No one wants to read about perfection. It’s boring and predictable and characters who are flawless are flat, with nothing at stake and no way to change.
Fortunately, we humans are complex creatures and most often it’s our flaws that makes us both difficult to deal with and interesting to watch, and our characters should carry the same complexity.
And let’s state right here that flaws are not always negative. A flaw is like a chink in the wall, a gap in the armor, and can appear to be righteous. But even a righteous flaw leads to mistakes and possibly even to doom.
So when we’re writing complex characters, how do we identify flaws? What makes them distinct from, say, emotional responses, or outright mistakes? What are the building blocks of flawed characterization?
Defining the Long-held Desire
When I teach writers, I ask them first to find the long-held internal arc of desire, one that is driven by a longing or lack. This is separate from the external story goal.
By example, Harry Potter’s external story goal is to defeat Voldemort. Simple enough. But without all the stuff that goes on inside him, that stems from the loss of his parents at Voldemort’s hands, that simple goal would be dull. (This is why some superhero movies fail – they are only about the external goal and we have no idea what the main character needs or wants beyond killing the monster.)
The stuff that goes on inside Harry is his longing to fill the void of losing his parents. He does that by gathering a group of friends. This is his long-held desire: build a new family.
Flaws Stem From the Desire
But this gathering itself, and the void and longing, create flaws. It’s those flaws that Harry must understand and then twist until they become strengths. Understanding and twisting his flaws will force Harry’s arc of change from a lost soul who is stubborn and often reckless to one who chooses his path by admitting to his flaws.
Flaw #1: A weakness. Harry refuses to believe that he and Voldemort could have anything in common, which is why he has such a hard time dealing with the “voldemortishness” that messes with his mind.
Flaw #2: A righteousness. Harry’s need for family creates gaping holes and opportunities for evil to penetrate his world.
Desire Drives the Internal Arc of Change
Once Harry accepts that he could, in fact, carry a piece of Voldemort and evil inside, and once he also accepts that he has admitted that evil to penetrate his world, only then can he use his flaws to sacrifice himself for the good of the world. His arc of change is complete.
If you want to create flaws in your character, here’s what they are:
Gaps. Chinks. They are active, not passive; forward-motions, not emotional responses. They create opportunities to suffer and struggle, but also opportunities for growth.
The arc of change of flaw is from weakness to strength. Create the deepest characters by carefully defining their flaws, and then push your characters, through mistakes, to twist those flaws into triumphs.
Join My Fox’s Den!
Nine Ten (!) modules, hours and hours of writing craft content, a group forum, and regular meetings to keep you going. You can find details here. It’s limited enrollment, so please don’t wait a minute longer.