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16 Heroes & Villains: Wynn

In Story Building Blocks II: Crafting Believable Conflict and the Build A Cast Workbook, I introduce sixteen character mannequins or prototypes based on personality types. I track them from cradle to grave and talk about their strengths and weaknesses and how to warp them. I use male or female pronouns based on the percentage of the population that fell in that category, but all mannequins can be anything you make them. The traits discussed are starting points. You can alter their temperaments depending on the purpose they serve. Their traits give them strengths to build on and weaknesses to exploit. 

For the next few months, we explore the sixteen characters as heroes and villains. 

WYNN

First up is Wynn. As a hero, Wynn is willing to sacrifice herself for the greater good. As a villain, she is a simmering volcano of unexpressed needs and opinions waiting to explode.

Wynn helps people in need without reward. She can be entirely selfless. She encourages cooperation. She has a knack for remembering details about people. She is tuned into the subtext of conversations and the emotional impact of words and gestures. She pays attention to the delivery in addition to content.

She believes people are basically good. However, this can make her gullible and easily preyed upon. She has difficulty leaving abusive relationships or jobs. Wynn needs to be needed. This can inspire her to do good deeds. It can also make her clinging and controlling. Wynn loves to give. However, she gives people what she wants them to have not necessarily what they want. She is very hurt if they don't appreciate her efforts.

She is impressed by and defers to people with titles and status. She is concerned with appearances and turns against people she deems "different." She has strong opinions and beliefs and does not like to be challenged. She can be highly judgmental.

Without positive feedback, Wynn becomes depressed and her self-worth plummets. She stops listening. The world becomes an unfair and dangerous place. She can become self-destructive, which can harm others. She hates feeling used and unappreciated. It would require a breaking point for her to leave a situation or person. She will do anything for that pat on the back. Her desperate need could turn lethal.

Wynn is a fuzzy communicator. When upset, she wants you to listen to how she feels and agree with her point of view. She ignores information she does not agree with. She hates confrontation and is passive-aggressive. Anxiety makes her rigid. She allows issues to fester until she finally combusts, reacting out of proportion to the trigger, and saying things she can't take back. She has a long list of slights saved up. She is good at holding a grudge. When things go wrong, she focuses on finding out what happened and who is to blame instead of solving the problem.

She is afraid to make a wrong choice and can become paralyzed by fear. Wynn makes decisions at the last minute and only when forced. As a force for good, she seeks win-win solutions. She worries about the impact on people she cares for and doesn't want to be blamed. She doesn't like being in charge or held responsible. She will bend rules to keep the peace. She prefers to stick with the agreed upon plan and won't second guess what she is told to do. She prefers to have backup and consensus before taking action. That makes her a good foot soldier but not a great firebrand.

When the plan is in place, Wynn gets it done. She isn't interested in perfection. She just wants it over with. She isn't worried about the next stage. She will deal with that when it comes. She isn't good at improvising and adapting. She prefers clear instructions and a direct approach. If things go wrong, she blames other people. She makes excuses for those close to her and struggles to hold them accountable. She would willingly ignore or hide a crime.

Wynn's natural alliances are Francis, River, Nevada, and Blair. As an ally, she is warm, dependable, and trustworthy. She clings to friends for life and is devastated by betrayal. She is heavily influenced by her inner circle. She discusses everything with them, even when she shouldn't, even her relationship issues which angers her romantic partner. Friends are priorities after family and duty.

She sometimes endows people with thoughts and feelings they don’t have. She suspects hidden motives and agendas. Negative impressions build up and she turns against an ally without telling them why and cuts people off if they let her down.

As a hero, once a plan has been devised, Wynn follows it without question. She fights on the side of what she thinks is right. She is an avid devotee. 

As a villain, she can be brutally single-minded and vengeful, destroying anyone she disagrees with and easily turns on minions that let her down.

Next week, we meet Francis.

You can download free character information sheets:

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