NEGATIVE TRAIT THESAURUS

INATTENTIVE



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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:
Habitually not paying attention

SIMILAR FLAWS:
Distracted, negligent, oblivious, unobservant

POSSIBLE CAUSES:
Being overworked
A deliberate desire to avoid or neglect
Having a scatterbrained personality
Being intensely focused on other things (a relationship, a work problem, etc.)
Apathy
A short attention span
Past hurts that distract a person from being able to focus on other things
Learning disabilities or ADHD

ASSOCIATED BEHAVIORS AND ATTITUDES:
Frequent multi-tasking
Neglecting one's duties
Thinking of other things while someone is talking
Leaving others to fend for themselves
Showing care for one person while neglecting another
Being unobservant; not noticing things
Assuming that whoever is in one's charge is doing just fine
Being easily managed or manipulated because one is unobservant
Wandering attention
Not engaging with people
Not participating in the current activity (watching TV instead of playing one's turn at cards)
Losing track of the conversation; missing a question that was asked
Letting silences drag out because one isn't invested in the conversation
Frequent absences due to forgetfulness
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ASSOCIATED THOUGHTS:
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ASSOCIATED EMOTIONS:
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POSITIVE ASPECTS:
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NEGATIVE ASPECTS:
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EXAMPLE FROM FILM:
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OVERCOMING THIS TRAIT AS A MAJOR FLAW:
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TRAITS IN SUPPORTING CHARACTERS THAT MAY CAUSE CONFLICT:
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