Creating Characters (26 page)

May also be called: procrastinator. Adjectives: careless, disregardful, forgetful, heedless, hit-or-miss, inattentive, negligent, reckless, slipshod, slovenly, unexacting, unmeticulous.

Has done nothing that would draw attention to himself; thus, no one notices him. He is blanketed with unimportance, relegated to being a face in the crowd. His name is easily forgotten, and his job is something that is impossible to remember. Fades into the woodwork. A name in a telephone book. A nonentity in clothes and shoes.

May also be called: John or Jane Doe, man in the street, small fry.

Adjectives: common, commonplace, insignificant, ordinary, small-time, unexceptional, unimportant, unnoteworthy.

Has an aversion to conformity; frequently shocks those who embrace the ordinary; always at odds with the status quo; breaks with tradition, questions accepted truths; leans in the opposite direction of which the majority demand that he go; contemptuous of blind obedience and dogma; attracted to that which lies off the beaten path; perennially out of step by his design.

Adjectives: audacious, daring, defiant, eccentric, oddballish, unconformable unconventional, undisciplined, unorthodox, unyielding.

A repository for hope, that which Emily Dickinson describes as «the thing with feathers that perches in the soul." Convinced that things will either get better or that they happen for the best. Buoyed by bright expectations. Infused with an inextinguishable inner cheerfulness. Immune to failure. Can spot a tiny drop of promise in a sea of dread. A living antidote for defeat. Looks at the world through rose-colored glasses. Makes the best of a bad situation. Counts his chickens before they are hatched.

May also be called: Pollyanna. Adjectives: anticipative, blithe, buoyant, cheerful, confident, encouraged, enthusiastic, expectant, forward-looking, hopeful, optimistic, sanguine.

Likes to keep things in order. Has a place for everything and wants to keep everything in its place. Prefers establishing a systematic approach to things and determining priorities. Dislikes irregularities, unevenness, spasmodic or intermittent occurrences, fluctuation, haphazardness. Hates loose ends. Strives for tidiness. Wants things to fall neatly into place. Categorizes, tabulates, and files things by rank, alphabetical order, and general classification. Tinkers with methods, with the hope of streamlining them. Daily habits help lend structure to his life. Makes preparations for the unexpected.

May also be called: neat freak, fussbudget, picture-straightener. Adjectives: businesslike, efficient, exacting, fussy, methodical, orderly, systematic, precise, punctilious, structured, thorough, tidy.

Stands rejected by those who feel he no longer holds any worth for them, for he has either done something or been accused of something that has offended them. Denied entry into a group that may once have gladly accepted him. Brushed aside as no longer important. Bears the silence of others' disapproval. Has become guilty of something that no one gives a name. Loses favoritism as a result of his associations. The focal point of great dislike. Repelled by those who are sickened or embarrassed by his physical deformity.

May also be called: castaway, pariah, untouchable.

Adjectives: abandoned, blackballed, disapproved, discarded, disdained, disowned, forsaken, rejected, renounced, scorned, spurned, unappreciated, uninvited, unloved, unvalued, unwanted, unwelcome.

Takes special care not to offend anyone in any way. Willing to make concessions. Inclined to accept the terms dictated by an aggressor rather than make a "big deal" out of something. Will go considerably more than half way to get along with others. Tries to disarm belligerence toward him with a smile, a nervous giggle. Confrontation upsets him. If someone gets mad at him, he is the first one to try to patch things up. Says, "I'm sorry" quite a bit. The Prince of Neutrality in that he steers a middle course and will not take sides. Does not want to be controversial. For him, he feels it's a lot better to go along so that he can get along.

Adjectives: cautious, nonaggressive, noncombative, nonconfrontational, nonpartisan, pacific, peaceable, unbelligerent, uncontentious, unhostile, unpugnacious.

The Moralist at his highest level of excellence. His virtues sparkle. Finds value in the effort that others devote toward improving themselves, but pays no mind to the level he himself has attained. Anger slips away from him like water. Does not desire what others have. Refuses to harshly judge others for what they did or should have done. Views the future with optimism. Unsparing in his effort to help others. Does all those things that are characteristic of saints, but not because he wishes to be recognized as one.

May also be called: one in a million.

Adjectives: angelic, excellent, first-rate, flawless, good, highly-polished, irreproachable, magnificent, moral, pure, saintly, sinless, splendid, spotless, superexcellent, superior, uncorrupt, unsoiled, unsullied, virtuous.

Looks for things that bring people together rather than what sets them apart. Attempts to avert conflict between them. Seeks areas where they might find compatibility rather than confrontation. Tries to mediate, patch things up, settle differences, heal wounds, disarm aggression. Seeks concessions from both sides. Preserves the middle ground. Believes that people should try to get along. Builds bridges between people and attempts to dismantle the barriers they have erected. Sees war as nonsensical and destructive, whether it is broad-based or simply between two people.

May also be called: arbiter, conciliator, go-between, intermediary, mediator, middleman, moderator, negotiator, noncombatant, pacifist, referee, spokesman, umpire.

Adjectives: diplomatic, fair-minded, impartial, intercessionary, mediatory, neutral, nonpartisan, peaceable.

Meticulous about almost everything that is important to him—it must be "just so." May have some traits that are peculiar to the organizer, but is essentially quite different in that he continuously strives for excellence—sometimes in the case of others as well. Will not do anything halfway. Shortcomings found in his own efforts cause self-incrimination, followed by more work to achieve improvement; errors on the part of others bring him dismay and a renewed effort to help them achieve perfection. Prone to read the fine print in a contract and to follow step-by-step written instructions. Hard to please. Overly concerned about trivial matters. Insists that all forms of etiquette be precisely followed.

May also be called: fuddy-duddy, fussbudget, stickler.

Adjectives: conscientious, disciplined, exacting, fastidious, finicky, hypercritical, meticulous, painstaking, particular, persnickety, picky, punctilious, rigid, scrupulous, selective.

Holds the view that everything in life has been designed to make man's life perfectly miserable and that anything promising is merely a mask over some yet-to-be-seen torment. Sees unnamed impediments around every corner. Distrusts anything that would motivate most people to feel good. Estranged from hope. Feels that universal forces have conspired to make him unlucky and therefore miserable, no matter what he does and how hard he tries. Fully expects the worst to happen; when it does, he not only feels justified but has something else with which to replace it. Hears the approaching footsteps of danger, but is deaf to those sounding the approach of good times. Carries the blues on his back like a knapsack. Defeated before he even begins.

May also be called: crepehanger, defeatist, killjoy, skeleton at the feast, sorrow-seeker, spoilsport, wet blanket, worrywart.

Adjectives: brooding, cheerless, cynical, despairing, despondent, disconsolate, doleful, downhearted, funereal, gloomy, glum, inconsolable, joyless, low-spirited, melancholy, miserable, moody, mournful, somber, sorrowful, uncheerful, woeful.

Speaks honestly and expects the same in return. Says what he thinks, not what he believes someone wants to hear. An "open book." Never puts on airs.

May choose to say nothing if the truth threatens to harm someone unnecessarily. Doesn't act one way around one person and then behave another way when he is with someone else. Never embellishes a fact. Does not get involved in transporting conjecture.

Adjectives: candid, direct, ethical, forthright, guileless, honorable, matter-of-fact, open-and-aboveboard, principled, reputable, sincere, square-dealing, straightforward, straight-shooting, undeceptive, unpretentious, truthful, veracious.

Tries to stay out of harm's way. Intimidated by anything that could potentially threaten him. Always on guard. Unlikely to do something without having total confidence that the outcome will be favorable. Only bets on sure things. Inclined to worry and be full of questions that begin with «What if,"
e.g.,
What if I make a mistake? What if I lose my job? What if they get mad? Tends to become immobilized by doubt. Easily daunted, he remains a perfect candidate for others to browbeat, bully, harass, terrorize, or demoralize, for they will sense his timidity and wish to exploit it. Has an on-going affair with Anxiety. Does not accept dares. Others accuse him of being afraid of his own shadow, of backing out when the going gets rough, of turning tail at the slightest provocation, of abandoning what's right in the face of might. Knows a place where he can feel sheltered.

May also be called: alarmist, big baby, chicken, coward, fraidycat, jellyfish, knee-knocker, milksop, safeguarder, scaredy-cat, weakling, white feather.

Adjectives: afraid, apprehensive, chickenhearted, cowardly, cowering, craven, fainthearted, fearful, gritless, hesitant, lily-livered, panicky, pusillanimous, qualmish, reluctant, self-protective, skittish, slinky, terrified, timorous, unadventurous, uncourageous, undaring, unheroic, unvaliant, unvalorous, weak-kneed, white-livered, yellow.

Anoints himself as the landlord of someone's affections, and is always on the alert that that person will cast some or all of it toward someone other than himself. Feels a sense of ownership, which in reality does not exist. Does not want to share someone's love and attention, but wants it all. Could become revengeful if he thinks he is being slighted. His fear of being replaced causes him to erroneously read the actions of those whom he wants to hold close.

Tries to limit the freedom of those whom he watches over.

Adjectives: confining, doubtful, fearful, guarding, jealous, monopolistic, possessive, protective, restrictive, selfish, stifling, suppressive, suspicious, ungenerous, watchful.

Speaks at length on almost any subject with which he is conversant. One person may constitute his audience. Delivers long, rambling opinions. Pounds things to create exclamation marks. Has the so-called gift of gab, as words percolate out of him in one grand profusion. May blast the ear, utter thunderous proclamations, stir emotions from among a collection of blank faces. Hurls words at the heart of his listeners, which may arouse them, frighten them, or set their minds to singing. At his best he can inflate a dwindling passion; at his worst, his words will be met with a desire for him to shut up.

May also be called: lecturer, phrasemonger, speechmaker, windbag.

Adjectives: discursive, dramatic, eloquent, flowery, forceful, high-sounding, long-winded, lyrical, majestic, melodramatic, passionate, sensational, silver-tongued, theatrical.

The pretender deceives himself rather than someone else, and his motives are usually glaringly obvious. Does not have the credentials to be what he would like others to think he is, but that does not stop him from acting the part of the group with which he wishes to be associated. Has possibly convinced himself that if he appears to be what he wishes he was over a long enough period, that it will somehow become true. Thus, if he does all the fashionable things necessary to keep up with the Joneses, he will one day catch up with them. If he pretends to be a sophisticate, with all the responsibilities that entails, surely some of the necessities will one day rub off on him. Or if he pretends to be highly moralistic, or knowledgeable, or successful, or whatever else he wishes others to see him as, perhaps the day will come when he will indeed be fully compatible with the thing he is imitating.

May also be called: bluenose, fake, fine lady, fop, four-flusher, fraud, goody-two-shoes,
impo/stor,
man about town, mannerist, masquerader, phony, prig, puritan.

Adjectives: affected, artificial, counterfeit, dandified, dressy, flashy, foppish, gaudy, goody-goody, highfalutin, high-toned, grandstanding, mannered, ostentatious, over-refined, pompous, pretentious, prudish, puritanical, Quakerish, showy, stagy, strait-laced, swaggering, theatrical.

Psychologically rather than physically behind bars. Has a desire, for example, to escape from what he perceives as a suffocating restriction, one which may involve his family, a marriage, a romantic relationship, a job or career, a social environment, an economic level, his own past, some form of monotony, etc. Could be a prisoner of his own lies. Similar to a dog that is tied outside, stretches whatever rope he is given until it is taut and no more slack is possible.

Possesses an inexplicable sixth sense that provides some special insight into the future, which mayor may not be in great detail-or he either thinks or pretends he does. (If the latter is true,
see
the Deceiver.) Instinctively feels that something will happen somewhere or to someone in particular. Subject to occasional visions. Perceives trends before their conception. Reads omens that appear in the natural world. Looks for omens in nature. Interprets historical parallels. Reads tea leaves, crystal balls, human palms, the juxtaposition of the stars. Warns others of bad days coming. Talks of Judgment Day and the Day of Reckoning. Predicts special things that will take place in the lives of others.