---
product_id: 4157229
title: "The Negative Trait Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Flaws (Writers Helping Writers Series)"
price: "€ 50.93"
currency: EUR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 13
url: https://www.desertcart.be/products/4157229-the-negative-trait-thesaurus-a-writers-guide-to-character-flaws
store_origin: BE
region: Belgium
---

# The Negative Trait Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Flaws (Writers Helping Writers Series)

**Price:** € 50.93
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- **What is this?** The Negative Trait Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Flaws (Writers Helping Writers Series)
- **How much does it cost?** € 50.93 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
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## Description

Crafting likable, interesting characters is a balancing act, and finding that perfect mix of strengths and weaknesses can be difficult. But the task has become easier thanks to The Negative Trait Thesaurus . Through its flaw-centric exploration of character arc, motivation, emotional wounds, and basic needs, writers will learn which flaws make the most sense for their heroes, villains, and other members of the story’s cast. This book’s vast collection of flaws will help writers to explore the possible causes, attitudes, behaviors, thoughts, and related emotions behind their characters’ weaknesses so they can be written effectively and realistically. Common characterization pitfalls and methods to avoid them are also included, along with invaluable downloadable tools to aid in character creation. Written in list format and fully indexed, this brainstorming resource is perfect for creating deep, flawed characters that readers will relate to.

Review: Amazing Resource - I love this book. It will not only help you come up with flaws for your characters, but it has methods for character building as well. Not to say it is a book on character building, but it does give some techniques that are very helpful for understanding how character traits effect needs, and wants, which in turn will give your character drive. I found that especially helpful. She discusses the five needs and lies that are basic; Physiological, Safety and Security, Love and belonging, Esteem and Recognition and Self-Actualization.She then goes on to list many needs that fall under each category and lists a group of corresponding lies that a character might use as excuses for not fulfilling his needs. i.e. Love and Belonging category: Need- {Finding a Spouse} corresponding lie could be (I don't want any attachments, or no one will be interested in someone as screwed up as me.) there are many given needs and wants and many corresponding lies so you can choose from any of them to suit your story. The key is understanding WHY your character would have those needs and wants, and why would he/she choose to react negatively or positively with that reaction. There is a reverse back story tool that is very helpful for determining your character's needs and lies. It starts with the characters goals and takes you through several emotional steps until you work out the reason the character came to make his decisions. It provides a character pyramid that helps you see the structure of your character's traits as they form layers of his personality. I think every writer should have this book. I think every writer should have all three. The emotional Thesaurus is different from the positive and negative trait thesaurus. The Trait thesauri help you to create complex yet sound characters. The Emotion's Thesaurus focus on how a character feels at a particular moment, and when she is experiencing that emotion what is likely happening physiologically, emotionally, externally, certain speech patterns. It gives associated emotions, so if grief is not exactly what you are looking for you can click on anguish and see if that is a better fit, and read what an anguished person looks and sounds like. If you want to build negative characters, you can get by on just the Negative Trait Thesaurus If you are building a Pollyanna go with the Positive Traits Thesaurus but If you want emotionally rich complete characters I highly recommend you buy all three. I am not a book reviewer or a friend, or reading a copy and I don't review books that often. When I do it is because they are in my opinion outstanding contributions and I want to help other people know what they will be purchasing.
Review: Incredibly useful tool! - Want to create true to life, fleshed-out characters? Start here. These two authors deliver. They show you how characters are the story and how to develop them for maximum effect in your own book. The first part of the book states that everyone is damaged, and the more emotionally traumatic the better. They tell you why negative traits, wounds and flaws are essential for character arcs, how to build them, and how they can be fit to make the journey harder and more meaningful. They also cover that people who are wounded form lies they believe (Ex. I'll never be a good mother.), which stems from one of the five basic needs. (Sorry, too long to list.) The second part lists flaws alphabetically. They cover definition, similar flaws, possible causes, associated behaviors and attitudes, associated thoughts, associated emotions, positive aspects, negative aspects, examples from film, overcoming this trait as a major flaw, and traits in supporting characters that may cause conflict. I read through each flaw and was surprised when my characters became fleshed out in my head. I knew what they were thinking and what caused it. We can all think of various flaws we want our characters to have (selfish, stubborn, reckless, etc.), but it is invaluable to have ALL the flaws listed out, so you can find the one your brain forgot, under that pile bills and junk mail, that adds the critical pulse to your character and brings your story to life. You might even find yourself identifying with flaws and eagerly turning to 'Overcoming this trait as a major Flaw'. It's like a mini therapy session. Acknowledge and correct. All in all, this book is worthy of a spot on your shelf, if just for having a complete list of flaws at your fingertips. I also highly recommend their other two books: The Emotion Thesaurus and The Positive Trait Thesaurus.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #67,376 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #20 in Creative Writing & Composition #27 in Play & Scriptwriting Writing Reference #27 in Thesauruses (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.8 out of 5 stars 1,978 Reviews |

## Images

![The Negative Trait Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Flaws (Writers Helping Writers Series) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71M0QPOqBTL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Amazing Resource
*by A***R on May 6, 2014*

I love this book. It will not only help you come up with flaws for your characters, but it has methods for character building as well. Not to say it is a book on character building, but it does give some techniques that are very helpful for understanding how character traits effect needs, and wants, which in turn will give your character drive. I found that especially helpful. She discusses the five needs and lies that are basic; Physiological, Safety and Security, Love and belonging, Esteem and Recognition and Self-Actualization.She then goes on to list many needs that fall under each category and lists a group of corresponding lies that a character might use as excuses for not fulfilling his needs. i.e. Love and Belonging category: Need- {Finding a Spouse} corresponding lie could be (I don't want any attachments, or no one will be interested in someone as screwed up as me.) there are many given needs and wants and many corresponding lies so you can choose from any of them to suit your story. The key is understanding WHY your character would have those needs and wants, and why would he/she choose to react negatively or positively with that reaction. There is a reverse back story tool that is very helpful for determining your character's needs and lies. It starts with the characters goals and takes you through several emotional steps until you work out the reason the character came to make his decisions. It provides a character pyramid that helps you see the structure of your character's traits as they form layers of his personality. I think every writer should have this book. I think every writer should have all three. The emotional Thesaurus is different from the positive and negative trait thesaurus. The Trait thesauri help you to create complex yet sound characters. The Emotion's Thesaurus focus on how a character feels at a particular moment, and when she is experiencing that emotion what is likely happening physiologically, emotionally, externally, certain speech patterns. It gives associated emotions, so if grief is not exactly what you are looking for you can click on anguish and see if that is a better fit, and read what an anguished person looks and sounds like. If you want to build negative characters, you can get by on just the Negative Trait Thesaurus If you are building a Pollyanna go with the Positive Traits Thesaurus but If you want emotionally rich complete characters I highly recommend you buy all three. I am not a book reviewer or a friend, or reading a copy and I don't review books that often. When I do it is because they are in my opinion outstanding contributions and I want to help other people know what they will be purchasing.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Incredibly useful tool!
*by J***S on November 15, 2013*

Want to create true to life, fleshed-out characters? Start here. These two authors deliver. They show you how characters are the story and how to develop them for maximum effect in your own book. The first part of the book states that everyone is damaged, and the more emotionally traumatic the better. They tell you why negative traits, wounds and flaws are essential for character arcs, how to build them, and how they can be fit to make the journey harder and more meaningful. They also cover that people who are wounded form lies they believe (Ex. I'll never be a good mother.), which stems from one of the five basic needs. (Sorry, too long to list.) The second part lists flaws alphabetically. They cover definition, similar flaws, possible causes, associated behaviors and attitudes, associated thoughts, associated emotions, positive aspects, negative aspects, examples from film, overcoming this trait as a major flaw, and traits in supporting characters that may cause conflict. I read through each flaw and was surprised when my characters became fleshed out in my head. I knew what they were thinking and what caused it. We can all think of various flaws we want our characters to have (selfish, stubborn, reckless, etc.), but it is invaluable to have ALL the flaws listed out, so you can find the one your brain forgot, under that pile bills and junk mail, that adds the critical pulse to your character and brings your story to life. You might even find yourself identifying with flaws and eagerly turning to 'Overcoming this trait as a major Flaw'. It's like a mini therapy session. Acknowledge and correct. All in all, this book is worthy of a spot on your shelf, if just for having a complete list of flaws at your fingertips. I also highly recommend their other two books: The Emotion Thesaurus and The Positive Trait Thesaurus.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ In a word- "Outstanding"
*by F***R on May 7, 2019*

A highly useful book. While it says thesaurus.this is more like a character guide to using characters that have horrible traits. It lists various traits (in one word) description (so you don't get confused about what they mean by the one word), causes, associated behaviors, common thoughts, emotions, etc. etc. I had already read the emotion thesaurus, and between that and this, I picked up the three other books from this series that had previously only given me a passing interest. Why? Because writing a good story, is often about writing good, character driven plots. The better the characters, the more power they can give to the plot itself. And unless you are some kind of storytelling, character-building grand-master, this book will have something for you. My favorite part of this book is exploring why a character would have the flaws they do, helping flesh them out and make them feel more alive and three-dimensional. I can only hope the other three I've ordered are as useful as this one. If so, I'm going to be one very happy writer. :)

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*Product available on Desertcart Belgium*
*Store origin: BE*
*Last updated: 2026-10-25*