How many character flaws can the main character overcome?

None of the things you list are character flaws. They are forms of disability. A person can suffer multiple physical and psychological disabilities and still be of stirling character. A character flaw, generally speaking, is an inclination to act in an antisocial way, to let down your obligation to your fellow human beings.

Overcoming a disability is a medical problem. Overcoming a character flaw is a moral problem. Fiction generally concerns itself with moral problems -- with choices, and the courage required to make those choices.

There is, however, a branch of fiction that does concern itself with technical problems of various kinds: mysteries, sci fi etc. In these, the mastery of a technical problem, like a medical problem, is at least part of the attraction of the story. In most cases, at least some moral element is usually in play. See your typical TV medical drama for the balancing of technical and moral elements in a story.

There really is no limit to the number of technical problems a character can overcome in a story. But be aware that if their solutions are purely technical, if there is no moral element to the story at all, then it is not likely to find a very wide audience. Documentaries do this kind of thing better.

There probably is a limit to the number of moral problem a character should be asked to overcome in a story, and it is probably one. One is generally sufficient to build a story around, and the story builds by increasing pressure on that one moral problem, the one hard choice that the character has to make. More would be an unnecessary complication.

Notice, though, that moral problems often arise from physical or psychological disabilities. People with disabilities miss out on things that others get to do. This is isolating and can lead to resentment and misanthropy, which are character flaws. Thus the moral problem that your character has to deal with may result from the physical problem they have.

So while there may be no practical limit to the number of technical problems that the character has to face, there may be a limit imposed by the nature of the moral problem that is at the heart of the story.

1. More physical and psychological problems than are necessary to create the moral problem at the center of the story may be superfluous and get in the way of telling the story.

2. If the core of the story is a moral problem, then overcoming each technical problem (be that a disability or some outside problem) should be related to the moral problem in some way. If it is not, then it becomes a chunk of documentary in the middle of your story and the reader will get board (unless they happen to be fascinated by the technical subject involved).

Technical problem that don't inform the moral development of the story, therefore, are superfluous and should be cut. The limit is not a matter of number, but of function.

posted almost 5 years ago

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Mark Baker‭

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OP: Can all three of these character flaws be resolved?

Probably.

OP: Is there a general rule to determine how many character flaws can be fixed?

No, it all depends on how clever you are in the introduction of the character, inventing the flaws, connecting them, and inventing the journey of the character in the novel that gives her the experiences and epiphanies to grow and overcome these flaws. And how realistic you want her to be.

Now to your specific example:

a paranoid(1) loner(2) suffering from addiction(3). Assume those are 3 distinct problems: The larger mental health issues resulting in paranoia symptoms,

Stop right there. This is non-sensical, they aren't three distinct problems if they are linked , you bring up "larger mental health issues" that resulted in all three of these! How are they distinct? You are contradicting yourself.

Assume also that the external conflict is unrelated to the flaws. Maybe this person has to care for their parent suffering from dementia.

Why? Or perhaps I should say, fine, you made this job easy. If the conflict is not related to the flaws, the flaws are just a disability the MC does not have to overcome at all. They get in the way, sure. But for example, a murder detective paralyzed and bed-bound doesn't have to overcome her paralysis to solve the murder, it is just a daunting complication she has to work around to complete her mission.

Disabilities and flaws unrelated to the central crisis do not have to be overcome.

They can get in the way whenever you want, and if you strive to be realistic as an author, can get in the way when you don't want, and make your story more complicated to write. Those interferences can influence the plot, and make your job of inventing actions to lead to your desired outcome far more difficult. But you don't have to overcome them! Superman never becomes immune to kryptonite.

Your drug-addict hero may be stoned and get captured, or miss an important meeting.

Now, if you want the MC to overcome their flaws, then you have to be sure your flaws don't produce an irredeemable MC that most readers cannot forgive. Is their flaw a pedophile murderer that forces children into pornographic acts and then kills them? Forget it, that is an extreme case of irredeemable. Doing irrevocable harm to other people (like maiming them or killing them or coercing them into such acts or acts they will not plausibly forget) out of purely selfish interest (money or pleasure) is my definition of "evil", and permanent harm (mentally or physically) is what can make evil irredeemable.

Personal flaws, harming nobody but yourself, are redeemable, and correctable. Paranoia is often correctable, as is drug addiction, and even being a loner.

Off the top of my head, other correctable and redeemable flaws: Being an asshole is correctable. Depression and apathy and carelessness are correctable. Promiscuity and infidelity are correctable (although the latter might not be forgiven, an unfaithful MC can overcome, with someone else, their issues with remaining faithful). Being a thief or liar is correctable.

There are no limits to "how many flaws can be overcome" other than your ingenuity in devising plausible scenes that link together and make sense to the reader. I'd definitely try to link them together, so solving one meta-issue leads to solving multiple individual issues. For example, a lack of impulse control can plausibly lead to promiscuity, infidelity, drug addiction, irritability (being a jerk) and petty thievery. Getting a handle on the impulse control makes all the others easier to overcome.

Often, in stories, the crucial point of change for an MC with flaws is when one of these flaws is about to result in an irredeemable offense: Permanently harming someone, or doing something they themselves could not forgive themselves for doing.

As an example: In "Flight" (2012) Denzel Washington is a pilot, an alcoholic, a drug addict, a liar, a jerk, a cheater, his son and wife are estranged and hate him. None of these are causing any serious problem for him, he has a love life, he enjoys getting high and drunk, he gets his job done without causing anybody harm.

Then the plane he is flying has a mechanical problem and is going down hard. He saves (legitimately) a plane load of people. A hundred+ survive, but seven die, including a stewardess he was in love with. But in the investigation it turns out he was drunk at the time with cocaine in his system. After legal wrangling the blood evidence is thrown out and he is about to get away with this. He can make it all go away by slandering his dead girlfriend, on the stand and under oath, in front of the world.

That is what he finds an irredeemable act. He loved her. He can't do it, and confesses he was drunk and stoned. The save was truly legitimate, his flying saved a hundred some-odd lives, but he was drunk and high on coke when he did it.

In the movie he is redeemed, goes to prison for a few years, overcomes his addictions, repairs his rift with his son. That is a nice happy ending, but the climax was brought about because when provoked to what he felt was an irredeemable act, he broke.

So if you want to write a story in which the flaws are overcome, I suggest devising a story like this: The flaws are manageable, they are harming themselves more than anybody else, but eventually the flaws lead the MC into being forced to choose between an irredeemable act (in their eyes) and facing up to their flaws, and they choose to face up to their flaws.

posted about 5 years ago

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5y ago

Amadeus‭

3156 reputation 2 1399 613 37

Before you read this answer, understand that this is written not so much as a writer, but as a reader with knowledge of mental health issues, both professionally and personally.

Take the example of a paranoid loaner suffering from addiction. Assume those are 3 distinct problems: The larger mental health issues resulting in paranoia symptoms, difficulty with relationships, and the separate mental health issue of addiction. Assume also that the external conflict is unrelated to the flaws. Maybe this person has to care for their parent suffering from dementia.

Firstly, you should look at what you mean by 'paranoia'. In the real world, this label can range from the minor 'doesn't really trust people, due to previous bad experiences', to the full-blown medical term paranioa, where the sufferer can become convinced, despite all logic, that everybody is conspiring together to defeat them for some nefarious purpose.

The first is a character flaw that can be resolved by the character herself as part of her journey, while the second is a disease that requires professional intervention.

You should do the same for 'addiction'. Is your character somebody who hides from her problems by drinking too much, or is she actually physically addicted to her drug of 'choice'? Can she stop without medication? What about councelling? Is willpower going to be enough?

There is a massive range of symptoms and resolutions that can be considered for these issues, and you need to be sure what your character actually has. There is a very blurred line between 'character flaw' and 'mental health issue', and you should be careful when treading that line to keep things believable, and to avoid offending people.

Despite what some people may believe, however, a mental health issue can still be treated as a character flaw, and can be 'resolved' in the same way, as long as it is done with care and compassion. I suggest reading some books/blogs written by people who have issues similar to the ones your character has, to get a good grounding in reality.

Once you've done this, you can then look into how interconnected these issues actually are. Mental health issues rarely present as separate, distinct elements. They usually overlap. They influence each other; they can actually feed on each other. You can't (and I would argue shouldn't want to) separate these issues into distinct, unrelated problems to be dealt with or resolved individually.

An addict, for example, can push people away to hide her addiction, and thus increase her distrust of others, feeding her paranoia. Take away her addiction issue, and she could better understand her other issues, and be more willing to resolve them. Conversely, her paranoia could lead to her not trusting somebody who is trying to help her beat her addiction.

Finally, you can rarely remove these issues from external confict either. In the example you gave, your character is caring for a parent with dementia. This is a highly emotional issue for the character, which would almost certainly influence her addiction, and her ability to deal with others, as it is a lonely, isolating position to be in.

Once you examine these factors, and how they interact with each other, it will become easier to see that they do not necessarily need to be resolved individually and distinctly. They may not all be resolved at all.

There is no limit to the amount of flaws your character can have, as long as you interconnect them believably, treat them with understanding of the underlying issues, resolve them believably (or not at all), and show compassion to real-life sufferers.

Write what best fits the story you want to tell, and good luck.

posted about 5 years ago

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System‭

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