5 Easy Ways to Make Your Characters More FLAWED and LOVABLE

that like immediately gives you more familiarity more flaws it ramps up the conflict a little bit more because it raises the stakes cuz now we know there's a consequence to this secret coming out about this character um or somebody else finding out about this thing that they don't want anybody to know we're sisters best friends and authors on a mission to help you stoke your creative fire and live the life of your dreams we believe that purpose fuels passion and that creativity is your secret weapon for Mas construction there's never been a better time to

bless the world with your dream realized you're listening to the Kate and Abby show what's up guys welcome back to another episode of the Kate and Abby show today we are talking about five easy simple ways to make your characters more flawed and therefore more lovable more human and real we've talked a lot about flawed characters on this channel and in the podcast and flawed characters are something that is sometimes difficult to accomplish because it can be easy to fall into a rout of making your characters too perfect and when you make your characters too

perfect they're not relatable they don't feel human they don't feel like me and you and therefore we can't we can't relate to and we can't connect with their internal conflict so how do we make our characters more flawed we're going to discuss some simple ways in this episode and there are five ways that we want to look at that you can basic basically instantly give your characters more conflict and make them more flawed because we all love a flawed character so we're going to dive into this topic and we're really excited to get into this

discussion but first before we get started here we want to thank our amazing patrons you're our sponsors of the Kate and Abby show and we're so grateful for your support so if you get value out of this podcast go to patreon.com slthe Kate and Abby show to help us keep this podcast alive and free of interruptions and when you join the patreon you also get access to monthly live stream Hangouts with me and Kate where we kind of take you behind the scenes show you what we're working on lately and we get to chat and

connect about storytelling so super fun we hope to see you over on the patreon okay let's get into this first uh first way to make your character more flawed and lovable which you're probably going to guess if you've been on my Channel at all or heard me and Katie discussing characters before in the podcast number one is to give them a misbelief based fear and this is something that you know I talk about all the time with you know the character profile with giving your character you know conflict to make them flawed is giving them

a misbelief first and foremost and then giving them a fear that is like directly connected to that misbelief because that's really what makes them um an active character in the story CU like we've talked about before you know a plot driven story you have just random external events happening to a character and if they're just a passive character who is being whacked around by the punches of the plot then they don't have internal conflict really they don't have a misbelief based fear so you know they won't be able to respond to the punches of the

plot and be an active participant in the story like that can only happen if they have a misbelief based fear mhm you know right exactly because otherwise they're reacting to it how anyone else would react it which is something that we've discussed in the past is that you want your main characters to be unique in how they're responding yeah so if you have a cast of characters your main character and then a whole slew of sub characters and the events of the story are unfolding in such a way that the reader is thinking hm well

any of these characters would react the same way that the main character is reacting we start to question why is the spotlight even on this main character why is this the main character so what is unique about them and really what makes someone unique is their belief their belief systems um their own unique set of beliefs that they have accumulated over the course of their life that's how it is with humans and that's how it is with characters if you want your character to feel realistic yeah so true and um I think that's one of

those things that once you have it once you've established it the story and the characters kind of like the characters write the story sort of in a way because they are active participants now who are going after a misbelief based goal and trying to avoid their fears and so now you know you have this character who's Rife with internal conflict and very flawed because we know that what they believe and and hold to be true isn't actually true but they're going to have a realization at some point in the story where they will realize that

it's not true but until that moment they are living from their fatal flaw um they're living from that place of you know believing this thing about themselves and about the world and of course they can have multiple misbeliefs but I would say if you're not sure where to start focus on just one like focus on that one misbelief that is going to be the flip side of the theme that you want to share in your story The truth that you want to scream from the rooftops as I like to say like what is that truth

and if you turned it upside down and made it a lie what would it look like for a character to believe that lie um it's a really good way to look at it and how could they how could they come to that realization through the events of the plot in a natural seamless way right number two let their negative traits trip them up this is something that I think a lot of writers especially new writers who are are you know writing characters that they want to be lovable and likable and they fall into the rut

of like making them too perfect this is where you can go wrong is by not giving your character enough negative traits because everybody has positive and negative traits right mhm like everyone has a mixture of both right and so when a character doesn't have like any negative traits they seem almost like unrealistic like nobody's this perfect or their only negative trait is that they're like too much of a perfectionist like uh well you know let's go beyond that let's like give them some more realistic negative traits that make them feel really fla in human and

that can actually like get in their way as they're trying to like pursue this goal right because you can think of think of yourself or think of any person you know and you can probably quickly think of things that have gotten you know times when you've gotten in your own way right with flaws that you have maybe it's you know lack of confidence in a certain area or times that you've worried or doubted or had fears that have kept you from moving forward with something in your life that's those are the natural flaws that make

life interesting and make a story interesting those are the things that can create building blocks for your character Arc otherwise there isn't a character Arc if we're not traveling from one place to another with the character if we're just in the starts they end or at least maybe for not emphasizing their perfection we're simply not introducing any flaws that the character has we don't have a character Arc at all yeah and the thing is like about negative and positive traits is like a lot of times they're the flip side of each other so like you

know you have a character who is say like very um outgoing and adventurous and spontaneous and funny and um you know Reckless sometimes you could find like those you could say those are all positive things but then you could take those same traits and flip them upside down be like well they're also you know irresponsible and disorganized and you know they jump before they think basically every strength can have a weakness attached yes exactly so look at your character's existing strengths and then see okay how can they also be weaknesses and how can they also

like trip up the character in moments where you know they need to overcome that negative trait and maybe this negative trait will stay with them forever and it will you know become part of their personality part of their identity and part of the way that we can then anticipate conflicts that's going to come into this character's path and be like oh I know how this character is going to deal with that knowing their negative traits that's part of what makes a character feel not only flawed but lovable and like familiar like you know like you're

best friends with this char you know exactly how they're going to react in this upcoming conflict because of who they are what they've already been established to be and I don't think it's creating predictability as much as it's creating familiarity and there should be a sense of familiarity with a character because that's what makes you care if you feel like the character is a complete stranger and you have no idea how they're going to respond from one moment to the next can deflate your story of suspense it can deflate it of expectation and there should

be a certain amount of not predictability but expectation to look forward to oh I can't wait to see how they're going to react because I think this is going to happen we have to have that relationship like you're saying yeah as if they're as if we're friends with this character we're thinking oh I I know what I think's going to happen they're going to react like this you know there has to be that that sense yeah number three give them a secret nobody body else knows this one is kind of fun and I think it

can immediately sort of spice up a dull character or a character that you feel like is missing something or they just need that extra layer of like something mysterious and unexpected about them um is to give them a secret that nobody else knows or only maybe one person knows or maybe we see the moment when this character divulges this secret to this one other person which can also create a great trust building moment between between characters um but giving them a secret of some kind it completely depends on the character depends on where they've been

in their past and what experiences they've gone through in life but finding in Opportunity where you can show the reader something about this character that maybe nobody else knows gives you that extra layer of familiarity like you were just saying and makes you feel like even closer to the character because now you know something about them that nobody else knows or very few people know and that like immediately gives you more familiarity more flaws it ramps up the conflict a little bit more because it raises the stakes cuz now we know there's a consequence to

this secret coming out about this character um or somebody else finding out about this thing that they don't want anybody to know um and of course that'll be different for every story maybe for like a romcom it's the secret is that you know they're secretly in love with their best friend or their worst enemy or maybe for something more like a a you know crime Thriller you have a character who has a secret that they're really a criminal or they've really committed some sort of crime that they want to keep a secret it really depends

on like what story you're writing but giving your character a colorful past where they're their flaws and their negative traits have tripped them up in the past and now they're something some event in the past that they want to keep in the past will immediately give your story and your character that extra layer of Juicy conflict yeah absolutely like I really like that in in stories when you find out a secret about a character before anybody else knows about it especially as yeah especially when it's being utilized as like that plot twist moment yes that

can be a really great way to do it um to introduce it as a plot twist yeah 100% number four is to allow them to rely on others in moments of Crisis and I think sometimes this one is like counterintuitive cuz a lot of people want to write you know a strong character who can like look after themselves and do everything themselves and they don't need anybody else's help you see this especially with like the strong female character Trope sometimes and this sometimes just makes the character feel unrealistic because they don't seem human you know

they seem like too Invincible like to an unrealistic degree like you know they get hurt in battle they get stabbed they get shot they get wounded they're just okay they they could just keep going right and there's like no consequences and what it does it kind of like takes away the stakes from a situation to when there's like not many consequences of what happens to this character cuz they are so Invincible they don't need ever to rely on anybody else except themselves and I think that that makes a character feel like less likable yeah too

because we all have to depend on other people in certain situations and it's nice to see that moment of vulnerability right you know yeah and and you can cover that in so many different ways from romantic relationships to professional relationships even like if you're writing something where it's like you know a work scenario showing that people need other people in order to achieve the greater goal or teamwork taking place in a sports scenario or something all the stories that we really love and that we can root for the main character it's because of how not

just what they want for themselves but what is it that they're pulling in for themselves that's also affecting other people in a positive way right how are they positively affecting the people around them bringing them into play and that that also is how you make your side is more lovable too by involving them in that main plot yeah exactly yeah and I think that's a great way to introduce and or not introduce but like to um use your side characters and bring them into the story in a more meaningful way is to let them be

the characters that your protagonist relies on in a moment of Crisis whether you know it's the best friend the sidekick the love and Trust the mentor maybe even the villain in a strange scenario you know who knows yeah um but like that immediately makes your characters more human and flawed and real and and because of that they're more lovable because they have weak moments too they struggle too we care about we care about characters not because they are like invincible and super human but because they're human and you know that's something I was sharing in

my um video where I was discussing and sort of unpicking the um the timeline of the Marvel Cinematic universe and how the storytelling is kind of degraded over time because of this departure from you know the heart and soul of the story and letting your main character be flaw and have those moments of weakness and vulnerability and rely on others in a moment of Crisis and that can be a great opportunity for your character to learn things too they can come to New realizations about their own you know misbeliefs and their own um fatal flaws

that they've been holding on to that they need to let go of right so regardless of what genre you're writing whether it's fantasy or anything else contemporary um f not focusing so much on superhuman characters but super human characters yes super space human right super space human exactly because that's what you really want whether you're writing a paranormal you know romance with vampires and werewolves or if you're writing a contemporary that takes place in a coffee shop we still need to feel the humanity of the main character we have to feel those flaws we have

to feel the pitfalls that they're experiencing because that's what makes the victory taste sweet that's what makes the character Arc um have it structure and be able to hold up yes yeah so true which kind of leads into the fifth way to make your characters more flaw and lovable which is to give them an outlet of compassion now this is something that I just recently started like philosophizing over and thinking about in regards to story and I came to this this conclusion through thinking about you know strong characters and like the typical cliche of strong

characters who are like I was just saying Invincible you know Untouchable they are you know they can do everything on their own nothing takes them down and I think that one of the main things that makes a strong character lovable is having an outlet of compassion having some aspect of their lives whether it's through a work for the world or for somebody else where we see that they have a heart and soul and they have empathy for someone you know because um that really I think what is what makes the difference between a powerful character

and a strong character cuz you can have a powerful character who's just like musling their way through everything very aggressive and you know maybe they're a hero in the story but they're not really that heroic hero in quotation because they're really not showing much compassion or empathy they're just kind of aggressively you know forcing their way through the plot to try to accomplish their goal and maybe their goal is just survival maybe they've become kind of cynical and bitter and jaded over their past okay you can still have all that but what is their Outlet

of compassion that shows me that they're still human at heart there's like a tiny little flicker of a flame of humanity at their heart even if they're an anti-hero or um you know an antagonist or something like that's really what makes the difference and I was just analyzing that about you know books I've read movies I've watched where the character is really strong and tough but still lovable it's always because they have some Outlet of compassion even if it's just like one person that they show compassion towards and that they help out in a crisis

and that one those those few moments of showing this character's like inner empathy can really make you connect with them and see that oh they're not just you know this this cold bitter person they they may have that outer shell and they may be um you know cynical and jaded but they still have a little bit of you know humanity and Warth otherwise the character becomes too engulfed in ego yeah they become very ego driven because if the story is just about them and about their power whether it's a superpower or professional power whatever um

it becomes about them so much that it just is in ego driven whereas when like Abby saying if you can shift it to why are they doing this you know who do they have compassion for are they doing it for their family are they doing it for their spouse are they doing it for a loved one or to make up for something they feel guilty for then we start to see the compassion that extra layer yeah that switches it from being ego driven to being heart driven yeah very true very well said I love that

yeah and that's that's something that is a big turnoff for me when I'm reading a book or watching a film and the main character is just like completely ego driven and they're always just like thinking about how strong and tough and great they are how Invincible they are it's like it gets so um exhausting to watch thata exting is a good word for it yeah cuz it's like I'm trying to empathize with them but they don't really show any empathy whatsoever towards anything so or anyone and so it's really hard to connect with the heart

of a character who's like you know doesn't have any heart whatsoever and and you can give you know a very um bitter Twisted Wicked character a heart you know you can give your villain a heart we were talking about that recently yeah we were because like if you can show us why why does it matter to them what hurt lies in the past that made them do this yeah are they doing it because of their own self-image because they feel lost because they feel like they need to belong what is the reason yeah even with

um you know villains that were trying to portray as you know oh well this is just a psycho villain you know they have no real reason they're just doing it because they want to and there are stories like that that works you know often like superhero stories will sometimes have that villain that is just doing it because they're pure evil but there's even a reason behind that how did that happen how how did they they weren't born in that state so what flipped the switch to get them to that place where they are so we

can really delve into an un pick like the reasons behind these things so that we can find that deeper message we can find even the flaws and the the fears in the villain to make them more not so much lovable is a weird word to use for the villain or the antagonist but we can understand and even maybe sometimes relate yeah yes well said I like that a lot very true so brainstorm prompts to help you with each of these points and help you to make your characters more flawed and lovable whether it's the protagonist

the antagonist or a side character first what is the character's greatest misbelief and how does it fuel their present day fear what are the top three negative traits this character has and how do they create conflicts and obstacles in the character's path is there a secret this character has been keeping that nobody else knows if so what is it and why must it be kept a secret who does this character trust how do they prove their trust in this person by relying on them in a moment of Crisis who or what is this character's Outlet

of compassion how do they prove their humanity and Inner Strength by showing empathy towards someone or something in their world so good brainstorming prompts to get you started and get the creative juices flowing hopefully for your own story hopefully you took a lot of notes during this discussion we would love to hear what you think of all of this what do you think makes a character instantly more flawed and lovable drop a comment below and let us know we would love to hear from you guys and the best way to support me and Kate as

artists is to buy our books because we are both Indie authors and we love to infuse these Concepts into our writing and to practice everything that we talk about in this podcast and sort of weave that into our stories which me and Kate have been doing for several years now Kate has a six book series out that's an urban fantasy I write cozy contemporaries and you can find all of our books Linked In the description box below this video so be sure to check those out thank you also again to our amazing patrons for supporting

this show and keeping it going keeping it free of interruptions we love you guys so much if you get value out of this podcast go to patreon.com slthe and Abby show and help us keep this podcast alive and free of interruptions until next time stay stoked and rock on