situations, while traits society has deemed "bad" can lead to some pretty fantastic ones. It is all about how the person applies those traits and the situation around them when they do so.