I have an addiction. I've tried to overcome it, but my efforts have been met with an amazing level of resistance. My body fights me. My mind fights me. I often wonder if I'll be addicted to this stuff forever. So many times I've tried and failed to quit, by this point it is hardly more than a joke. What am I addicted to, you ask? Well, I'll get to that detail later in this article, and I'll even fill you in on how I used my own personal addiction as inspiration when developing one of the main characters in my current writing project.
Why do characters need flaws? Perfect characters are boring, and sometimes even annoying. Perfect characters don't have to struggle as hard to achieve their goals. After all, they're perfect. Things come easily to perfect people. If there's no struggle, there's no conflict, and conflict is what makes good writing. Character flaws provide sources of conflict. They can be sources of conflict with other characters, conflict with the environment, and, in many instances, conflict with self.
In most cases, you want a character who isn't perfect but is in some way better than average, or at least a character who has the potential to be better than average. Fulfilling that potential -- overcoming obstacles and growing into that better-than-average self -- will become part of the conflict that drives your story. You want a hero, someone willing to take action, not a passive wimp. Readers are living vicariously through your characters. They want to feel special, and for that you need special characters. At the same time, a character who is too special, too perfect, seems [click to read more]
{ 6 comments }
