Character Traits: The Seven Deadly Sins

Greetings. I'm reposting to bring us all up to date on this weekly writer's post. I need the refresher as much as you do. I will cover all seven sins and your hero. Next Monday will also be a re-post, then after that it's all new. Hope it helps you in your writing.



It's May, welcome back to Character Traits. Sine we have been talking about Hero's and their character traits I thought it would be worthwhile to discuss the Seven Deadly Sins and your hero. Like it or not, these Catholic based "sins" are part of our society and serve to bring layers upon layers to a hero. We expect the villain to have major flaws, but I submit that it is the struggle to overcome our failures that make a hero who they are. If you are not familiar with the seven deadly sins I have posted the Wikipedia definition below. Starting next Monday I will cover our hero and each of the sins one at a time. I hope that you all will join in a discussion on these flaws and let me know what you think.
Nancy

Seven deadly sins
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Seven Deadly Sins, also known as the Capital Vices or Cardinal Sins, is a classification of objectionable vices (part of Christian ethics) that have been used since early Christian times to educate and instruct Christians concerning fallen humanity's tendency to sin. The currently recognized version of the sins are usually given as wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony.

The Catholic Church divides sin into two categories: venial sins, in which guilt is relatively minor, and the more severe mortal sins. Theologically, a mortal sin is believed to destroy the life of grace within the person and thus creates the threat of eternal damnation. "Mortal sin, by attacking the vital principle within us - that is, charity - necessitates a new initiative of God's mercy and a conversion of heart which is normally accomplished [for Catholics] within the setting of the sacrament of reconciliation."[1]

Biblical lists

In the Book of Proverbs (Mishlai), King Solomon stated that the Lord specifically regards "six things the Lord hateth, and the seventh His soul detesteth." namely:[4]

A proud look.
A lying tongue.
Hands that shed innocent blood.
A heart that devises wicked plots.
Feet that are swift to run into mischief.
A deceitful witness that uttereth lies.
Him that soweth discord among brethren.

While there are seven of them, this list is considerably different from the traditional one, with only pride clearly being in both lists.

Another list, given this time by the Epistle to the Galatians (Galatians 5:19-21), includes more of the traditional seven sins, although the list is substantially longer: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, "and such like".[5] Since Saint Paul goes on to say that the persons who commit these sins "shall not inherit the Kingdom of God", they are usually listed as (possible) mortal sins rather than Capital Vices.

So, this is the run down. Next Monday we will start with number 1, and ask the question, does my hero/heroine have this fault and if so how do they respond to it? I hope you will join me. Nancy

Update: We are moving today to a bug free, mold free and clean apartment. Plus I'm saving over $200.00, a much needed amount to help with all the expenses. I won't be around much and all post planned for this week will be delayed. However, I am sure that when I return I will be able to do a lot more blogging and visiting and writing. Yea!

We moved, I'm better! Do you need critique help? Check out my  blog schedule in the pages above to see what I'm doing.

Nancy

Character Traits: Hygiene

This post was inspired by burrito night at my house. There are currently three men and a five year old occupying this house with my daughter and I. Let's just say things became musical and smelly and got me to thinking about hero's and hygiene. I'm not sure I have ever read anything on this topic.

Traditionally, hero's, both male and female are close to perfect. but is that really much fun? I mean, we are discussing flaws in these post so why not hygiene?

Hygiene in all forms will depend on time period, customs, and the availability of cleaning products including soaps, toothpaste, etc. In medieval and Renaissance Europe people didn't bathe on a regular basis due to fears that this practice would lead to demon possession. The rich sprayed themselves with perfumes and the poor just smelled bad. When the first European's came to America they where amazed at how clean the Native American's were. If your hero lives in this time period much will depend on his or her nationality.

You may ask, why on earth hasn't Hollywood mentioned the stink the Roman army must have left behind as they marched to war? Come on, allergies must have plagued others and not just modern man. Today we are a bit snobbish about hygiene. In the future there maybe a sonic shower or a procedure to remove all offensive odors from the human body.

Hygiene and your hero:

I would not make this into a huge issue with your hero. Bad hygiene is better applied to a comic character who is a friend or acquaintance of your hero. However, the occasional mishap, or a bad habit, the issue can be turned into a comic scene to lighten the mood of your story temporarily.

Example:

In my epic fantasy, The Treasures of Carmelidrium, Prince Healden is dining at an Inn with my heroine, Missie and many others. This is predominately a medieval society but has been influenced by modern conveniences. However, no one has introduced forks, knives and napkins at dinner to date. Healden and all others except Missie, a modern American University student, are eating with their hands. A bit of greasy meat hangs from Healden's chin and Missie reaches over with a cloth she has obtained to wipe it off, causing a stir among the guest. In this chapter the tension has been building solidly and this small scene breaks that tension, reveals personality traits of the characters and allows the reader to breathe. This is hygiene gone bad but completely acceptable in the time period.

I suspect that many of you have addressed hygiene in your stories. I'd love it if you shared.
Nancy

Charcter Traits: Flaws and Your Hero

Greetings on this Monday in March. Last Thursday I posted a special edition of Character Traits that I called: How to Make Your Hero Great. In my post I talked a little about character flaws. I will address this a little more today and ask for some help.

What are character flaws and why are they important?

There is no one anywhere on earth who isn't flawed in some way. We are a collection of DNA and experience from the time we are born. If you are born into a family who wants you and loves you it doesn't matter emotionally (at first) how much money they have. If they don't want you but keep you and let you know you aren't wanted on a regular basis you will be flawed by that experience. In either case, money or the lack thereof affects a character depending on several things.
1. What are the ideals at home?
2. What does society think or how does it react to your character?
3. How do his/her peers react to them?

I could list more but these post are designed to get you thinking.

Examples:

Your character is rich, powerful and a person in high standing in your world. Ask yourself these types of questions to understand your character. Did they grow up knowing they were somebody and how did that translate in their relationships?

My hero in, The Treasures of Carmelidrium, (he is actually a secondary hero), grew up as the heir to the throne. But in Gil-Lael, the attitude of the royal house is that they are servants to the people. So while money is never an issue, responsibility runs deep. He views every thing with an attitude that he must do the best for his people. In real life you would be hard pressed to find an example of any royal family in past centuries with this attitude. Why did I do this? Because I needed a hero not a snob for this critical role. I'm planning a novella to explain more about the royal family and trust me, it will be shown just as it should be and not lectured.

Now lets take the opposite side. Your hero is dirt poor, (cliche) and struggles with every aspect of life while growing up. But they are loved deeply. The issues for this hero may be a deep seeded resentment. Or fear that they will lose everything and thus it makes it difficult for them to stay focused on the task at hand. What's the point? Right. If they will just lose? So decide how absolute poverty affected them. This will be tainted by the country they live in, time period, attitudes of others around them and so on.

Now we will look at the man or woman who was never wanted. Despite this terrible upbringing, deep down they are good people. The first question you must ask yourself about this hero is, how did they survive to be a positive person? Or even a pessimist but still good. Did other relatives interfere and bring stability? Did a friend's mother or father step in and thus become a second family that treasured them for who they were? Did some hidden talent preserve them? Did they find God?

As you see, character development can be tasking. Once you've selected one flaw, you will need two more to make your character three dimensional. What we have discussed above is major, the next two flaws for this character can be minor, woven into the fabric of this hero. Such as fears, jealousy that s/he struggles to contain, bouts of anger, a disability, etc.

How do you write all this? Never with an info dump. You do not want long discourses of the past that the reader must slog through. Instead, show this a little at a time. Prepare a scene with family or friends, act it out in your mind first, what does it feel like, look like, smell like? Does your character get a big hug from mom? Or does she sneer at your character and grunt a hello? Then the second flaw surfaces, perhaps your character has a panic attack or maybe they start to giggle in a ridiculous manner. As you can see, it is all about building your character until they are as real as you want them to be.

I hope this was a help. Now for some help from you. Are you struggling with a specific flaw and how to write it? Let me know and I will address that one too.
Nancy

Make Your Hero's Great

This is a special addition of Character Traits. The title says it all. Make Your Hero's Great. Already there are some of you who will disagree with me. You want your hero's flawed. Let me make myself clear, we aren't talking about flaws, we are talking about choices. But, you say, the flaws influence the choices. Yes, you are correct, but really, some things should be beyond a hero's thought process to accept as okay behavior.

I have read a certain fantasy series that is a top seller. I should say, I read the first book and never picked up any other book by this author. Why? His hero raped a woman. This was justified by explaining that the hero was in an alternate world and he didn't believe any of it was real. Excuse me, what does that have to do with any thing? Rape is a crime that shouldn't even enter the hero's mind. Mass murder committed by a sociopath does not equal a hero. An arsonist is not a hero. These crimes mean that there is something innately wrong with a person. I don't care if they are rehabilitated and turn a new leaf, I will never trust them. Your characters, if they are wise, will never trust them. Now if a villain becomes a hero, well, that is a whole different post. I will address that at another time.

I am aware that there are many of you who write "dark" fiction. Some of you write about fantastical creatures whose very nature makes them criminals. We aren't talking about those creatures. Making them into hero's is a new and exciting genre. I am talking about humans. If you take a human who obeys the law except for the occasional evil deed, then please do not try to sell that character as a hero.

Of course your comments are always welcome. Please keep it civil.
Nancy

Character Traits: Survey Says

Good morning, I hope your Monday is filled with bright hope and gentle smiles.

We had a family emergency over the weekend and I spent Saturday evening into the wee hours holding the hand of my daughter in the emergency room. She is fine now, but it was scary and exhausting then. Because of this, yesterday I slept much of the day, so I didn't have time to really craft a decent post.

According to my survey, hero's are the most difficult of all characters to write. This doesn't surprise me, so we will begin with heros. Before I begin however, I want a little more input from all of you so please let me know in the comments what you think.

Do you prefer post on:
1. Female Heros or
2. Male Heros?

Which type of hero would you like covered?
1. Romance
2. Quest
3. Mystery

It will take me a bit to get to all your blogs, sorry about that. My life just won't settle down.
Nancy

Hey all, Donna Hole is giving me an interview and review of both my books today. Click her name to head over and read.

Character Traits: Hope

Hi everyone...thanks to all your input, today we will tackle hope. I'm starting by sharing some of your comments.

Blogger Jamie Gibbs said...

I think hope is difficult to master without coming across as naivety.

With my characters, I like putting in, not so much traits as quirks that give little insights to their personalities e.g. my MC curls his hair around his finger when he's stressed.

Blogger Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

I agree with Jamie in that hope is difficult to write. My main character in my first fantasy series is dealing with abandonment issues. It causes him many moments of doubts about his self-worth.

Blogger The Golden Eagle said...

I'd also say hope is difficult to write--at least without it coming across as contrived.

Blogger Michael Di Gesu said...

Hi, Nancy,
This post is so helpful... I really don't have trouble with any of these issues. As a sensitive and detail oriented writer, I can flesh out my characters. THANKFULLY. But if I had to pick one, HOPE would be difficult. It's an emotion that can really sound too sappy or naive if not portrayed correctly.

I agree with everyone's observation. So let's try to tackle some of the issues with hope.

Merriam Webster says:
hope
verb \ˈhōp\
hoped hop·ing
Definition of HOPE
intransitive verb
1
: to cherish a desire with anticipation
2
archaic : trust
transitive verb
1
: to desire with expectation of obtainment
2
: to expect with confidence : trust
— hop·er noun
— hope against hope
: to hope without any basis for expecting fulfillment

If your character has hope than this trait stems from something deep inside. They are either optimist or religious. As the dictionary defines hope, it is a desire, a certain confidence within, it is trust, and the expectation of fulfillment. In order for your character to be ruled by this strong belief they must have something in their past to justify it. Does this mean you spend too much time on back story. Only for your eyes. You must understand what makes that character tick. Hope in one person may translate differently in another. Your reader doesn't need to know any of this. Your reader needs to experience your character acting out their beliefs.

How do you do that without turning your MC into a wimp?

In my epic fantasy, The Treasures of Carmelidrium, Healden, (pronounced Hel-din), is thrust into a situation that looks hopeless to nearly everyone around him. Someone at court is a spy, Healden must battle beast known as the Symberveen, he must rally his men against difficult foes, he must deal with an aging king who is his father and disapproves of Healden's choices. He knows little about the antagonist and the more he learns the more fearful he becomes. There are moments when despair seems ready to swallow him. And in truth, I let him despair, since this builds character. In the end, he is rewarded. I cannot tell more since it would give away too much.

What you must do to convey hope is to show the inner struggle. Even Christ begged the Father to "take this cup from me," and immediately, "not my will but thine." We see in Christ that his strength stemmed from the Father. I am not comparing God to your characters, it is important to note that Christ came to us in His humanity.

Back to the point. Our characters have within them a strength of will that allows them to move forward when others would pull back. This isn't weakness. When you understand the source of their strength, you will understand how to write hope in them that feels genuine.

Very few of us have faced the kind of obstacles that we set before our characters. But I have known despair and hope. I have experienced miracles in small doses and large ones. As a child I had to overcome a learning disability that I alone had. I did so with the help and encouragement of my mother. At no time did any of these experiences border on weakness. Hope is a strength, it is an assurance of something better. If we change our perception, then writing hope will not be so difficult.

I hope I wasn't too preachy. Please let me know what you think. Did I leave something out that I can address next Monday?
Nancy

Character Traits and You, a Survey

Don't you love villains? Did you notice any familiar traits? Greed. Obsession. Self importance? A disregard for others? Oh yes, all of those traits surface in every villain we watched sing their songs.

In movies like the ones shown above, there is little time to truly develop your characters. Writer's rely on old standby character traits. You may also want to use one of these traits or all of them. But in a book, you have a lot more space and time to really flesh out a character. Both villain and hero come alive to you and to your readers.

I am starting a new theme on Monday to discuss Character Traits. We want to build 3 dimensional characters. So help me out a little. I have a survey on the right sidebar and one in this post. Please take a moment to share your struggles with your characters.

Survey:

A. What Character Trait is the most difficult to capture?
1. Hope
2. Kindness
3. Sensitivity
4. Shy

B. Do you struggle more with your hero or villain?

Fill in the blank.
C. Does your character have an unfamiliar challenge or personality trait? What is it? It may be a fear you're not familiar with or some other thing that isn't easily researched.

I'll do my best to address all your comments with real answers to each challenge in coming post every Monday.

Thanks for your help.
Nancy

The Writing Craft: Character Traits

Hi Everyone:
I am sure that there are more post on the writing craft that I can muster, however, it seems there isn't much interest and I need a new direction. So I've decided to go in the direction of our characters. I will call this, Character Traits.

This is a BIG topic. Many writers admit that their characters are based on real people. Family members, friends, neighbors, co-workers and acquaintances. There are writers who claim that anyone who says they don't do this is lying. I am here to tell you that this is not true. Not only am I telling you this, but in future post I will show you how to write believable characters with a ton of personality without stealing from real sources. This doesn't mean that you will not borrow certain traits. Character traits are sometimes the very source we use as inspiration for a story. Someone you know may do or say something that triggers that spark of imagination. It's what you do with the spark after you find it.

In my epic fantasy, The Treasures of Carmelidrium, I have a spunky young American university student who is so focused on music and her personal goals that she has ignored men altogether. This doesn't mean she isn't attracted to men, she is. There are real people who are this driven. I am not one of them, nor do I know anyone like this. How did I create such a character? The story I wanted to tell needed the heroine to be unique in many ways and yet totally modern in her approach to any number of given circumstance. I cast her in a somewhat modified medieval setting with a prince who is just as unique in his approach. I did this to throw curve balls at my heroine and to bring tension. The only character trait that I am personally familiar with are some of her fears. This I did for realism. I know how looking down the side of the mountain makes my stomach plummet.

Of all the characters in this fantasy only the villain is close to anyone I have ever known. In my youth, I belonged to a Christian free group. It's important to note that we were not an occult. I had a job, an apartment and I went to my Mom's a couple times a week to visit her. No chain link fences in my past. However, one of the leaders of the group had plans. Years after I left I received a phone call and an apology from one of my fellow members. He told me they found mind control books in the leaders belongings after he was exposed. How lose is this connection with my villain? Very. My villain is handsome, charming, powerful, and ambitious beyond anything this leader could have imagined. What is the connection? My villain has a magical power to control people's minds and he has an obsessive personality. We will study this trait in one of my future post.

I will admit to having the idea of my story based, very loosely, on my free group experience. I don't think anyone actually can create a story that doesn't resonate with something they have experienced or are passionate about. We are after all, human.

When I was developing my fantasy, I read a historical romance. I really loved the characters and couldn't wait to get the next book from that author. When it came out it was based in modern times. That was one negative. When I began to read it I realized that the two main characters were duplicates of the first book. Then I read the note the author left and learned that these two characters were based on her children. Ugh! A brother and sister cast as lovers. I never read another book by this author. Her ability to create characters in an interesting story was limited to real life and that just wasn't interesting.

Here is the challenge to improve your writing. It doesn't matter if you have written real people in the past. Once you decide to create a series you need fresh, believable characters. Your main characters must be three dimensional and you minor characters that impact your main characters should be two dimensional. In order for you to do this effectively, you must understand Character Traits.

Do you have trouble with Character Traits? Are you working on a piece that just doesn't feel right? Let me know in the comments.
Nancy