How To Write Character Flaws

How To Write Character Flaws

One of the most important aspects when writing a character are flaws since flaws increase reader immersion, reader investment, and the overall compelling energy of a story.

Flaws are necessary in creating character arcs where either these initial problems are improved or exacerbated.

Despite the fact that flaws are important, writers can struggle with how to seemlessly incorperate flaws within their characters in an interesting and natural way without just feeling like they're throwing bad traits in randomly.

Here we go!

A) All Character Traits Are Both Flaws And Strengths

Flaws are often dark reflections of the positive qualities identified in an individual.

If your lover is a strong and determined person then you are also likely dating someone who is stubborn.

If your friend is emotional and caring then they're also overly sensitive.

This is due to the fact that flaws are really just character strengths taken to their logical extreme. As the saying goes "the dose makes the poison". An excessive amount of carelessness, curiousity, love, emotion, confidence, and every single virtue inevitably results in personality defects.

You most likely have your character's strengths somewhat laid out whether these strengths be open-mindedness, kindness, determined, and anything else.

Taking these strengths to their logical extreme, you will often find flaws such as naivety, savior complex, stubborness, and other such flaws.

B) Whether Something Is A Strength Or A Flaw Depends On Context

Character A is trusting and Character B is distrusting.

Let's put them in the situation of meeting someone in order to illustrate how both character's defining traits could be their downfall depending on who this character is.

If this "someone" is a helpful individual, then Character B's flaw of distrust create unnecessary discorse within the group and could drive away this positive influence.

If this "someone" is a manipulative someone, then Character A's trusting nature harms the group as it allows someone harmful to enter.

Whether or not a character's actions are perceived as beneficial or harmful depends on if the result is good or bad for the character's goal.

This means that when you are presented with a character who seemingly has no flaws, what you can do is create situations where these good actions result in bad results.

An open-minded character might accidentally walk face first into a cult because they were too accepting of the weird activities

A kind character might cause their allies to become overly dependent on the individual's generosity

A determined character might be so obsessed with succeeding at this specific task that they fail to see the bigger picture and the more effective solution

Rules:Start with your OC/characters' names. Add not like other girls/person or boys  and say traits ,personality, and quirks about them.

Yuuma isn't like the other people :) They are horrifically traumatized, dealing with a random child that's weirdly obsessed with them, and paints surrealist paintings symbolically forshadowing aspects of their psychology and future events.

Jukka isn't like the other boys! They are deeply obsessed with the philosophical illusions of cinema and particularly acting. For seemingly no reason, he struggles intensely with a lack of emotion unlike Yuuma. Always expect Jukka to have something cynical to say.

Writers Challenge#1 :Not like other girls

Hello writeblr ,I have some challenges I've made.

Writers challenge #1

I'm not like other girls/person/boys challenge.#1

Caution :This challenge isn't supposed to endorse or support this harmful trend. it is just harmless fun about your OCs/character.

Rules:Start with your OC/characters' names. Add not like other girls/person or boys  and say traits ,personality, and quirks about them.

Thalia is not like other girls she has severe childhood trauma--not resolved,has daddy issues,died once, and is scared of men.

Nathaniel is not like other boys he can see the  Shadow Realm,has unresolved anger issues,emo but yellow and hates, and loves a girl.

Yeah,your turn.

Sorry for the tag.

@wyked-ao3 @morganthepen @furrywrit3r @imbecominggayer @mysticstarlightduck @thehighladyreads @theink-stainedfolk

Thanks for the support:

@blargh-500 @blue-endy @imbecominggayer @furrywrit3r

Examples Include: grap3, unaliving/k*ll, F--ck

Writing Traumatic Backstories

Hello,it's me again! Sorry for dissappearing, I wanted a short little break from Tumblr. Obviously, I should have clearly communicated that fact instead of just going cold turkey!

From @differentnighttale : "How do I write characters who deal with severe trauma and pain with sensitivity and understanding"

Obviously with our topic today, there is going to be mentions of traumatic events and such. I won't go into any graphic or specific details but I just wanted to make it clear with a trigger warning

Since this lovely asker is specifically asking about sensitivity, I won't be addressing other related concerns about writing trauma but just focusing on this clear sensitivity! GET READY CAUSE THIS IS LONG!

Step One: Specificity Is Everything

You need to understand that various different traumatic instances will have their own different reactions based around various different incidents depending on what exactly happened and how many times it happened.

In general, the more times something happened, the more likely it would be leave an imprint. Obviously this is an oversimplification for the sake of an explanation :)

For abuse situations and other person vs person situations:

Consider the relationship your character has with this abuser! Is it obsessive? Neglectful? Don't just say it was a bad relationship! Describe to yourself what behavior and attitude specifically made this an unhealthy situation.

Did the abuser use any repetitive imagery? Did they use a specific tool most often? Did the abuse center on something specific? This can help guide you towards what can "trigger" this character!

What are the long-term affects this abusive situation have on this character? Did it make them question and distrust their self-worth, their safety, their identity, their body, their stability? Anything?

Was this abuser always bad? I don't mean in the "good person gone bad" route! I mean "is this character always abusive"? Most abusers aren't horrible 24/7 and can have their better sweeter moments. This often leaves their victims confused since the victims know more then anyone that this person wasn't just plain evil.

For natural disasters and accidents:

Where is the blame? Is it nature herself? Themself for not being careful enough? A real legitimate person who genuinely caused this accident? An imaginary individual that had no relationship?

What is the specific fear that this situation ignites? Is it this crushing feeling of isolation as they were suffering with no expectation of help? Is it the realization that life is out of their control which keeps them awake at night? Is it the chaos of that day? The fear of regret? The fear of death?

Answering these questions can often illuminate different ways to approach a character's traumatic backstory in unique and interesting ways. It also highlights potential coping mechanisms for your character.

Step Two: What Exactly Is Trauma's Effect On The Brain?

Remember: The following analogy is an oversimplified explanation of trauma. Afterward, the science explain-y part will come in :)

Imagine that the brain is an archive system. It gathers memories and puts away those memories under certain files. Then, the traumatic event(s) happen. Suddenly, the brain is unable to properly understand this. This causes the boss prefrontal cortex turns off. Now, the assistant is forced to take over. This assistant doesn't know what to do so they just do what they always do! Unfortunately, this fails to pacify the threat. And now the brain is mixing up all of the trauma's documents in an effort to just shove it into a filing cabinet. It doesn't work. Now everything new that arrives in needs to try and work through the trauma documents which are taking up the place!

SCIENCE PART!

During traumatic events, the "fear circuity" is activated. This causes the prefrontal cortex or the "decision-maker" to function less effectively. This causes a person goes into auto-pilot mode where they follow social habits.

This is why a person in a traumatic situation will sometimes engage in polite behavior with their abuser in an effort to "save face" as they typically do in social situations!

These events often physically mpact the brain! Specifically, in relation to learning and survival!

Advice In Order To Avoid Common Tropes:

Trauma is a highly complicated subject that is highly individualized and messy. But here are some "no fly" lists which often lead to traumatized characters appearing inauthentic and real traumatized people insulted.

Don't solve trauma in one conversation or one event. Working through trauma is ultimately about "moving on" in the sense of constantly moving forward but not leaving the trauma behind.

Don't romanticize certain coping mechanism. Oftentimes, media will have a hypersexual girl who learned to be hypersexual for trauma reasons. But this character doesn't exist so we can understand them. They exist for sexual appeal and tragedy brownie points.

Only include traumatic events if you can handle exploring them. If you aren't willing to deal with the implications of a certain backstory or serious mid-story event, don't write it in there.

Don't make it entirely resolved by the end. Recovery isn't about learning to "get rid" of the affect trauma has on someone. It's about working with those issues so you can learn to not drown in your issues.

Don't make the journey linear. Have your character relapse into bad unhealthy behavior. Make them have to struggle to relearn the same lessons again and again. It'll make the journey far more interesting and realistic.

Don't make bad coping mechanism black and white. Bad coping mechanisms were necessary once upon a time. They are good tools that have lived past their usefulness but they aren't illogical or evil.

Don't excuse bad behavior. Traumatic backstories offer an explanation of a character's behaviors but it doesn't make a character's actions okay.

They aren't just traumatic backstory. Oftentimes, they only thing we ever learn about a character is their deep issues and facade. But real traumatized people aren't just defined by the bad things that happen to them. They had dreams, goals, and friends that aren't pure tragedy.

They are people. While people are definitely defined by their trauma, don't make them think only of their trauma. People with sad backstories aren't more special then people who don't. They have stupidly weird behaviors, they have hobbies that aren't related to their issues. Don't make them think of just the bad stuff.

It said open tag and that's what i'm using to justify this hostile takeover!

Lust- Verne Lawless has such a romantic dedication to companionship that he often sacrifices parts of his own personality in an attempt to gain love and affection! Not necessarily romantic though

Envy- Surryn Zi Llovidá has envy for their sibling since they always manage to get all the attention while seemingly like a lovely individual which they genuinely are.

Wrath- Yituing is resentful at how their time-warping abilities have forced them to be the "savior" for everyone. Now Yituing just wants to destroy all the gods!

Greed- Gabriel Rosario Moxcir Lumeran is your average no-hands-having businessman who gets reincarnated into a different world. Very power-hungry, don't trust them with anything

Gluttony-Théo Hémery is a hedonistic player who indulges in consumerism. Not pretentious and very aware of the stereotype.

Sloth- Yuuma Mochizuki is often noted for their petulant behavior and general childish nature. Expect to see them wasting away in irresponsibility

Pride- Hetrunmeass is an exceedingly prideful android with an ax to grind against humanity. However, if you can give them an efficient objective argument for why humans should exist then they're very willing to give up their grudge.

tagging: @12-cluh , @differentnighttale, @blargh-500, @madmadhuman, @loverboyxbutch, @largestmothinnorthamerica, @melda0m3, @startheoverseer, and literally everyone else

Seven Deadly Sins Tag

Thanks for the tag @the-golden-comet @thatuselesshuman definitely a fun concept, this one

Rules: Which of your OCs would you assign to which of the seven deadly sins and why?

Lust-

Lord Halley wants what he sees as his birthright; the eyrie of Eagleheart. And yet the more rational members of his court see the dream of regaining his ancestral home as just that, a dream.

Envy-

Fen wants a life where he does not need to remain hidden. Definitely something to be envious about.

Wrath-

Reed and Dirge have quite a bit to be angry about. Anger at those above their stations, anger at their Lord, and anger at their neighbors.

Greed-

Another one for Lord Halley. He has power and influence, and it isn’t enough. He always wants more.

Gluttony-

Hunger for recognition and praise fits Cya almost to a ‘T’.

Sloth-

Rail. He is plagued by a child’s short attention span, and an attitude that isn’t so much laid-back as it is sit-back-and-relax-and-hope-you-aren’t-the-one-called-first-to-offer-an-idea.

Pride-

It’s safe to say that Playa has a bit of an ego, and don’t wound it unless you want to know about it for the next month.

Tagging @illarian-rambling @mysticstarlightduck @kaylinalexanderbooks @davycoquette @sableglass

@the-ellia-west @ominous-feychild @roselinbooks @lychhiker-writes @riveriafalll

@phoenixradiant @winglesswriter and open tag

I finished the post it's called "How To Write Non-Human Characters"

Weird hybrid ask between writing advice and a personal question. Have you ever written from the perspectives of characters who aren't human and think/perceive the world differently than humans? If so, do you enjoy it? Any recommendations to make it feel more accurate or interesting?

I'll finish this post today! Ok?