Character flaws are useful tools in creating a character that’s believable and relatable. These undesirable qualities give characters an opportunity to grow, acting as friction that challenges their advancement.
Flaws prevent characters from becoming two-dimensional and static. For a story to be interesting, readers must see some change in the main characters as time passes. You don’t have to turn every character into a fallen or tragic hero, but including realistic flaws will help ensure that you don’t write a boring character or story.
Types of Character Flaws
Characters flaws can generally be divided into three types:
- Minor flaws: A minor flaw is an imperfection that has minimal impact on a character’s life. These flaws merely serve to distinguish the character from other characters. Examples of this could be nail-biting habits, visible scars, and thick accents.
- Major flaws: A major flaw has a wider effect on a character, directly impairing them physically, mentally, or morally. Although not necessarily negative, they’re considered flaws because they limit a character in some way. Examples could be greediness, a limp, or a recurring illness.
- Fatal flaws: A fatal flaw can lead to a character’s downfall or death. It’s a deficiency that a character is ultimately unable to overcome. Examples are hubris, excessive paranoia, and being consumed by revenge.
Flaws are not strictly tied to a character’s personality; physical flaws work just as well. What’s important is choosing a flaw that works well with the character’s purpose and overall development.
Depending on how they are written, a flaw that’s minor to one character could be considered fatal to another. Flaws differentiate characters from one other, giving them each more depth and dynamic.
Importance of Character Flaws
As writers, the goal of developing a character is to make them as believable as possible. Fully-developed characters feel as real as the people around us, even if they live in a different universe or have green skin. And like the real people around you, it’s necessary for your characters to be flawed.
Readers don’t like characters that are perfect simply because they’re not realistic. They want to read about characters that experience the doubts and struggles that come with life. Flaws and other failings are after all part of being human.
When characters are too perfect, they lack the necessary humanity that readers need to connect with them. There’s no room for growth and no reason for struggle. There’s just nothing to empathize with, no reason to cheer for success. Perfect characters are usually shallow and forgettable.
At the end of your story, readers must be able to form a clear picture of who your character is—they should see not only your character’s physical appearance and general personality, but also the journey they took and the changes they’ve experienced.
Flaws and Story Conflict
There are generally two types of conflict: First, there’s the external and plot-driven conflict, which focuses on the choices a character must make to complete a goal (e.g., winning a tournament or solving a mystery). Plot-driven stories focus on events, compelling readers to find out how the events unfold.
Then there’s the internal, character-driven conflict, which focuses on how a character arrives at a particular decision when achieving a goal (e.g., what personal values a character sacrifices to win a tournament, or how far a detective is willing to go to solve a mystery). Character-driven stories usually deal with inner transformations or the relationships between characters.
Character flaws act as fuel for both types of conflict. They’re the reason for movement in a story’s progress. In external conflict, a flaw can hinder a character’s ability to achieve their goals or defeat a problem. This sets up a natural progression of growth in skills and experience that ultimately leads to triumph.
With internal conflict, flaws are often about the inner turmoil that a character feels in their choices. Positive and negative thoughts and emotions are responsible for a character’s internal growth. Flaws can also introduce strife to a character’s relationships, leading to destructive behaviors or blinding them to what is needed for a resolution.
How to Craft Flaws That Work With Your Character
At first glance, it may seem easier to craft flawed antagonists to create enmity against them, whereas having flawed protagonists looks like a disadvantage.
Novice writers often shy away from creating flawed protagonists in order to make them more likeable, but the more “perfect” a character seems, the less a reader can relate to them. Ironically, a character’s flawlessness makes them unlikeable in the first place.
Keeping that reader-character relationship in mind, giving your character a flaw that further enhances their features and personality is a good way of developing more three-dimensional players. A war veteran might have a limp or a missing hand, while a royal character can be completely clueless when it comes to doing household chores.
Readers will forgive certain issues that arise from a character’s personality if these issues correspond with the character’s flaw. In Game of Thrones, Tyrion Lannister cultivates a sharp tongue and regularly participates in debauchery as an answer to the prejudice he experiences from his dwarfism.
Instead of taking offense, response has been positive to Tyrion’s character. In Dexter, the main character is a serial killer, but is well received by audiences due to the fact that he only kills fellow serial killers. Adding flaws that have purpose and fit well with your character makes them genuine.
Considering your character’s journey is a helpful way of developing impactful character flaws. The journey doesn’t need to be complete or detailed; you just have to know where it starts and where you want it to end. Knowing this, you can create a flaw that fuels the major external and internal conflicts they’ll experience on the way.
Character Flaws List
Check out these character flaws to jump-start your character building:
| Power-hungry | possessing an unhealthy desire for power |
| Jealousy | feeling envy toward others or their possessions |
| Vanity | inflated pride in one's own appearance |
| Anxiety | constant uneasiness over something |
| Laziness | inclined to do nothing, take shortcuts |
| Cruelty | tendency to inflict pain and suffering on others |
| Self-doubt | lacking confidence in oneself |
| Paranoia | excessive and irrational distrust |
| Delusional | consumed by false beliefs |
| Entitlement | false belief of being deserving of something |
| Selfishness | extreme concern for oneself over others |
| Prejudice | preconceived opinions and judgement over others |
| Naivety | lacking worldly wisdom |
| Dishonesty | a disposition to participate in deceiving acts |
| Pettiness | being hung up over things with little to no significance |
| Rage | violent and uncontrolled anger |
| Alcoholism | excessive and compulsive drinking |
| Absent-mindedness | being unaware of one's surroundings and actions |
| Arrogance | an attitude of overbearing superiority |
| Bigmouthed | given to loud, offensive, and boastful talk |
| Addiction | a compulsive need for a specific activity, substance, or behavior |
| Callousness | feeling or showing no sympathy to others |
| Childishness | lack of maturity and poise |
| Disloyalty | lack of loyalty to a person, organization, or country |
| Fickleness | given to abrupt changes in decisions, activity, and manners |
| Gullible | being easily duped or cheated |
| Ignorant | lacking knowledge or comprehension of a specific thing |
| Liar | a person who constantly deceives |
| Pacifist | opposition to conflict resulting in inaction |
| Soft-hearted | given to sympathy and compassion |
| Zealous | excessive belief for a cause, person, or ideal |
| Womanizer | engaging in numerous casual, sexual affairs |
| Manipulative | given to controlling or influencing others |
| Indecisive | lacking the ability to make a decision |
| Push-over | easily overcome or influenced by an outside force |
| People-pleaser | constantly trying to make others happy, often at their own expense |
| Schizoid | lack of interest in social relationships and a tendency toward isolation and apathy |
| Anti-social | showing no regard for right and wrong, or the well-being of others |
| Procrastinator | constantly delaying or postponing something that needs to be done |
| Perfectionist | refusing anything less than perfect |
| Glutton | given to voracious eating and drinking |
| Lustful | showing strong, and often excessive sexual desires |
| Prideful | showing an excessively high opinion of oneself |
| Greedy | intense selfishness, hoarding large amounts for oneself |
| Impulsive | given to acting without thought |
| Attention seeker | doing something for the purpose of gaining attention |
| Dependent | over-reliance on another person |
| Obsessive | an unhealthy fixation on something |
| Machiavellian | unscrupulous and cunning, specially in politics |
Writing Dynamic Characters
A major character flaw that directly impacts a character’s journey or backstory is more beneficial that a minor flaw that adds little or nothing to the story. If you want a character to grow as a leader as your story progresses, giving them a lack of confidence (or perhaps too much) can add a layer of depth to their personality.
When writing characters, the important thing is to always ground them in reality. Readers don’t want perfect characters; they want real ones with all the imperfections and failures people feel and experience in real life—characters that don’t remain on book pages and television screens, but seem so real that they come to life.
Did you find this post helpful? Let us know in the comments below!
If you enjoyed this post, then you might also like:
- How to Write Character Mannerisms to Bring Your Characters to Life
- The Problem with Perfect Characters: Mary Sues, Gary Stus, and Other Abominations
- Hubris: Definition and Examples from Literature
- The Tragic Hero: Who Are They and How Can They Shape Your Story?
Cole is a blog writer and aspiring novelist. He has a degree in Communications and is an advocate of media and information literacy and responsible media practices. Aside from his interest in technology, crafts, and food, he’s also your typical science fiction and fantasy junkie, spending most of his free time reading through an ever-growing to-be-read list. It’s either that or procrastinating over actually writing his book. Wish him luck!
Hello Cole!
I am an aspiring writer and a retired nurse. My protagonist is a working nurse. I am unable to settle on a flaw!!! By the way, your list is amazing. should I pick a flaw about how she grew up and what made her? Or, work experiences? Anything will be a help.
Lenora
Hello Lenora! I’m glad you enjoyed reading the article.
Speaking from personal experience, a big mistake that we writers do is pick a flaw that seems to work for our characters. It’s the “Oh he’s a soldier, so maybe I’ll give him a battle scar” kind of thinking.
While scars are feasible for soldier characters, the character is more than just a soldier. If I stuck to the mindset above, all of the soldiers in my stories would be sporting battle scars.
What you need to think about then, is not a flaw that seems compatible with your character on a surface level. Instead, pick a flaw that works well with your character’s background.
Flaws need to be a natural part of a character, being noticeable enough that readers understand their significance but not overpowering to the point that it’s the only thing the readers think about.
Keeping this in mind, think of their life experiences, thought processes, and relationships. Find a place in their backstory where you can develop a flaw.
Let’s say your character was a pediatric nurse who’s still mourning the loss of her child. Because she’s emotionally vulnerable to children, you could possibly make her too attached to the children she cares for at her job, which negatively affects her performance.
The flaw becomes an integral part of her character. By tying it to her backstory, it’s well explained and doesn’t feel hollow.
I hope this helps!