There are known flaws. These are flaws we know that we know. There are known unknown flaws. That is to say, there are flaws that we know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknown flaws. There are flaws we don't know we don't know...
Anua has parents who cannot deal with a major loss. Her mother has major melt downs. Her father slides away from conflict- there's always another contract, another woman, which inevitably get discovered, to the eternal fury of her mother. Anua escapes into the world of creativity. She's open to everything which is non human and converts her impressions into complex collages of colour and scent, which are very successful in the artistic world. But by subliming her feelings into her work, Anua congeals her emotions into a cold greasy sludge (think chip fat left out overnight in January), becoming ever more rigid and unable to break down her barriers for her closest friends. What will it take for her to open up? Is she even able to?
Oof at the different responses to grief and the resulting emotional neglect of Anua. I like the fact that even though Anua's coping mechanism (art) sounds beautiful and healing it's also a way of perhaps not processing her own feelings. Really complex and realistic.
The MCs of my current WIP are supposed to be two sides of the same coin, she's reckless, a little self absorbed and stubborn. She's also got a strong sense of justice, loves fully and easily and is at her heart a joyful person.
He's emotionally closed off, takes a very long time to think things through to all conclusions but still struggles with choices (a learned possibly anxiety behavior after his being reckless) and easily overwhelmed by large groups of people.
He's also ride or die once you're his people, very considerate of others in more one on one situations and wise beyond his limited experience.
I like how they both have strong moral compasses and clearly care about the people who are important to them. What I really love is the fact that his current behaviour is a consequence of being reckless — which is exactly how your other MC is behaving now... Very interesting potential for some conflict and lots of learning!
My character's flaws are what make me love her (and what make her really good at advancing a story)! She's reckless and impulsive, no sense of danger whatsoever, and she wasn't raised around humans so she has next to no social skills, can't hear the subtext behind questions, doesn't know what information is meant to be kept secret, overshares, breaks unwritten rules, blurts out the wrong thing, and despite all that she so badly wants to be around other humans and to be a part of their world. And I love all of it, and it breaks my heart that the world will change her.
I love how much you love your protagonist! <3 Makes it hard to hurt them but you clearly know her so intimately. Really interesting (and fun) to write a character who has no experience of the human world, and to be able to work that into a POV where everything feels new and strange.
I'll start with my main character's flaws, which all tie back to her being a teenage girl that grew up sheltered and repressed. She's desperate to find a group that she belongs to, but too green to understand the unspoken rules and expectations of this society she's been thrust into. Like most of us, she looks for validation externally, and that drives her to make some crappy decisions and hurt others.
Despite all of that, I love my main character's burgeoning sense of self (which has no blueprint), her curiosity about the world outside of her hometown, and also her secret sass/spunk that comes out when she's pissed off.
Ayyyy I feel a lot of empathy for her just from this description alone. And I like that her 'flaws' are really just her getting to know herself and how to take up space in the world. It sounds like she goes on a journey of self-discovery throughout the story and I especially like that she discovers her sass... Really relatable.
There are known flaws. These are flaws we know that we know. There are known unknown flaws. That is to say, there are flaws that we know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknown flaws. There are flaws we don't know we don't know...
The way I like to start flaw-building.
Ohhh yes, having your character discover those unknown ones... chef's kiss
Is it weird that I like it when the character is last one to figure it out. We all knew, we were waiting on you.
Totally. Give the reader that extra bit of insight and then let the character catch up.
Anua has parents who cannot deal with a major loss. Her mother has major melt downs. Her father slides away from conflict- there's always another contract, another woman, which inevitably get discovered, to the eternal fury of her mother. Anua escapes into the world of creativity. She's open to everything which is non human and converts her impressions into complex collages of colour and scent, which are very successful in the artistic world. But by subliming her feelings into her work, Anua congeals her emotions into a cold greasy sludge (think chip fat left out overnight in January), becoming ever more rigid and unable to break down her barriers for her closest friends. What will it take for her to open up? Is she even able to?
Oof at the different responses to grief and the resulting emotional neglect of Anua. I like the fact that even though Anua's coping mechanism (art) sounds beautiful and healing it's also a way of perhaps not processing her own feelings. Really complex and realistic.
Thank you!
The MCs of my current WIP are supposed to be two sides of the same coin, she's reckless, a little self absorbed and stubborn. She's also got a strong sense of justice, loves fully and easily and is at her heart a joyful person.
He's emotionally closed off, takes a very long time to think things through to all conclusions but still struggles with choices (a learned possibly anxiety behavior after his being reckless) and easily overwhelmed by large groups of people.
He's also ride or die once you're his people, very considerate of others in more one on one situations and wise beyond his limited experience.
I like how they both have strong moral compasses and clearly care about the people who are important to them. What I really love is the fact that his current behaviour is a consequence of being reckless — which is exactly how your other MC is behaving now... Very interesting potential for some conflict and lots of learning!
Thanks! They start from roughly the same technical baseline in my mind so it's interesting to work on their personalities as shaped by circumstances.
My character's flaws are what make me love her (and what make her really good at advancing a story)! She's reckless and impulsive, no sense of danger whatsoever, and she wasn't raised around humans so she has next to no social skills, can't hear the subtext behind questions, doesn't know what information is meant to be kept secret, overshares, breaks unwritten rules, blurts out the wrong thing, and despite all that she so badly wants to be around other humans and to be a part of their world. And I love all of it, and it breaks my heart that the world will change her.
I love how much you love your protagonist! <3 Makes it hard to hurt them but you clearly know her so intimately. Really interesting (and fun) to write a character who has no experience of the human world, and to be able to work that into a POV where everything feels new and strange.
I'll start with my main character's flaws, which all tie back to her being a teenage girl that grew up sheltered and repressed. She's desperate to find a group that she belongs to, but too green to understand the unspoken rules and expectations of this society she's been thrust into. Like most of us, she looks for validation externally, and that drives her to make some crappy decisions and hurt others.
Despite all of that, I love my main character's burgeoning sense of self (which has no blueprint), her curiosity about the world outside of her hometown, and also her secret sass/spunk that comes out when she's pissed off.
Ayyyy I feel a lot of empathy for her just from this description alone. And I like that her 'flaws' are really just her getting to know herself and how to take up space in the world. It sounds like she goes on a journey of self-discovery throughout the story and I especially like that she discovers her sass... Really relatable.
Thanks, Jo! Exactly, no teenager knows themselves completely or nails relationships from day one. No adult humans either, as far as I know.