When you’re writing a character, it’s important to know why she is the way she is. Knowing her backstory is important to achieving this end, and one of the most impactful pieces of a character’s backstory is her emotional wound. This negative experience from the past is so intense that a character will go to great lengths to avoid experiencing that kind of pain and negative emotion again. As a result, certain behaviors, beliefs, and character traits will emerge.

Characters, like real people, are unique, and will respond to wounding events differently. The vast array of possible emotional wounds combined with each character’s personality gives you many options in terms of how your character will turn out. With the right amount of exploration, you should be able to come up with a character whose past appropriately affects her present, resulting in a realistic character that will ring true with readers. Understanding what wounds a protagonist bears will also help you plot out her arc, creating a compelling journey of change that will satisfy readers.

NOTE: We realize that sometimes a wound we profile may have personal meaning, stirring up the past for some of our readers. It is not our intent to create emotional turmoil. Please know that we research each wounding topic carefully to treat it with the utmost respect. 

Examples:

• Living in a high crime area
• One’s neighborhood having a strong gang presence that pressures one to join
• Gangs fighting over territory
• A location stalked by a specific predator (human or otherwise)
• A war-torn area where bombings, mine fields or gun violence is a constant threat
• Militant groups that perform routine kidnappings and violence
• Biological or chemical threats
• Poverty that gives rise to desperation and fighting over resources
• A prominent drug trafficking location
• Living in an area where one is not only unwelcome, but despised (for one’s beliefs, religious affiliations, race, etc.)
• Living in a place that has been abandoned by police or one’s government for political reasons

Basic Needs Often Compromised By This Wound: physiological needs, safety and security, love and belonging, esteem and recognition, self-actualization

False Beliefs That May Be Embraced As a Result of This Wound:

• I can’t escape this type of life
• The world doesn’t care about people like me
• The only way to survive is to become what I hate
• The only way I can have anything is to take it
• There’s no justice in this world
• I am not strong enough or powerful enough to stand up against (a group, a gang, etc.)
• Nothing I do will change anything
• The end justifies the means
• If I don’t (take it, do it, etc.) someone else will
• All (people of a specific race, affiliation, religion, etc.) are evil (or corrupt, dangerous, or fill-in-the-blank)
• No one will take care of me–I have to do it myself

Positive Attributes That May Result: adaptable, alert, bold, cautious, disciplined, discreet, focused, idealistic, independent, just, loyal, nurturing, observant, persistent, private, proactive, protective, simple, spiritual, thrifty

Negative Traits That May Result: abrasive, addictive, apathetic, callous, confrontational, cruel, cynical, dishonest, evasive, fanatical, hostile, impatient, irrational, judgmental, manipulative, macho, nervous, pessimistic, rebellious, reckless, self-destructive, stubborn, suspicious, timid, volatile, worrywart

Resulting Fears:

• fear of being hurt or killed
• fear of not being able to protect one’s family
• fear of being taken advantage of
• fear of trusting the wrong person
• fear of violence
• fear of a specific people group
• fear of one’s government or those in power

Possible Habits That May Emerge:

• constant checking of one’s surroundings for danger, even if not consciously aware of this behavior
• not always being genuine and honest with people
• pretending to be something one is not
• putting up a wall around one’s emotions
• being uncommunicative with others
• taking chances or behaving recklessly
• having a difficult time taking people at their word
• pessimism and negativity
• becoming highly protective of one’s family and home
• pushing one’s children to make better choices
• passing on one’s biases onto one’s children
• Prioritizing security (locks, home protection, etc.) and hiding things
• Mistrust of strangers and authority

TIP: If you need help understanding the impact of these factors, please read our introductory post on the Emotional Wound Thesaurus. For our current list of Emotional Wound Entries, go here.

For other Descriptive Thesaurus Collections, go here.

Ben Tanker @ Pixabay

The post Emotional Wound Entry: Growing Up in a Dangerous Neighborhood appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS™.