Humanity in Creativity: Flawed Characters

This is a guest post by Jenna Terese as a collaboration with NoQuWriCo for a Preptober Series.

Sometimes the most meaningful characters are the ones who make us uncomfortable…

Real people are flawed. We make selfish choices. We hurt people we love. We act out of fear, pride, insecurity, anger, or pain. And sometimes we don’t even understand why we do it.

Our characters should be allowed the same humanity.

Writer, don’t be afraid of it. Don’t be afraid that readers will dislike your character if you make them flawed. So often readers find themselves in stories. A character’s flaws can make a story feel less like fiction and more like a mirror.

Flawed characters can give you the opportunity to ask challenging questions:

• How much of our behavior is shaped by our wounds?

• Can someone deserve forgiveness without deserving trust?

• When does self-preservation become selfishness?

And you don’t have to always give the reader an answer. Sometimes the most intriguing stories leave us wrestling with questions.

And flawed characters aren’t just for the readers. So often I’ve written out my own inner questions in my characters.

Our characters can carry our fears, contradictions, regrets, anger, insecurities, trauma, and questions. All of our “what ifs.” All of our thoughts we’re afraid to speak out loud.

We can give them the choices we wish we had made, or even write out the answers to questions we’ve already discovered.

3 ways to effectively make flawed characters

1. Give them contradictions.

People rarely make perfect sense.

2. Let them make mistakes.

Growth means more when there is something to grow from.

3. Give their flaws consequences.

Let their choices affect their relationships, goals, and sense of self.

Jenna Terese has been many things: indie author, writing coach, jiujitsu enjoyer. Her debut novel, Ignite, is available for free by subscribing to her newsletter, which you can do on her website: https://jennateresebooks.wordpress.com/

To learn more about the NoQuWriCo challenge and participate with us this year, check out ours: noquwrico.com