I See A Lot Of Writing Advice, Particularly About Giving Characters Flaws. The Main Advice Iseveryone

I see a lot of writing advice, particularly about giving characters flaws. The main advice is “everyone has flaws! make sure to give your character flaws or else it’s not realistic!” And after thinking about it… I would like to challenge this.

It essentially posits a view of human nature that there are good and bad traits, and that these traits can be neatly diagrammed into separate columns, one set of which can and should be eliminated. It tends to go along with a view that posits character development should be about scrubbing away of “flawed” traits until the character achieves more a higher level of goodness, or else the character doesn’t and falls into tragedy. This is not untrue, necessarily. There are definitely some “flaws” that are 100% bad and sometimes a good arc is about slowly losing them. However, I could call this advice incomplete.

Consider thinking about it this way. Characters have traits and often whether or not that trait is a flaw is purely circumstantial.

For instance, fairy tales I read as a child. In some, when an old beggar asked for money on the road, it was a secret test of character. The prince who gave the old man money or food would be rewarded. But in other folktales I read, the old beggar would be malevolent, and any prince who stooped to help him would be beaten, punished for letting his guard down. Now, in a story as well as in real life, either of these scenarios can occur–a stranger who asks for help can be benevolent or malevolent. So which is the flaw? Is it a “flaw” to be compassionate? or is it a “flaw” to be guarded? 

Trick question–it’s purely conditional. Both traits are simultaneously a strength and a weakness. Either has an advantage, but either comes with a price as well. And whether the price is greater than the advantage depends on circumstance. The same can be said for most character traits, in fact!

An agreeable character who gets along with everyone will be pressured into agreeing with something atrocious because it’s a commonly held viewpoint. A character who’s principled and holds firm even under great pressure will take much, much longer to change their mind when they are actually in the wrong. A character who loves animals and loves to shower them with affection will get bitten if they try the same on every animal. As the circumstances change, flaws become strengths, and strengths become weaknesses. And even a trait that’s wholly virtuous, such as compassion, comes with a price and can be turned for the worst.

You don’t have to think about inserting flaws into your character. Your character, even the most perfect “Mary Sue,” is already flawed the moment you give her any traits at all. The problem with Mary Sue isn’t a lack of flaws, it’s a lack of circumstances to challenge her properly, to show her paying the natural price. Your job as an author is to create circumstances in the narrative that 1) justify why these traits exist in your character 2) show what your character gains from these traits and then 3) change the circumstances to challenge her. 

Make your character pay the price for their traits, for their choices. And then, when challenged, you can make a hell of a story by showing us how they adapt, or why they stick to their guns anyway.

A direct line of 5 leaders, not to count 3 medicine cats, a temporary deputy, a foster son medicine cat, and how Bramblestar is married to the deputy and Tawnypelt to a former leader. Left to right : Pinestar, Tigerstar, Oakstar, Tigerheartstar, Bramblestar

I see no difference.

This is so good

questions about your OCs! what would completely break your characters and what do they pretend or try to care about?

What would break my characters?

Physically? Well enough physical impact can very much break their bones. Except for maybe Glitch and Error, they don’t have bones. Or Carnival she’s kind of- well, whatever.

Emotionally? Ummmmmmmm- idk i dont know how to explain stuff

Several things. Brighttail would break if Ferneye, Almaz, even Carnival and Parade, EVEN Bright, gave up on her and left. Also, another thing that would really break her is guilt, she did some bad stuff in the early days, and she’s not sure whether what she did was good or bad, whether it mattered, it felt like an illusion, and she would break if Ferneye and Almaz also turned out to be illusions, she has a bit of a dilemma understanding good and bad, reality form illusion, Ferneye thought she was a psychopath, or just crazy for a long while. And she kinda acted like one but she really hopes she’s not, because as far as she’s concerned, that would be BAD. 

And speaking of pretending to care for, Brighttail tried real hard pretending she cared about some people’s lives. Because some people in their universe are considered as ‘background characters’, so they shouldn’t matter much, so Brighttail like “eh, let ‘em die.” and Ferneye’s like “NO, THEY’RE STILL PEOPLE.”

Brighttail does more pretending NOT to care. About her mistakes, about death, about being the protagonist, about the story.

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