If you think about it, every trait, even the good ones, can be taken too far or have a flipside to it.
What if our good traits start to work against us and create conflict for us or add tension to a situation?
I’m really Type A about some things. I have to be on time. It’s almost an obsession for me…and I’ll do just about anything to be on time.
That definitely has a bad side. If I get any hint that a situation will make me late…a traffic jam, a last-minute emergency that crops up…I’m stressed out. Stress isn’t good for me and isn’t good for people around me, either. :) I’m not nearly as fun to be around when I’m stressed out—and that’s a lousy way to start out a lunch date or a night at the movies, or a school event, or whatever I’m on my way to.
An organized person who plans their day may have low tolerance for a sudden change in plans.
Sometimes people who are too nice don’t have much of a backbone.
Someone can be industrious but could cross the line into being a workaholic.
Charismatic people can be egotistical.
Intelligent people sometimes need constant stimulation or else they get bored.
And on it goes. :) Have you thought of the flipside of your characters’ positive traits and how they might trip them up?
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