What pain lies in your character’s past?
Start your free trial to access a database of emotional traumas and the many ways each can reshape behavior and personality while instilling difficult-to-overcome fears and insecurities.
Emotional wounds from the past have the power to greatly impact our characters’ personalities and choices in the future. Get to know your characters intimately by choosing the right emotional wound; understanding its effects will enable you to write realistic, fully-formed characters that resonate with readers and make sense for your story.
A NATURAL OR MAN-MADE DISASTER
A PARENT'S ABANDONMENT OR REJECTION
ABANDONMENT OVER AN UNEXPECTED PREGNANCY
BEARING THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR MANY DEATHS
BECOMING A CAREGIVER AT AN EARLY AGE
BECOMING HOMELESS FOR REASONS OUT OF ONE'S CONTROL
BEING DISAPPOINTED BY A ROLE MODEL
BEING FALSELY ACCUSED OF A CRIME
BEING FORCED TO KEEP A DARK SECRET
BEING FORCED TO LEAVE ONE'S HOMELAND
BEING LEGITIMATELY INCARCERATED FOR A CRIME
BEING RAISED BY NEGLECTFUL PARENTS
BEING RAISED BY OVERPROTECTIVE PARENTS
BEING RAISED BY PARENTS WHO LOVED CONDITIONALLY
BEING SO BEAUTIFUL IT'S ALL PEOPLE SEE
BEING THE VICTIM OF A VICIOUS RUMOR
BEING TRAPPED IN A COLLAPSED BUILDING
BEING TRAPPED WITH A DEAD BODY
BEING UNFAIRLY BLAMED FOR SOMEONE'S DEATH
BEING VICTIMIZED BY A PERPETRATOR WHO WAS NEVER CAUGHT
CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ABUSE BY A KNOWN PERSON
CHOOSING TO NOT BE INVOLVED IN A CHILD'S LIFE
CROSSING MORAL LINES TO SURVIVE
DISCOVERING A PARTNER'S SEXUAL ORIENTATION SECRET
DISCOVERING HIDDEN INFORMATION ABOUT ONE'S ANCESTRY
EXPERIENCING THE DEATH OF A PARENT AS A CHILD OR YOUTH
FAILING TO SAVE SOMEONE'S LIFE
FALLING SHORT OF SOCIETY'S PHYSICAL STANDARDS
FINANCIAL RUIN DUE TO A SPOUSE'S IRRESPONSIBILITY
FINDING OUT ONE'S CHILD WAS ABUSED
GETTING LOST IN A NATURAL ENVIRONMENT
GROWING UP IN THE SHADOW OF A SUCCESSFUL SIBLING
GROWING UP WITH A SIBLING'S DISABILITY OR CHRONIC ILLNESS
HAVING A CONTROLLING OR OVERLY STRICT PARENT
HAVING ONE'S IDEAS OR WORK STOLEN
HAVING PARENTS WHO FAVORED ONE CHILD OVER ANOTHER
LEARNING THAT ONE'S PARENT HAD A SECOND FAMILY
LEARNING THAT ONE'S PARENT WAS A MONSTER
LIVING IN A DANGEROUS NEIGHBORHOOD
LIVING IN AN EMOTIONALLY REPRESSED HOUSEHOLD
LIVING THROUGH FAMINE OR DROUGHT
LIVING WITH A CRITICAL MEDICAL DIAGNOSIS
LIVING WITH AN ABUSIVE CAREGIVER
LIVING WITH CHRONIC PAIN OR ILLNESS
LOSING A LOVED ONE DUE TO A PROFESSIONAL'S NEGLIGENCE
LOSING A LOVED ONE TO A RANDOM ACT OF VIOLENCE
NOT BEING A PRIORITY GROWING UP
POOR JUDGMENT LEADING TO UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES
TELLING THE TRUTH BUT NOT BEING BELIEVED
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