 Mystery: July 29, 2015 Issue [#7130] |
  Mystery
This week: Real Flaws Edited by: Jeff  
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"The possession of knowledge does not kill the sense
of wonder and mystery. There is always more mystery."
-- Anaïs Nin
Mystery Trivia of the Week: The Riddle of the Sands, written by Erskine Childers and published in 1903, is often credited as being a major influence in the espionage and spy subgenres of thriller fiction. Childers himself led a pretty thrilling life as an Irish national who smuggled guns to Ireland in his sailing yacht... and was eventually executed during the Irish Civil War. He was also the father of Erskine Hamilton Childers, the fourth President of Ireland.
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REAL FLAWS
It can often be tempting to write infallible, invincible, inerrant characters who always do the right thing, say the right thing, and are in the right place at the right time. In most cases, we're writing protagonists who are heroes, or at least characters who exemplify the kind of person we'd like to be, or exhibit the qualities we'd like to have ourselves. But as most of us who have been writing for any amount of time know, flaws are an important part of characterization. Flaws are what lend humanity to a character, and often what allow us to sympathize or empathize with a character.
This isn't new information for most of us... but when we do develop flaws for our characters, it's important to make sure they're real flaws and not just superficial quirks that offer no- or low-risk scenarios for the character in question.
Over the years, I've played in various role-playing game (RPG) groups. Mostly tabletop RPGs like Dungeons & Dragons, where a group of players and the Game Master gather around a table and experience communal storytelling as the players describe what their characters do and the Game Master guides and reacts to their actions within the context of the adventure, i.e. the story he's trying to tell. Without fail, though, there's always at least one player who doesn't understand the concept of having real issues that create a disadvantage for the character. Some of the selected character flaws that players have come up with in my games have included these that were irrelevant to the situation:
 Doesn't know how to swim (on a water-deprived desert planet setting).
Can't speak any foreign languages (for a story entirely set in the U.S.).
Afraid of flying (in a period piece where air travel hadn't yet been achieved).
Not to mention these familiar cop-outs to the dreaded, "What is your greatest weakness?" interview question:
I'm a perfectionist.
I care too much.
I work too hard.
The whole point of creating a flaw in a character is that it's something that humanizes them. You're not going to get a sense of someone's inherent humanity (weakness) if that shortcoming is either not really a shortcoming at all, or if it's irrelevant to the story being told. Who cares if your character can't swim if the character is never near a body of water he could drown in? What's the point of having a character who "cares too much" if that flaw isn't going to bring a situation about or at least make a situation considerably more difficult?
If you're trying to create a flaw to make your character more human and identifiable with audiences, I would humbly suggest choosing a flaw that (1) causes an actual disadvantage for the character, and (2) comes into play at least once in the story. Make sure the flaw is something realistic and detrimental, and whatever that flaw is should come into play at some point. Flaws should be set up and paid off just like plot points and other carefully crafted elements of your story.
For some great examples of character flaws that have a clear, undeniable impact on their narratives, consider the following:
Indiana Jones and his fear of snakes.
Neo from The Matrix not believing that he's The One.
Lord Voldemort's pride and fear of dying in Harry Potter.
Gollum's obsession with The One Ring in Lord of the Rings.
Until next time,
Jeff
If you're interested in checking out my work:
"Blogocentric Formulations"
"New & Noteworthy Things"
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I encourage you to check out the following mystery items:
EXCERPT: After six agonising months of being unemployed, I finally found a job. I’d never gone so long before being out of work.
I had got a job as a manager at Your Toyz. It was a new chain of toyshops that has just opened up and down the country. I didn’t even bother to research the company or anything; I was just so desperate for a job that I applied.
EXCERPT: I passed it every morning on my way to Military Education, but never really thought much about what was on the other side. Although, I heard rumors of a sub-human race that wasn't civilized, so the wall was built for our safety.
Everything I learned about "the wall" was from Master Lucas, my ME instructor. But I learned so much more when I met a boy from the other side. His name was Zane, and what he taught me to open my eyes to a world I never imagined existed.
As I sit here in shackles in this cold cell, I can still remember the day that changed my life forever, and that got me here, awaiting execution.
EXCERPT: The last few lines of "Living on a Prayer" played as I stood in line at the checkout of the local general store. I was in a hurry to get back home to Chris, but the elderly man in front of me was taking his time digging through his wallet to find the exact change to pay for his items.
I looked down in my hand at the instant coffee I was buying. Coffee was pretty much the only thing Chris and I had been drinking for the past few weeks since Alex had gone missing. The man in front of me was still counting out his change, one nickel at a time. This was getting ridiculous.
I went back to reading the label on the blue canister when I got the feeling I was being stared at. I glanced up and sure enough, the two local gossiping biddies were seated at the wooden bench in the front of the store talking and looking at me. I knew exactly what they were talking about.
EXCERPT: The course at Pinecrest never looked more spectacular. The early morning rays glanced off the dew on the freshly cut grass near hole one. The smell of the azaleas wafting over the virgin turf would have been intoxicating to any golfer's enthusiasm, and it certainly was not wasted on the pair warming up at the first tee.
EXCERPT: It was the first day of summer vacation 2014 and I was spending it at my mother's office because she had nobody to take care of me. My excitement disappeared soon after arriving. I was expected to sit still and be quiet. Mom gave me a stack of white papers and some color pencils and told me to draw pictures and to keep to myself. I don't even like drawing and the office smell like old garbage. It was filled with people sitting in rows on metal chairs. I always envisioned mom's office to be on the top floor of a very high building with huge windows ans shiny furniture, like the offices you see in the movies on TV. Her's was on the bottom floor of an ugly brown building behind the Mosque on 4th avenue in Somalia and it was just an old desk in the corner of a large room filled with strange people. The grey walls were empty except for the dirt spots where people leaned against it. There was a ripped poster by the entrance about something called the di-ver-si-ty visa lottery, whatever that is. It was very disappointing and I just wanted to go back home. It was also very stuffy and most of the people smelled funny. They just sat there quietly staring at the floor and looking very nervous. Mom was typing at a computer and every few minutes she would get up and stuff papers into a huge rusted metal drawer. I had so many questions but she angrily shushed me every time I opened my mouth to ask her something. I was bored and annoyed at her. I felt like running through the room singing at the top of my voice just to show mom how unfair this is, spending my first day of summer in her humdrum of an office.
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