The Value of Flawed Characters
Characters are a vital piece of any story in any format. Their human nature is what an audience can connect to. When it comes to crafting your own fully formed characters, it can be tough to make a person constructed from scratch feel as though they actually exist.
Anyone who has a love for writing most likely had an uninhibited imagination as a child. Taking your childhood imagination into account, a character can be thought of as an imaginary friend. In order to get a stronger understanding of who they are, you have to get to know them on a personal level.
You’ll find yourself talking to them as their personalities and voices take shape. Their lovable qualities shine through first. You start to care about them, getting more and more attached. You may be tempted to put them on a pedestal, but it would a disservice to them if you did. Nobody is perfect, which makes it difficult to relate to a character who is. Characters need to have flaws in order to feel like real people. If a character is perfect, they have nothing to learn. It can be hard letting your characters make mistakes, especially when pulling from real-life experiences. As embarrassing as mistakes can be, they are a natural part of growing. With every misstep a character makes, the closer they get to figuring out who they are.
From A24’s Lady Bird
The inciting incident is the moment in which the story is set into motion. This is where the conflict is introduced and the main character’s everyday state of being is disrupted. They are now presented with a goal they need to accomplish or a problem they need to fix. The person we see in the beginning of the story will change in some form by the end, for better or for worse. A character is not defined by just one thing. They are typically a mix of positive and negative qualities. The challenge for the writer is finding a balance between the two and using it to drive the story forward.
A screenwriter who has accomplished this is Greta Gerwig with Lady Bird (2017). Lady Bird represents the complexities of teen angst. While she is admirable for her free spirit and unapologetic nature, she struggles to acknowledge others’ perspectives. She makes selfish decisions to serve her romanticized expectations of how she thinks her life should look. Though not intentional, she hurts the people she loves. While she is by no means a fully matured person by the end of the film, she takes steps in mending the relationships she once took for granted.
From When Harry Met Sally
While it is the writer’s role to find the right words for each character to say, it is important to consider how the character’s flaws and hang-ups may play into the way they approach conversations. They may not have the capacity or confidence to fully articulate what they are feeling in the moment they are feeling it. This is displayed with the character of Sally Albright in When Harry Met Sally (1989) written by the late Nora Ephron. From the get-go, Sally is particular about every detail of her life. She can’t order a single thing without requesting the sauce on the side. This is not always the case when it comes to her relationships. Sally’s fear of rejection interferes with her ability to express what she really wants. This contributes to harvesting frustration, which ultimately comes to a head. When she finally does say how she feels, it doesn’t come out perfectly. When people are in the height of their emotions, they may say something they don’t mean or raise their voice at an inappropriate time.
We fall in love with characters when we see pieces of ourselves in them. We empathize with their pain and joy, having felt it in some way in our own lives. The end of a story does not mean it will be smooth sailing for the characters from then on. It is merely the end of a chapter. Whether the journey was successful or not, the characters and audience can take something away from it. As you carry this into your own work, remember to appreciate the mistakes and imperfections you uncover throughout the writing process. While facing them can feel disheartening, they exist for a reason.
