Let Flaws Grow from Experience
Flaws only matter when they come from somewhere real. A character’s fear, cruelty, or pride should trace back to something they survived. Otherwise, it feels cosmetic.
- Why it worksWhen a weakness once kept them alive, the behavior becomes believable instead of random. Readers sense cause and effect. In Beloved, Toni Morrison grounds Sethe’s unbearable choice in trauma; the flaw is the scar, not decoration.
- How to do itShow the first moment that flaw worked. Then show how the world changed and left it useless. The contradiction keeps the reader invested.
Do
Anchor every flaw to a memory or belief that made sense once.
Avoid
Dropping “quirks” on the page without history or consequence.
From My Work
In Salt & Bone, Jack’s distrust wasn’t born in a vacuum. It grew over his childhood as his father forced him to hunt helpless creatures against his will. His answer was to retreat inward toward anger. But what saved him once now ruins every conversation he touches.
Show the Effort, Not the Apology
Readers forgive almost anything if they can see a genuine attempt to change. Trying and failing is always more human than a clean redemption.
- Why it worksEffort reveals intent. Even stubborn characters feel reachable when we glimpse what they wanted to fix. In Normal People, Sally Rooney lets Marianne and Connell repeat their mistakes until they finally meet in honesty.
- How to do itGive them a plan that nearly works. Let self-awareness arrive in fragments, not speeches.
Do
Let small wins prove growth.
Avoid
Instant turnarounds that erase the mess.
From My Work
In Salt & Bone, Lisa keeps making the same promise: tomorrow she’ll listen more, control less. Tomorrow always arrives too late—but she never stops saying it.
Balance Damage With Competence
A flawed lead still needs a skill that matters. Readers stay because someone who can do something feels real, even when they’re unbearable.
- Why it worksCompetence provides contrast. It’s the reminder that broken doesn’t mean useless. Cormac McCarthy’s father in The Road is terrified and violent but still a provider; skill redeems the fear.
- How to do itGive them one reliable strength—something another character depends on.
Do
Let their talent earn patience from others.
Avoid
Reducing them to misery with no purpose.
From My Work
In Salt & Bone, Jack can fix anything with an engine. It’s the one promise he can keep when everything else breaks.
Let Others Hold the Mirror
Secondary characters reveal the truth the protagonist avoids. Through contrast and reaction, readers learn how to interpret the flaw.
- Why it worksPerspective adds dimension. We understand who the hero is by who still cares enough to argue. James Wood describes this as “the shimmer between intention and action” in How Fiction Works.
- How to do itBuild relationships that expose both weakness and worth.
Do
Use reflection and friction to humanize.
Avoid
Use reflection and friction to humanize.
From My Work
In Salt & Bone, Lisa never tells Jack what’s wrong with him. She just hands him tools and waits. That patience says more than a dozen speeches ever could.
Give Them a Line They Won’t Cross
Even chaos needs a compass. When a protagonist protects one small principle, readers know where the heart still lives.
- Why it worksBoundaries define identity. Without them, every cruel act blurs into noise. Walter White’s unraveling in Breaking Bad fascinates because we can still trace the line he began with, even as it burns.
- How to do itChoose one rule that costs them something to keep—and test it.
Do
Make the boundary visible under pressure.
Avoid
Cynicism for its own sake.
From My Work
In Salt & Bone, Jack will shoot a stranger if he has to, but he won’t abandon a child. Lisa bends every law except the one that says you don’t leave the dying.
Final Thoughts
Flaws don’t repel readers. Indifference does.
When we understand why a character fails—and why they keep trying—we stay with them through every wrong turn.
Extras
- Read about Salt & Bone (WIP)
- Sign up for the newsletter to get weekly tips
- Beloved by Toni Morrison
- Cormac McCarthy’s The Road
- Normal People by Sally Rooney
- How Fiction Works by James Wood
- Breaking Bad by Vince Gilligan