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Had a buddy tell me my fantasy characters were way too perfect yesterday
He said no one in real life has that clean of a backstory and it made me realize I was writing heroes instead of people. I spent the next hour rewriting a flawed mercenary with a gambling problem and the story actually got more interesting. How do you guys find the sweet spot between making a character relatable and keeping them likable?
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harper69326d ago
That thing about "writing heroes instead of people" really hit me. I think that's the trap a lot of us fall into. The way I see it, you gotta give them flaws that actually cause problems in the story, not just cute quirks. For example, your mercenary with a gambling problem isn't just relatable because he's broke. He's interesting because maybe he takes a risky job to pay off a debt, or he betrays the party for a big payout, and then has to live with that choice. The sweet spot for me is when a flaw directly sets up a tough decision or a consequence. That way, the character stays likeable because you understand why they do the dumb thing, not because they're perfect.
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alice_hart26d agoMost Upvoted
People get way too caught up in this "flaws make characters real" thing. I see these writing advice posts all the time and half the time the example given is some over-the-top flaw that would make me hate the character in real life. A gambling debt leading to betrayal? That's not a relatable flaw, that's a guy you cut out of your life. Not every story needs some deep moral dilemma about trust and consequences. Sometimes a character is just a bit lazy or talks too much and that's fine. The real trick is just making them interesting to watch, not ticking boxes on some flaw checklist.
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