7/1 WIP Tip: (Character) Imperfections as Perfections
So maybe I spend a little too much time at Twitter (@buckeye_bethm, if you’re interested. Tweet me up!). But in addition to the given time wasters, there’s occasionally a Tweet that really gets me thinking.
Usually, it isn’t from one of the celebs I follow–this time, it was. A few days ago, Rob Kardashian (another guilty secret…I want to be a Kardashian sister. Not for the looks, for the sarcasm. Love Khloe!) got me thinking with a few simple words.
All Rob twitted was: An imperfection is a perfection.
I have no idea what he was referencing, but my writer’s mind, stuck on character, snapped it up and ran with it. We’ve all heard, hundreds of times, that our fictional characters need flaws. No one wants to read about a perfect character with a perfect life. If you’re a reader, you know it’s true. More than once I’ve put down a book because I felt like too many things were going good for the heroine. I want angst.
So, the WIP Tip question of the day for you is: what imperfections define your character? What are her shortcomings? And how, with your authorial magic, are you going to make those a perfection? Or, at the least, a strength?
I love hearing character flaws. Post ‘em here so I can live vicariously through your characters 
It's pretty simple, really. I'm a writer who loves writing about writing, and sharing all the tricks of the trade with other writers. And when I'm not writing, I'm thinking about writing. I have a hunch you know what I mean :)
Jessica Rosen
July 2, 2009 at 8:28 AM
Great perspective, Beth. Just the other day, I forced myself to redraw my characters from the ground up. Sticking only with their strengths makes for boring characters. Even heroes have flaws.
Beth M
July 2, 2009 at 8:31 AM
Exactly, Jessica. Going back to retool characters is no one’s favorite chore, but in the end, it’ll make your story so much stronger. Plus, character flaws give us more options to make our character’s lives miserable