Comments on: Character Skills & Talents: Gaining People’s Trust

By: TV Tropes Monday: Frontline General | Neither Here nor There....

TV Tropes Monday: Frontline General | Neither Here nor There.... — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 06:29:31 +0000

[…] Tweet of the Day: The Confidant […]

By: Julie Musil

Julie Musil — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 00:56:17 +0000

Love this post! “Being a good listener” is an excellent way to be a good confidant.

By: Joe Kovacs

Joe Kovacs — Sun, 08 Feb 2015 14:32:03 +0000

Becca, thanks for this insight on providing characters with unusual or stand-out traits. In a lot of stories, the kind of “stand-out” trait that you discuss here is often directly reflective of the character’s nature or stands in direct contrast of their nature. Captain Ahab has a prosthetic leg, or whatever it was–wood, maybe–that served as a replacement leg in the 19th century in Moby Dick. While yes, he physically lost that leg while whaling, the missing leg is also often interpreted as reflective of Ahab’s flawed, stunted nature (monomania). In films like The Mask (with Eric Stolz), the protagonist’s unusually distorted face stands in direct contrast to his kindly nature. You offer some great scenarios above where the character trait you discuss can be used to great effect. Developing that trait as something that speaks to the character’s nature (in other words, making the trait part of character development in addition to a device that advances plot), deepens its power as well. Nice job.

By: :Donna

:Donna — Sun, 08 Feb 2015 02:54:47 +0000

In reply to BECCA PUGLISI. Becca, EVERYthing you ladies put out here for us comes in handy :D

By: Traci Kenworth

Traci Kenworth — Sun, 08 Feb 2015 01:34:56 +0000

I love the idea of girl dynamics–too often we see girl pitted against girl for the attention of a guy. It’s nice to reflect that not all females or males for that matter, are rivals for their best friend’s other half.

By: BECCA PUGLISI

BECCA PUGLISI — Sun, 08 Feb 2015 01:15:55 +0000

In reply to :Donna. Thanks, Donna! I came up for the idea for this one from reading Queen Bees and Wannabes, which talks about girl dynamics and the different roles that girls often play within cliques. The confidant is one of them. The book was so interesting that I'm thinking of writing a series of posts on girl dynamics and how authors can use the information to write girls/women realistically, or how the information can be used to flip the cliché. I hope this one comes in handy for you!

By: BECCA PUGLISI

BECCA PUGLISI — Sun, 08 Feb 2015 01:15:45 +0000

In reply to Carleen M. Tjader. Welcome, Carleen! So glad you found us :).

By: Hiten Vyas

Hiten Vyas — Sat, 07 Feb 2015 20:23:31 +0000

Hi Becca,

This was really interesting article, and I really appreciate the way you described how a confidant character can be created. It reminded me a little of the way I am in real life! Thank you.

By: :Donna

:Donna — Sat, 07 Feb 2015 19:04:19 +0000

Love this trait! Another great one to put focus on, Becca. Thank you! 😀

By: Carleen M. Tjader

Carleen M. Tjader — Sat, 07 Feb 2015 15:26:23 +0000

Thank you for this post. I am new to this website and already I love it!