Character flaws...

So she's strong. Maybe make her a bit slutty? You know, make her emotionally detatched, seeing love more cold - similar to a sterotypical man. This could be because she's had a lot of contact with men, fighting along side them. Or it could be she's been hurt in the past and now uses and abuses.

Flaws can be subtle things. If she's strong and head butts a lot, this can be a flaw. Maybe she always thinks her way is best and has trouble working with others or listening to advice.

Look at her personality and think about how she got to where she is today. Her background and what she had to overcome. What types of traits would growing up and going through those things create in her? How would they affect how she deals with people and makes decisions now?

I look for flaws in my characters that will help get them into trouble in the story. Cause them to make bad choices. But I also make sure the reasons for those flaws come from something in the character's past.

For example, if you want your knight to have a fear of the undead, then what in her past caused that fear. And what kind of effect does it have on her now? And most important, does this fear cause her to act in ways that will advance (or hinder) the plot and serve the story? A flaw that does nothing for the story is just a wasted opportunity.

maybe make her annoying? she sounds kind of annoying. and stuck up. like too confident.

Danthia said:

Flaws can be subtle things. If she's strong and head butts a lot, this can be a flaw. Maybe she always thinks her way is best and has trouble working with others or listening to advice.

Look at her personality and think about how she got to where she is today. Her background and what she had to overcome. What types of traits would growing up and going through those things create in her? How would they affect how she deals with people and makes decisions now?

I look for flaws in my characters that will help get them into trouble in the story. Cause them to make bad choices. But I also make sure the reasons for those flaws come from something in the character's past.

For example, if you want your knight to have a fear of the undead, then what in her past caused that fear. And what kind of effect does it have on her now? And most important, does this fear cause her to act in ways that will advance (or hinder) the plot and serve the story? A flaw that does nothing for the story is just a wasted opportunity.

Click to expand...

I agree with this. If she's strong all the time and then turns into a sniveling coward around a zombie, that'd probably feel kin of gimicky to me. If you want her to be afraid of something like that, it has to be a reason.

I definitely agree, though, that a lot of times the same traits that might be considered a positive in some circumstances might cause problems in others. Though some could be personality, as well. Maybe she's impulsive, for instance, which could definitely cause problems (if she's never learned to overcome that, of course).

We definitely need to know our characters as whole people, if that makes sense. Maybe something that would help would be to ask yourself what led her to this path in the first place. Are female knights like her common? If not, what happened in her life that made her chose the path? Was it chosen for her? If it was the latter, how did she feel about that? The more you understand about her, the less stereotyped she'll become and the more you'll start to find flaws.

Jabberwokky said:

She is supposed to be a lady knight who is strong in word and in deed and who is constantly head-butting the MC even though they are on the same side. I want to keep her as a very strong and influential person in the story, but if I do this I can't seem to find a character flaw that wouldn't detract from that.

Click to expand...

Jabberwok, I'd suggest that you don't just add stuff for the sake of having it. Include it because it reflects your observations of people.

As an example, I work with a lot of senior managers, and some are strong, some are not. Of the strong females, some are narcissistic, some are brittle, some are afraid to express their loneliness, some are driven by unacknowledged demons. But none I've met are perfectly happy or entirely at peace.

I could easily imagine your stubborn lady knight being narcissistic due to deep insecurities, or brittle due to past hurts, or driven by demons and on a personal campaign.

How do you decide on what would be the Achilles heel of your characters?

Click to expand...

Characters' strengths don't occur by accident. They grow because characters use the same strategies to solve problems. This creates weakness in some other area as the character begins to rely too much on that strength, or decides that some situations are not its problem...

For example, I have a main character who's a fireman on a disability pension -- he's suffering Multiple Sclerosis which he doesn't like to admit to, and he's now working as a gate guard on a gated community. The MS isn't a specific weakness, just something he has to deal with. His specific weakness arises because of what sort of fireman he was -- a ballsy, first in and last out pin-up hero who was for a time the face of his local fire department. But because he's always preferred to tackled problems with physical courage and tenacity, he has very little emotional resilience. So a degenerative disease that comes and goes and leaves him a bit worse every day is beyond his ability to cope. That's his flaw -- an inability to express fear or acknowledge weakness that has so far cost him his wife and young child, and left him depressed and suicidal.

Aside from this character's role in the story arc, what does she want out of life? What drives her? Once you've thought of that, what obstacles can you place in her way of getting what she wants out of life. This can spin off subplots that can intersect the main story arc in multiple places as well as giving the reader a deeper look into her being.

You don't necessarily have to create flaws in your characters, you have to give the reader something of interest about that character. This can be done by providing challenges to the character with these challenges contributing to her three-dimensional characterization as well as giving the reader a reason to care about her, or at least pay serious attention to her.

ok, look around at yourself and your friends, what flaws do you/they have?

For instance, although I seem perfect, and you would be forgiven for thinking this were the case, I am argumentative, stubborn, selfish, I speak before I think and I sleep around.

Give a character negative things, even if they don't seem like negative things to you personally. It rounds them off. Makes them more human.

Character could come across as arrogant/slutty but is actually just very insecure, thus she tries to assert herself and her power constantly.

Selfishness another flaw...or even sexism.

shaldna said:

ok, look around at yourself and your friends, what flaws do you/they have?

For instance, although I seem perfect, and you would be forgiven for thinking this were the case, I am argumentative, stubborn, selfish, I speak before I think and I sleep around.

Give a character negative things, even if they don't seem like negative things to you personally. It rounds them off. Makes them more human.

Click to expand...

Now we know better.

Character Traits by Dr Linda Edelstein.

-cb

My gut tells me simply that you aren't making your character realistic.

Adding flaws just to add them is a huge mistake and will have unintended consequences to how your character will come across. The reader will feel that your character is just 'off'. They won't be able to put their finger on why they don't like your character but nonetheless, they will not like your character.

THe only advice I have is that you should strive to make your characters real. I've yet to meet any perfect person. Every single human being i've ever met had flaws. And i've met some pretty impressive people to include astronaunts and nobel laurettes.

Make the person real, and the flaws should become apparent. Otherwise, you are writing a caricature of a person and they will come off as 'fake'.

One of the easiest ways to achieve a realistic character is to model that character after a person (or people) that you know.

THere are a host of other techniques but for me that works the best.

Mel...

As per usual, Ruv Draba hits it on the head. As well as dgiharris.

Jabberwokky said:

She is supposed to be a lady knight who is strong in word and in deed and who is constantly head-butting the MC even though they are on the same side.

Click to expand...

And to echo what others have said, I ask...how can this not also be considered a flaw? If she is constantly pushing at the MC and disagreeing with everything...I know I find that annoying with my real life friends.

Flaws don't have to be over the top, glaring to the point of blinding. They are niggling little things, too, that get under our skin and build up over time until one day, the last straw buckles our knees and we explode outward.