Character Flaws

[Cipiteca396]

I usually make a list of my own flaws and turn each one into a character.

Reader: "Hey, why are so many of your characters omnicidal maniacs?"
Me: No reason.

 

[Missivist]

Maybe just write a character that seems like a real person, and an interesting person, but not like yourself, or the characters will all be the same. And have no flaws (you have no flaws, right?). It should still work for holding the reader's attention while developing the story. I think that's hard enough!
Maybe one of the characters might need to have a flaw that leads to some major plot events? (Drunk on duty, petty theft trouble, etc) But if you make a character so flawed that they break your storyline, well, that's a lot more work.

 

[YatagarasuStudios]

Just wing it.

Flaws are things that are shown via interactions with other characters and via challenges one faces. You want flaws? You put your character through those. How they react to those will show your audience their flaws.

 

[Premier]

Just make them kind of a dipshit about some things. It’s relatable and fun.

 

[BearlyAlive]

Just give them flaws like "too perfect", "too smart" or my favorite "too invincible in everything" and you're done.

Serious talk, tho. Think of the best way a character could handle your plot and then give them a flaw that prevents them from doing so.

Like, your MC needs to cross a graveyard to flee their pursuers. A coward would go around the graveyard even tho they risk getting caught.

 

[StainedGlassThreads]

I've heard some advice that a good way to give characters flaws is to take their positive traits, and let the circumstances of the story turn them into flaws. Being well-prepared becomes paranoia. Being smart becomes being unwilling to admit one's own mistakes. Being level-headed becomes being apathetic in a way that unnerves and distances others. Being heroic becomes being self-righteous. Being eager to learn and improve becomes being overly self-critical and self-deprecating. Being passionate becomes being short-tempered and argumentative, being witty becomes insulting your friends a little too sharply this time, etc . Analyze how your characters are now, and ask yourself in what small ways you can push their pre-existing traits just a little out a whack.