Character Flaws: The Master Post

fuckyeahcharacterdevelopment:

What’s a Character Flaw?

What would be considered bad character flaws? Like I know being clumsy is generally considered to not actually be a flaw, but are there other flaws like it that I should avoid?
 -Anonymous

Well, we were once asked if being autistic counted, and Pen wrote them a nice response telling them to GTFO. 
Clumsiness is a damn pain in the butt, (just ask some of my friends- they live their entire lives like a trust falls session), but it’s not a character flaw because it’s not a fault in their character. That would be like saying that being ugly is a character flaw (I can actually find you some stories like that, though- where someone complains that they’re plain-looking to the point where you want to call them and say that yes, they should wear a paper bag in public out of sheer annoyance). Clumsiness is one of those traits that have gotten a rap as ‘Sue-ish’ cause some famously annoying ladies (coughBella) bore it, and also because it’s one of those things that’s supposed to be endearing but often isn’t- we should feel that this childish and weak, non-threatening creature needs our protection, but most people are gonna get pissed when they need Lady or Lord Clumsy to do ONE JOB to save everyone and they fall on their face for the thousandth time and fail. 

Let me try to put this in a way that makes more sense- flaws should be a product of someone’s choices, not their birth. Therefore, while being dyslexic, clumsy, or etc., would present challenges in someone’s life, and possibly add to the story, it’s not something that can be changed over time with character development. They’re traits, they’re not really changeable, only manageable. 
A character flaw is a result of the character’s behavior, something that they, theoretically could stop if they wished. It also should cause problems in the story- if you say that my bossiness is a flaw, but then I’m always right with my bossiness, then you’re doing it wrong. I count one of my characters tendencies to take conflicts too far a flaw, because it gets him into trouble when he escalates fights. 
Then, there’s this big blobby gray area of flaw vs. trait. Let’s say you’ve got a character who’s a drunk- it’s derailing his life, he’s mean to his friends, etc. Flaw. However, if you reveal in the narrative that he’s got a family history of alcoholism (it’s shown that this is genetic), and was raised in an environment that predisposed him to be that way- well, you’ve got behavior that is clearly bad, but probably sympathetic to the audience because our drunk has less control over his actions. 

-Evvy

FYCD

FURTHER POSTS (Answered Asks on the topic):

How Do I Pick Flaws For My Character?

The Sliding Scale of Traits : From Good to Bad

What About Stubbornness/Other Iffy Flaws? 

Physical v. Character Flaws?

How Many Flaws Is Too Many Flaws?

How Do I Know If X Is A Flaw?

My Character’s Flawed, But Not A Villain- How Do I Do That?

Can Big Flaws Keep My Character From Being A Protagonist?

I Wanna Roll With My Character Being A Villain, But Want I Them To Be Sympathetic…?

Pen Tells Those Who Count Disabilities As Character Flaws To GTFO

Please note that all of this (other than the questions themselves and links that we put in for further reading) is original content from Fuck Yeah Character Development. You can use any of this, we’re just rather proud. Thanks for following.