The best trait a character can have is resourcefulness. A resourceful character initiates action instead of merely responding to it. A resourceful character gets things done.
Even if the character is a villain, we will admire that character if he is clever, and knows how to work the system. If you put your character at the bottom of a well, with no way out, what is he going to do? Sit there and hope to be rescued? That’s not interesting, and it’s not even a plot. A plot means he does something about it. He figures out something very clever that will help him on his own. Sure, if a child falls down a well, we will all be sweating it out, hoping the child gets out. But what if the child contributes to his own survival? It can be something small, as long as it’s resourceful.
The essence of a plot is that someone has a problem, and we get to watch them solve it. That can’t happen when the characters sit around waiting for something to happen.
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