NEGATIVE TRAIT THESAURUS

FORGETFUL



Never struggle with Show-and-Tell again. Activate your free trial or subscribe to view the Negative Trait Thesaurus in its entirety, or visit the Table of Contents to explore unlocked entries.

CHOOSE MY PLAN

HELPFUL TIP:

Characters with this flaw will be extra sensitive to certain emotions, so think about how events in your story might specifically trigger these feelings to generate compelling tension and conflict. Another idea is to give a supporting character a positive attribute that is an opposite of this flaw, which will get under the skin of both characters and cause friction in their relationship.
DEFINITION:
Likely to not remember

SIMILAR FLAWS:
Absent-minded, preoccupied

POSSIBLE CAUSES:
Disorganization
Being overwhelmed or overcommitted
Avoidance (consciously or on a subconscious level)
Being preoccupied with other things
Being a free spirit rather than a planner
An inability to prioritize (forgetting things because they're not considered important)
Traumatic circumstances
Substance abuse
Brain damage

ASSOCIATED BEHAVIORS AND ATTITUDES:
Not writing things down
Missing appointments and meetings
Forgetting birthdays; giving gifts or cards after the fact
Missing important events (a child's recital or game, a spouse's work event, etc.)
Double-booking
Procrastination
Making multiple trips to the store when things are forgotten
Inefficiency
Giving gifts as a way of apologizing for forgetting
Minimizing the forgotten event: "It's just one game. He has one every week."
Tardiness
...

ASSOCIATED THOUGHTS:
...

ASSOCIATED EMOTIONS:
...

POSITIVE ASPECTS:
...

NEGATIVE ASPECTS:
...

EXAMPLE FROM FILM:
...

OVERCOMING THIS TRAIT AS A MAJOR FLAW:
...

TRAITS IN SUPPORTING CHARACTERS THAT MAY CAUSE CONFLICT:
...