The Duality of Character Traits–Why We Need the Good, the Bad and Even the Ugly


very thought provoking blog on character traits, really needed this

Kristen Lamb's Blog

Iโ€™ve read thousands of works, and one quick way to have a โ€œpaper dollโ€ is for a character to be all good or all evil. When we begin writing, itโ€™s easy to fall into this trap. Our heroes or heroines are versions of ourselves (minus any imperfections, of course). Our bad guys are every ex or person in high school who picked on us. They are evil personified.ย But then we soon realize?

Our characters are deep as a puddle, making themย dull as dirt.

If we look to some of the most fascinating characters in history, books, and movies, we see a cast that includes Riddick (Chronicles of Riddick), Gordon Gekko (Wall Street), Wyatt Earp (history and the movieย Tombstone), Tom Sawyer (literature), Annie Wilkes (Misery), Hannibal of Carthage, Hannibal the Cannibal (Silence of the Lambs), Batman, Iron Man, Poisonโ€ฆ

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