Which Flaws To Keep/Overcome

DwayneA said:

I know characters aren't supposed to overcome all their flaws by the story's end. How do I know which flaws they overcome and which they retain in the end? What factors do I consider to determine what do to?

Also, does this apply only to the most important characters or can some minor characters grow and change too? Or are minor characters supposed to stay the same throughout the story?

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Just as a person in real life can affect those around them, your main character changing can make his/her close friends change as well. Sometimes it's seeing the impact on another's life that spurs a character to change. (If a secondary character sees how miserable the main character is and decides to be a more cheerful, giving person, for example)


Characters, like real people, rarely change completely. Rather than stepping from black to white, they lighten to a shade of grey.

If your character started off as a jerk who cursed every 4th word and kicked puppies into traffic, by the end he might be a tough guy, who still curses, just not as much. Instead of randomly inflicting pain on innocent animals, he can focus on causing trouble for those who interfere with his friends.

There's usually an awkward middle ground as a character changes when they're not comfortable in their skin. Their behavior is unfamiliar and they're not sure how to implement it. (Your tough guy might want to make a gesture of giving flowers, but the flower shop is closed. Rather than go on-line and order some, he could rip up a rosebush from someone's yard, steal them from a cemetary or even give his girl a packet of seeds. The thought is still there, he just didn't execute it properly)

What factors would be what happens to them in the novel. If they have a life altering experience that changes them. Minor characters can change for the same reason.

Life is what happens, while you're busy making other plans. -- John Lennon

DwayneA said:

I know characters aren't supposed to overcome all their flaws by the story's end. How do I know which flaws they overcome and which they retain in the end? What factors do I consider to determine what do to?

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Arrange for one key flaw to play a central role in the character's big story problem. That's that flaw that either makes that character do the wrong thing or keeps the character from doing the right thing. So in addition to all of the external things thwacking the character, the character's key flaw is also prolonging and amplifying the problem.

Eventually the character recognizes the flaw as a flaw, and learns a lesson that overcomes or weakens the flaw. Once free of the flaw, the character is able to apply the lesson and solve the story problem.

So: The flaw to overcome is the flaw that plays the biggest role in prolonging and exacerbating the problem.

Dale

DwayneA said:

How do I know which traits or features of a character are flaws? What categories are there to classify them as?

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A flaw is something that sets them at odds with the other characters in a negative way.

DwayneA said:

How do I know which traits or features of a character are flaws?

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A flaw is any trait that consistently leads to results you don't like. So your sense of flaws starts with knowing what you want to see more of in the world, and what you want to see less of in the world. Then ask yourself what personal traits tend to contribute to those results.

Dale

lol great minds think alike -- while he was posting that, I was struggling with a suddenly wonky connection to say:

A flaw is something that makes life harder for the character without giving any benefit to anyone. Flaws are traits that are irritating to other characters or that put the character or his/her friends at risk. Too much of a good thing can be a flaw. Bravery-plus-X is foolhardiness, unnecessary risk-taking, bla bla bla. You have to evaluate your character in the context of the story, the social setting. What is a flaw in some cultures is not in others.

Flaws:

A character always speaks without thinking. He alienates his friends because sounds mean or rude.

A character is racist

A character is sexist

A character is stubborn to the point of alienating people

A character never listens to reason

Things like that.

A flaw can be any trait of thought or behavior which you dislike about yourself or a person you know. For your pyro character, her major flaw would be whatever motivates her to hurt others or not care if they get hurt. Also a flaw can be any way that your character is 'too much' or 'not enough' - too angry, too heedless, not brave enough, etc.