Character Flaws

I’ve been gone for a couple of weeks. My daughter had emergency back surgery. My crisis is over and my daugher is fine. Do you ever feel flawed? Sometimes I feel so flawed! (I guess my characters do, too.)

Character Flaws

Are your characters perfect? Sometimes we want them to be the heroes—to be bigger than life and better than anyone else.

When I encounter that kind of protagonist in a story, I can’t really identify with them because I’m so full of flaws myself I know I’ll never be like them. I don’t really find myself engrossed in the narrative as if I were part of the story world.

So, I must give my characters some flaws. What kind of flaws should they have? That depends upon what you want them to learn during their adventure.  What is your character arc going to be? Plan the end from the beginning and make your characters real for the reader.

Internal flaws vs. External flaws

I think it’s fun to give a character some external flaws as well as internal ones. For instance, I have a little Polish girl that is always biting her fingers. Sometimes they even bleed. She can’t seem to stop, and it’s frustrating for her. Find a fun way to tie these flaws into the story. They can even forward the plot.

Internal flaws must be more thoughtful. The driving need at the beginning of the story will engage us immediately with the main character. We will feel his or her struggle and make them our own as we read. I just finished “The Traitor’s Gate” by Avi. The hero is thrust into the role of finding out if his father is a spy. What a lonely place to be! He has no one to talk to or help him until he meets a ragged street urchin who cleverly helps him and becomes a friend.

If I study by own needs, I can find those of my characters.

What flaws have you given your characters?

Christy