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Q&A How do I find flaws in a character I'm building?

Ask his wife Either you're so much inside his head that you're not seeing him the way others do, or you're an outsider suffering from hero worship. You need to get into other people's heads and s...

posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Answer
#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-20T00:40:30Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/45110
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T04:52:11Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/45110
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by (deleted user) · 2019-12-08T04:52:11Z (over 4 years ago)
# Ask his wife

Either you're so much inside his head that you're not seeing him the way others do, or you're an outsider suffering from hero worship. You need to get into other people's heads and see him from different angles.

His wife knows (mostly) all his flaws. She may love him anyway, but she'll know what he's like to live with.

His kids (if any) will have a different version of him, and will see flaws their mom missed. If there's more than one kid, they'll have different sets of pros and cons.

Go around his town and ask others he interacts with. Not everyone will know his hero past. Is he grumpy with kids? Rude to service workers? Tips badly? Yells at jaywalkers? Or just completely forgettable?

Ask his family of origin. Do they live in the town or are they glad to only see him once a year or so? Or maybe never? Why is that?

Don't worry about finding his "tragic flaw" or whatever the English teachers tell you he has to have. Your goal of making him well rounded and realistic is a good one. Not everyone in real life is super flawed; maybe a few quirks is all he has. But chances are you'll get a different story if you look through the eyes of various characters, not just his or the narrator's/author's.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2019-05-10T14:31:01Z (almost 5 years ago)
Original score: 0