20 Essential Positive Traits to Make Your Characters Empathetic to Readers

 20 Essential Positive Traits to Make Your Characters Empathetic to Readers

1. Empathy: The character demonstrates an understanding of others' feelings and shows compassion.
2. Courage: The character faces fears or challenges bravely, inspiring admiration.
3. Determination: The character persists in achieving their goals despite obstacles, earning respect.
4. Kindness: The character is compassionate and considerate towards others, evoking warmth.
5. Humor: The character has a sense of humor, making them endearing and relatable.
6. Honesty: The character is truthful, creating trust and a sense of reliability.
7. Vulnerability: The character shows vulnerability, making them more human and relatable.
8. Curiosity: The character is curious and open-minded, inviting readers to explore with them.
9. Resilience: The character bounces back from setbacks, inspiring hope and admiration.
10. Generosity: The character is generous, creating a sense of goodwill.
11. Loyalty: The character is loyal to their values or to others, inspiring trust and admiration.
12. Optimism: The character maintains a positive outlook, even in difficult situations, inspiring hope.
13. Creativity: The character is imaginative and innovative, sparking curiosity and admiration.
14. Wisdom: The character demonstrates wisdom beyond their years, earning respect and admiration.
15. Integrity: The character acts according to a strong moral code, earning respect and trust.
16. Empowerment: The character empowers others, creating a sense of inspiration and admiration.
17. Altruism: The character acts selflessly for the greater good, inspiring admiration and empathy.
18. Resourcefulness: The character is resourceful in solving problems, earning respect and admiration.
19. Independence: The character is independent, inspiring admiration and respect.
20. Passion: The character is passionate about their goals, inspiring admiration and motivation.

This is interesting and explains why so things in the US are turning into junk

 

Brusque

  

 

 Brusque comes ultimately from bruscus, the Medieval Latin name for butcher’s broom, a shrub whose bristly, leaf-like twigs have long been used for making brooms.

 Bruscus was modified to the adjective brusco in Italian, where it meant “sour” or “tart.” French, in turn, changed brusco to brusque, and the word in that form entered English in the 1600s.

 English speakers initially applied brusque to tartness in wine, but the word soon came to describe a harsh and stiff manner, which is just what you might expect of a word bristling with associations to stiff, scratchy brooms.

Good Hours by Robert Frost

  

 

I had for my winter evening walk—No one at all with whom to talk,

But I had the cottages in a row

Up to their shining eyes in snow.

 

And I thought I had the folk within: I had the sound of a violin; I had a glimpse through curtain laces

Of youthful forms and youthful faces.

 I had such company outward bound.

I went till there were no cottages found.

I turned and repented, but coming back

I saw no window but that was black.

 Over the snow my creaking feet

Disturbed the slumbering village street

Like profanation, by your leave,

At ten o’clock of a winter eve.

Essentials of Spontaneous Prose by Jack Kerouac

  

  •       1. SET-UP

The object is set before the mind, either in reality. as in sketching (before a landscape or teacup or old face) or is set in the memory wherein it becomes the sketching from memory of a definite image-object.

 

•       2. PROCEDURE

Time being of the essence in the purity of speech, sketching language is undisturbed flow from the mind of personal secret idea-words, blowing (as per jazz musician) on subject of image.

 

•       3. METHOD

No periods separating sentence-structures already arbitrarily riddled by false colons and timid usually needless commas-but the vigorous space dash separating rhetorical breathing (as jazz musician drawing breath between outblown phrases)--"measured pauses which are the essentials of our speech"--"divisions of the sounds we hear"-"time and how to note it down." (William Carlos Williams)

 

•       4. SCOPING

Not "selectivity' of expression but following free deviation (association) of mind into limitless blow-on-subject seas of thought, swimming in sea of English with no discipline other than rhythms of rhetorical exhalation and expostulated statement, like a fist coming down on a table with each complete utterance, bang! (the space dash)-Blow as deep as you want-write as deeply, fish as far down as you want, satisfy yourself first, then reader cannot fail to receive telepathic shock and meaning-excitement by same laws operating in his own human mind.

 •       5. LAG IN PROCEDURE

No pause to think of proper word but the infantile pileup of scatological buildup words till satisfaction is gained, which will turn out to be a great appending rhythm to a thought and be in accordance with Great Law of timing.

 

•       6. TIMING

Nothing is muddy that runs in time and to laws of time-Shakespearian stress of dramatic need to speak now in own unalterable way or forever hold tongue-no revisions (except obvious rational mistakes, such as names or calculated insertions in act of not writing but inserting).

 •       7. CENTER OF INTEREST

Begin not from preconceived idea of what to say about image but from jewel center of interest in subject of image at moment of writing, and write outwards swimming in sea of language to peripheral release and exhaustion-Do not afterthink except for poetic or P. S. reasons. Never afterthink to "improve" or defray impressions, as, the best writing is always the most painful personal wrung-out tossed from cradle warm protective mind-tap from yourself the song of yourself, blow!-now!-your way is your only way-"good"-or "bad"-always honest ("ludi- crous"), spontaneous, "confessionals' interesting, because not "crafted." Craft is craft.

 

•       8. STRUCTURE OF WORK

Modern bizarre structures (science fiction, etc.) arise from language being dead, "different" themes give illusion of "new" life. Follow roughly outlines in outfanning movement over subject, as river rock, so mindflow over jewel-center need (run your mind over it, once) arriving at pivot, where what was dim-formed "beginning" becomes sharp-necessitating "ending" and language shortens in race to wire of time-race of work, following laws of Deep Form, to conclusion, last words, last trickle-Night is The End.

 •       9. MENTAL STATE

If possible write "without consciousness" in semi-trance (as Yeats' later "trance writing") allowing subconscious to admit in own uninhibited interesting necessary and so "modern" language what conscious art would censor, and write excitedly, swiftly, with writing-or-typing-cramps, in accordance (as from center to periphery) with laws of orgasm, Reich's "beclouding of consciousness." Come from within, out-to relaxed and said.

 

 

The Temple of Athena, Lindos at Rhodes, Greece

 

 The Temple of Athena Lindia was a sanctuary in Lindos in Rhodes, dedicated to the goddess Athena. It was a significant Pan-Hellenic shrine of Athena and arguably the regional center of her cult.

The cult of Athena on Rhodes differed somewhat from the cult in other parts of Greece, as it required the burning of the entrails from the sacrificial animals on the altar, an act which may have been unique for Rhodes. Philostratus the Elder described the cult on the sanctuary in 3rd century:

 The Birth of Athena . . . Two peoples are already sacrificing to Athena [i.e. on the day of her birth] on the acropolis of two cities, the Athenians and the Rhodians, one on the land and one on the sea, [sea-born] and earth-born men; the former offer fireless sacrifices that are incomplete, but the people of Athens offer fire, as you see yonder, and the savour of burnt flesh. The smoke is represented as fragrant and as rising with the savour of the offerings. The goddess has come to the Athenians as to men of superior wisdom who make excellent sacrifices. For the Rhodians, however, as we are told, gold flowed down from heaven and filled their houses and their narrow streets, when Zeus caused a cloud to break over them, because they also gave heed to Athena. The divinity Ploutos also stands on their acropolis, and he is represented as a winged being who has descended from the clouds, and as golden because of the substance in which he has been made manifest.

B&W

Joe Cabrel
 

 

                                                           Edward Weston

Steven Pinker, The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in the 21st Century

 The advice to omit needless words should not be confused with the puritanical edict that all writers must pare every sentence down to the shortest, leanest, most abstemious version possible. Even writers who prize clarity don’t do this. That’s because the difficulty of a sentence depends not just on its word count but on its geometry. Good writers often use very long sentences, and they garnish them with words that are, strictly speaking, needless. But they get away with it by arranging the words so that a reader can absorb them a phrase at a time, each phrase conveying a chunk on conceptual structure.

- Steven Pinker, The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in the 21st Century

Writing facial expressions

 Angry + Frustrated ]

• Red face
• Tensing up jaw/body
• Clenching fists
• Gritting teeth
• Stomped feet
• Rolling eyes
• Crossing arms
• Kick/Hit something
• Eyebrows furl
• Face crunches up
• Tight lips
• Narrow eyes

[ Happy + Excited ]

• Laugh/Giggle
• Smile from ear to ear
• High tone in voice
• Smiling/Grinning while talking
• Heart Pounding
• Clapping
• Breathing deeply
• Squeal/Scream
• Talking fast
• Contentedly Sigh
• Tilted head
• Hand clasped over mouth

[Bored + Tired ]

• Pace back and forth
• Sigh loudly
• Blank face
• Play with fingers
• Staring off into space
• Yawning
• Fidgeting around
• Leaning head on hands
• Rubbing eyes
• Droopy eyes
• Dark circles under eyes
• Complaining

[Sad + Scared]

• Trembling lips/body
• Tears in eyes
• Bite Nails
• Curl up/tuck knees to chest
• Bite nails
• Eyes burn/turn red
• Stop breathing OR breathe fast
• Lose appetite
• Frowning
• Darting eyes
• Blinking quick or not at all
• Pounding heart

 

HOW TO GIVE PERSONALITY TO A CHARACTER

  

Giving personality to a character is an essential part of character development in storytelling, whether you're writing a novel, screenplay, or creating a character for a role-playing game. Here are some steps and considerations to help you give personality to your character:

1. Understand Their Backstory:

Start by creating a detailed backstory for your character. Where were they born? What were their childhood experiences like? What significant events have shaped their life? Understanding their past can help you determine their motivations, fears, and desires.

2. Define Their Goals and Motivations:

Characters often become more interesting when they have clear goals and motivations. What does your character want? It could be something tangible like a job or a romantic relationship, or it could be an abstract desire like happiness or freedom.

3. Determine Their Strengths and Weaknesses:

No one is perfect, and characters should reflect this. Identify your character's strengths and weaknesses. This can include physical abilities, intellectual skills, and personality traits. Flaws can make characters relatable and three-dimensional.

4. Consider Their Personality Traits:

Think about your character's personality traits. Are they introverted or extroverted? Shy or outgoing? Kind or selfish? Create a list of traits that describe their character. You can use personality frameworks like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator or the Big Five Personality Traits as a starting point.

5. Give Them Quirks and Habits:

Quirks and habits can make a character memorable. Do they have a specific way of speaking, a unique fashion style, or an unusual hobby? These details can help bring your character to life.

6. Explore Their Relationships:

Characters don't exist in isolation. Consider how your character interacts with others. What are their relationships like with family, friends, and enemies? These relationships can reveal a lot about their personality.

7. Show, Don't Tell:

Instead of explicitly telling the audience about your character's personality, show it through their actions, dialogue, and decisions. Let the reader or viewer infer their traits based on their behavior.

8. Create Internal Conflict:

Characters with internal conflicts are often more engaging. What inner struggles does your character face? These can be related to their goals, values, or past experiences.

9. Use Character Arcs:

Consider how your character will change or grow throughout the story. Character development is often about how a character evolves in response to the events and challenges they face.

10. Seek Inspiration:

Draw inspiration from real people, other fictional characters, or even historical figures. Study how people with similar traits and backgrounds behave to inform your character's actions and reactions.

11. Write Dialogue and Inner Monologues:

Writing dialogue and inner monologues from your character's perspective can help you get inside their head and understand their thought processes and emotions.

12. Consider the Setting:

The setting of your story can influence your character's personality. For example, a character who grows up in a war-torn environment may have a different personality than one raised in a peaceful, affluent society.

13. Revise and Refine:

Don't be afraid to revise and refine your character as you write and develop your story. Characters can evolve and change as the narrative unfolds.

Remember that well-developed characters are dynamic and multi-faceted. They should feel like real people with strengths, weaknesses, and complexities. As you write and develop your character, put yourself in their shoes and think about how they would react to various situations. This will help you create a compelling and believable personality for your character.