  Mystery
This week: Flawed Characters Edited by: Jeff  
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"Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known."
- Carl Sagan
Random Mystery Trivia of the Week: Frederic Dard was a Swiss-born French writer who was one of the most prolific crime writers in history, authoring over 300 novels over the course of his career. He is perhaps most famous for his 173 San-Antonio novels which - written in the first person - were both the name of the protagonist and the pseudonym he used for the author. When coming up with the name San-Antonio, he wanted something English-sounding, so he used a U.S. map and pointed to a random city to inspire the name. The dash was originally a typo, but was eventually adopted by the author.
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FLAWED CHARACTERS
While it can be tempting to create characters that are perfect in every way, the best characters are often ones that have at least one major flaw or are lacking in some way. I know it can be tempting to create heroes that are tough, talented, smart, strong, and savvy... but let's face it; a character who can do no wrong isn't a whole lot of fun. Sure they have their amusements for a little while, but narrative conflict (drama) is about overcoming obstacles. So if your character can just walk through the conflict in a story with nary a scratch, bruise, or faltered step, that drama isn't going to be very compelling. That's why Superman has Kryptonite; narratively speaking, he needs something that threatens to prevent him from saving the day.
When it comes to the mystery genre, we're lucky. Our narratives are naturally filled with a variety of obstacles that need to be overcome. Clues need to be uncovered, dots need to be connected, inconsistencies need to be investigated. You can have characters that have both strengths and weaknesses and are still able to solve your mystery. Perhaps your private investigator character has a brilliant, deductive mind, but horrible interpersonal communication skills. He can easily deduce where someone is hiding out based on a couple old receipts and a late-night phone call... but in order to get those tidbits of information, he has to convince the missing guy's wife to let him root through their house. Or maybe your con man is smart and savvy and can talk anybody into anything... but he's not athletic or physically intimidating in any way, so when the smooth talk doesn't work on somebody intimidating, he's in a real predicament. By creating flaws in your characters, you also present yourself with opportunities to resolve those conflicts; maybe even to find more creative ways of approaching a problem. 
One of the most beloved movie characters of all time is Indiana Jones. And why does everybody love the character so much? Because he endears himself to the audience by failing. He's about as imperfect as you can get, and makes every mistake in the book. In Raiders of the Lost Ark, Nazis are after Marian in the market and he loses her. He threatens to blow up the Ark of the Covenant with a rocket launcher and the Nazis call his bluff and capture him. At the end, he doesn't even get to keep the Ark... it ends up in a government warehouse somewhere. In The Last Crusade, he goes through all the trouble to recover the Holy Grail, then he loses it. Indiana Jones is - in terms of accomplishing his goals - someone who fails over and over again. He's about as far from perfect as someone can get... and as an audience, we love him for it.
Flaws mean that your characters are human. None of us are perfect. Despite all of our accomplishments, accolades and abilities, we're all flawed in some way or another. Perfection just isn't possible in the human experience. None of us can say the right thing at the right time every single time, or know just what to do and execute it perfectly in every circumstance. Sure some of us are more error prone than others (Indiana Jones and I have a lot in common  ), but I don't know anyone who has gone their entire life mistake-free.
When you're creating your characters, take the time to give them flaws. Their shortcomings are what will humanize them. It's what will help your audience empathize with them. And, if you're clever enough, you never know... the flaws might just give you some creative ideas about how to overcome or circumvent them. 
Until next time,
- Jeff
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This week, I would encourage you to check out the following mystery items:
Can you solve the riddle? Leave a review with your answer!
I awoke to the familiar smell of Black Silk, my favorite coffee. Rubbing the sleeping dust from my eyes, I threw the covers away so as not to tempt the sweet savors of the Sandman. Pushing my slippers onto my feet, I realized my dog was absent from my room.
"Lill, I don't get it. Why?" Jason sat with his head in his hands. It was the first time Lilly had ever seen him cry, and it killed her to see him this way. She looked down at her wrist, hand cuffed to her hospital bed, and her confusion grew exponentially.
He said he'd explain everything. Well, he ought had to. But when I called him back, it wasn't an explanation. It was just some nut-job story about some freaking devil's laptop. I said that he must be snorting crack again. He denied it. Instead he kept saying that what he's telling me was the truth. Now I'm on my way to his apartment to calm him down. Really, if he wasn't my brother, I'd leave Ross to his own delusions.
I see her everywhere
Strolling through the marketplace
Gracing the town square
Always has time to interact
A portrait of elegance
Conner opened his eyes when he felt the coldness wrap around his legs. Somewhat confused at his surroundings, the only thing he could think was that this was another dream. Yet, this time was different. Beyond the white colored fog, a small round table sat in an empty room where coffee was the only thing that waited for him. But, he was never the one to order it. That's the way it always seemed to turn out, except there was always a catch to the white coffee cup that sat on that table and every time he was forced to relive it.
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QUESTION OF THE WEEK: Who is one of your favorite fictional protagonists, and what was one of their flaws? Was that flaw one of the reasons s/he is a favorite of yours?
In response to my last newsletter on photographic memory (the question was whether you'd want the ability to remember everything at the cost of forgetting nothing):
Tornado Dodger  writes: "Excellent edition Jeff.  I find the topic of memory very interesting especially savants. When I was growing up, I read a tremendous amount of reference material on how the brain works. The book "The Broken Brain" by Nancy C. Andreasen was really interesting. Thanks for peaking my interest all over again. I think I'm going to raid my bookshelf before bed.  "
I'll definitely have to check that one out. I think the brain is fascinating; there's so much we've uncovered about how it works... and yet so much left to discover.
NickiD89  writes: "My jaw dropped when I started reading your newsletter. I was just Googling "photographic memory" last night! If I were offered the ability to recall everything I've seen and heard in perfect, vivid detail...I think I'd turn it down. Forgetfulness has its advantages . Although, if someone could help me remember to bring my grocery lists to the store, I'd be infinitely grateful."
Wait'll you see my newsletter on precognition.  You bring up a great point, though. Along with all those phone numbers, factoids, exam answers, and whatnot, you'd have photo-realistic memories of breakups, traumatic and frightening experiences, awkward conversations, and all the rest of the human experience. Remembering ain't always all it's cracked up to be. |
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Mystery: June 08, 2011 Issue [#4441]
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