Consider This … When Coming Up with Character Traits for Characters in Your Novel

by Ane Mulligan @AneMulligan
The blog title caught my eye. It mentioned introverts and HSPs. I am definitely not an introvert, although the longer I write, I find I'm taking on some introverted characteristics—or is it because I prefer to be with my characters? But I digress. 
I'm not a Millennial or a member of the X, Y, or Z generations (I see they are starting the alphabet over again with Alpha Generation. That gave me a good giggle), so the acronym HSP was foreign to me. I think I'd seen once before but I couldn't recall the meaning. This time, I Googled it: Highly Sensitive Person.
Ooooh. That is not on my Character Traits list! (I shared that list in April in The Characters We Write Must Have Traits, Habits, and Flaws ) If you copied my list, make sure you add this one.) 
No more rabbit trails. HSP really grabbed my attention, and I knew I had to give a character that trait. It would walk hand-in-hand with one of the 8 Basic Lies our characters believe —in particular It's All My Fault.
Can you see it? This character usually strives for respect and validation. They carry a lot of guilt for things the perceive to be their fault. They always believe if they had done things differently, the outcome would not be a disaster.
If another character says the event was not a success, the HSP character would immediately think the remark was aimed at them—even if it wasn't. That's their mindset. It's a terrific trait to give a character, although I think it would work best for a secondary character. I can envision the POV character dealing with it—might could be fun.
Because I'm such a proponent of the character lie, I'm going to update the characteristics of each one. That will be another blog post.
So, what is another good trait you have used for a character? How did it play into your story?
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Ane Mulligan lives life from a director’s chair, both in theatre and at her desk creating novels. Entranced with story by age three, at five she saw PETER PAN onstage and was struck with a fever from which she never recovered—stage fever. One day, her passions collided, and an award-winning, bestselling novelist emerged. She believes chocolate and coffee are two of the four major food groups and lives in Sugar Hill, GA, with her artist husband and a rascally Rottweiler. Find Ane on her website, Amazon Author page, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, The Write Conversation, and Blue Ridge Conference Blog.