After my romcom’s characters were criticized for being too nice by two different readers, I decided to make one big list of human flaws and bad traits. Some of them can be used to make your characters more human, and some might make them seem even less than.
It’s in no particular order, and I encourage you to add more in the comments, should you think of new ones. Remember, this list isn’t just for romcoms.
The traits are in no particular order: Some words might include others, like sociopaths don’t often have empathy, but being bad at empathy doesn’t necessarily make you a sociopath. And one person’s deal-breaker isn’t necessarily another’s.
Let’s roll:
- mean/cruel/violent/abusive
- psychopath
- sociopath
- compulsive liar/gambler
- addict
- stingy
- overspender
- arrogant
- pushover
- too shy
- rude
- elitist
- not good at empathy
- abuses privilege/unaware of privilege/looks down on those with privilege
- racist
- misogynistic
- agist
- homophobic
- irrational
- impulsive
- too much of a planner: no time for spontaneity
- politically incorrect
- disrespectful
- selfish
- too selfless: ends up being miserable
- forgetful
- chronically late
- obsessively organized/clean
- excessively disorganized/messy/dirty
- personal hygiene issues
- prioritizing badly/wrongly: e.g. sports team/favorite show over relationship/friends
- cheater
- too ambitious vs. not ambitious enough
- no goals
- too self-conscious vs. totally unaware of self
- obsessive in general
- unsupportive
- doesn’t believe in you
- health nut
- too unhealthy when it comes to habits/lifestyle
- doesn’t believe in science
- overtly religious
- doesn’t respect your/others’ faith
- xenophobe
- insensitive vs. too sensitive
- snob in their taste
- doesn’t listen/bad at communication
- doesn’t know what she/he wants
- doesn’t give you space
- ignorant
- illiterate by choice
- too serious: no time for fun/no sense of humor
- sick sense of humor
- always joking around/no time to be honest
- fussy/nitpicky
- too choosy
- criminal – white collar
- criminal – violent
- doesn’t care about law
- extreme chatterbox vs. too quiet
- shrill voice
- too adventurous vs. not adventurous enough
- boring
- too geeky vs. no knowledge of any kind of pop culture
- doesn’t care about how they look
- care too much about how they look
- baby-fever: to the point who the baby will be from doesn’t matter
- marriage-obsessed: to the point the person doesn’t matter
- hung-up on ideas/ideals rather than evaluating the individual
- not individualistic enough/always following the crowd
- antisocial
- bad with/rude to your friends/family
- doesn’t involve you in their life
- wants to change you
- wants you to change them: sees you as an anchor/savior
- doesn’t apologize/doesn’t admit they are wrong
- always right
- thinks fighting spices things up
- expects more than gives
- dangerous/endangering
- risk averse vs. always taking risks
- judgmental
- too jealous
- too sarcastic
- too stupid
- shallow/superficial
- doesn’t return what he/she expects/gets from you
- cares too much about what others think
- superstitious
- too nosy
Impressive list, Pinar. Well done!
Thanks, Yvette! Some characters of mine from a romcom need a bit more humanizing (they are on the nice side), so I decided to help writers while also helping myself. Part 2 is in the works. 🙂