How to Write Character Flaws, With Examples

You may have heard that strong, relatable characters need to have character flaws. After all, who wants to read about a cardboard-cutout Mary Sue for 300 pages? Readers want characters full of nuance and depth.

But what is a character flaw, exactly? How do you decide what’s a tragic flaw and what’s a simple character trait? And when is a character too flawed? Not to worry—we’ll guide you through everything you need to know.

Small character flaws may be nothing more than an annoying personality trait, while bigger character flaws become a concrete obstacle that inhibits the character’s ability to grow. If they don’t eventually overcome their flaw, they may undergo a spiritual or moral “death” before the story is over. We’ll look more at major, minor, and fatal flaws down below.

Why are character flaws important for writers?

In a story, character flaws accomplish two things: authenticity and narrative tension.

To the first: Flawless characters are unrealistic. Have you ever met a flawless person? I can guarantee they have some skeletons in their mental closet. Unique character flaws make the fictional players of your story feel like living, breathing people—and this is what’s going to make your readers invest in their journey.

To the second: Character flaws also play an important role in the development of a plot. They create obstacles that get in the characters’ way and inhibit them from achieving their goals. For example, romance novels are often driven by the way the main characters navigate their inner flaws. When they finally learn to overcome or manage these flaws, they earn their happily ever after.

Your character’s flaw will impact the choices that they make, how they respond to conflict, and how they ultimately achieve what they’ve been fighting for.

Types of character flaws

Character flaws aren’t one-size-fits all; there are a few different kinds that you can work with as you develop your story.

Internal flaws

Internal flaws have to do with a character’s ethics, perceptions, and behavior. They can manifest in a few ways.

Minor flaws

Minor flaws are personality quirks that can have a slightly negative connotation, but they don’t have a huge impact on the character’s life. This could include things like being messy, clumsy, or a bit cocky.

These flaws will affect a character’s behavior and dialogue, and make them feel more lifelike to the reader.

Major flaws

Major flaws are what happens when these minor flaws grow too big to control. In a story, major flaws are a driving factor in the development of the plot. The character will make the majority of their choices because of them.

You’ll often see this in romance novels; the protagonists will push each other away because of their fear or commitment issues or abandonment trauma or pride. They need to resolve those major flaws before they can reach their happy ending.

Fatal flaws

A “fatal flaw” is what happens when a major flaw becomes too big and domineering to overcome, ultimately leading to the main character’s downfall. Ebeneezer Scrooge is (almost) brought down by his avarice; Macbeth is brought down by his devouring ambition.

These stories act as cautionary tales. They show the reader what could happen if we don’t strive to be our best selves.

External flaws

External flaws have to do with physical appearance and the body, such as disabilities or deformities. This is not to say that people with disabilities are intrinsically “flawed” as human beings, but in a narrative, these external flaws cause problems for that character. For instance, a character’s mobility issues might inhibit them from reaching their goal, or a character with extreme facial scars may struggle to find human connection.

A good example of this is the protagonist of the film Silver Bullet (based on a novel by Stephen King), a kid who lives his entire life in a wheelchair. The film never treats the character as less than human because of it, but there’s no denying that it becomes an obstacle when he’s trying to escape the monster.

Disabilities are difficult territory to navigate as a writer; they need to be approached sensitively and compassionately. But when utilized well, physical flaws can become powerful plot and characterization devices.

How to write character flaws

Now, here are some tips on incorporating character flaws into your story.

Start small

Truth bomb: all major character flaws, in story as well as in life, begin as minor flaws. No one is born with a major internal flaw; major flaws grow out of minor ones that spun out of control.

Choose one of the flaws from the list below, or come up with your own, and explore what it looks like as a small, subtle annoyance. The minor flaw should be so deeply ingrained that the character doesn’t even notice it; it’s part of their “ordinary world.”

Craft a dramatic arc

A dramatic character arc happens when a character shifts from one state of being to another. Usually, this involves facing, understanding, and ultimately overcoming their flaw. But in a tragedy, it goes the opposite direction: the character becomes so beholden to this key flaw that it ultimately devours them.

So to do this, first decide if you want to create a positive or a negative character arc. Positive arcs are sources of inspiration; negative arcs are cautionary tales. Then, you lead the character on a journey as that flaw impacts their life in increasingly volatile ways. At one point, near the end, the character will either pull themselves back from the edge or tumble over it.

Build to a satisfying resolution

Stories are inherently about character development and change. When the reader reaches the end of your novel, they want to feel like either the character has learned something, or they have learned something by watching this character struggle.

Some new writers have a habit of making their main character a victim of circumstance—someone who is always at the wrong place at the wrong time, or vice versa. But when they reach the ending, it doesn’t feel like the character has earned their final outcome. It’s your job as the writer to make them earn it, for better or worse.

If a character lives happily ever after, it should be because they recognized their major flaw and were strong enough to work through it. If the character loses everything that mattered to them, it should be because the character kept making the same weak-willed mistakes and was never able to fix them.

A useful list of character flaws

If you need some hints to get started, here are some common flaws that you can incorporate into your story. Remember: when these issues are manageable personality quirks, they’re minor flaws. When they become so prominent that they begin damaging the character’s relationships, they’re major flaws.

• Socially awkward: a bad sense of how to act in social situations.

• Unintelligent: struggles to grasp seemingly obvious concepts.

• Uninteresting: lacking depth and personality

• Vain: self absorbed, or spends too much time on their looks

• Condescending: looks down on others

• Impulsive: acts on instinct and takes unnecessary risks

• Greedy: focused solely on personal gain

• Intolerant: lacking understanding and compassion

• Unreliable: can’t be trusted

• Obsessive: spends all their energy and focus on one thing

• Immature: sometimes acts childish

• Gullible: trusting to a damaging extent

• Temperamental: hot headed; loses their temper easily

• Spoiled: accustomed to being cared for and pampered

• Hypochondriac: imagines all manner of illnesses and injuries

• Stubborn: refuses to budge on their actions or opinions

• Insensitive: doesn’t think about the needs or feelings of others

• Shallow: judges people based on insignificant things, like money or appearance

• Pessimistic: always sees the worst in any situation

• Lazy: lacks drive to complete simple tasks; lacking in ambition

• Submissive: unable to stand up for themselves or express their needs

• Selfish: focused only on their own wants and needs

• Dishonest: unable or disinclined to tell the truth or behave honorably

• Sneaky: furtive or slyly enacting their own goals

• Mischievous: likes playing tricks on people

• Malicious: Enjoys hurting the feelings of others

• Moody: easily agitated or depressed; can occasionally be a symptom of a deeper mental illness

• High strung: easily frightened or made anxious by outside forces

• Cowardly: lacking courage; prioritizes themselves over the greater good

• Arrogant: thinks they’re intrinsically better than those around them

• Bitter: lacking in hope, generally because of bad past experiences

• Apathetic: unable to feel intense emotion

• Disrespectful: dismissive of others’ feelings

• Envious: longing for what others have

• Judgmental: self righteous towards those who are different from themselves

• Hedonistic: entirely focused on the pleasures of the present moment

• Neglectful: has little interest in the needs of others; absent minded and unreliable

• Violent: expresses emotion through physical assaults

• Self destructive: damages their own well being through unhealthy coping mechanisms

• Machiavellian: self serving and unscrupulous

• Manipulative: coerces others into doing their will

• Fanatical: obsessively devoted to a single subject or cause

• Rebellious: refusing to follow rules or societal norms

• Controlling: micromanages the wellbeing of others

• Miserly: greedy and unwilling to share

• Sadistic: enjoys inflicting pain or causing harm

• Lustful: excessive desire for physical pleasure

• Short tempered: becomes angry easily

• Self absorbed: overly focused on their own feelings

• Gossipy: enjoys talking about others, and likes to spread rumors

• Inconsiderate: forgets to consider the needs of others

• Zealous: obsessed with championing a cause; often associated with religion

• Pretentious: attempts to appear more wealthy, intelligent, or worldly than they really are

• Pedantic: attempts to teach simple concepts to those around them (“mansplaining”)

• Jealous: overly possessive of someone or something

• Spiteful: holding onto a grudge or strong dislike

• Possessive: attempting to control someone’s actions

• Vengeful: set on paying someone back for harm they’ve committed

• Paranoid: driven by irrational fear

• Prejudiced: holding damaging our outdated views of others

• Disloyal: serves their own needs over that of those close to them; low moral standards

• Naïve: innocent and unlearned in the ways of the world

• Clumsy: physically uncoordinated; an external flaw, rather than an internal one

• Anxious: worries excessively

• Competitive: needs to prove themselves the best at everything

• Irresponsible: acts without thinking of the risks or consequences

• Perfectionist: holds themself to an impossible standard

• Cynical: distrustful of human integrity

• Hypocritical: acts in ways that they condone in others

• Cruel: enjoys inflicting emotional harm in others

• Indecisive: lacks the ability to make a concrete choice

From reading these examples, you’re probably getting a sense of which fit into the character descriptions you’ve already explored in your writing. You may also be noticing that many of these character flaws exist on a spectrum. For example, a small amount of possessive jealousy in a character is a manageable personality trait; too much, however, strays into psychological abuse.

This is why it’s important to map out your character’s progress across the story. Flaws can and should change, either for better or for worse.

Examples of effective character flaws in literature

To see how it looks in practice, here are a few examples of classic stories that have utilized character flaws very well.

Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen

Jane Austen’s most famous Regency novel is so driven by character flaws, she named the entire book after them! The story is all about Elizabeth Bennet overcoming her pride at being scorned, and Mr. Darcy overcoming his prejudice against her slightly lackluster family.

But they’re not the only ones who navigate difficult character flaws. Other characters deal with their own negative traits. Jane Bennet struggles with an inability to face negative emotions, while Lydia Bennet is flighty and overly flirtatious. Jane eventually manages her flaw, while Lydia is ultimately punished by them. Then there’s the scoundrel George Wickham, who suffers from greed and commitment issues. He, too, is punished for these flaws.

The author uses these characters to communicate important messages to the readers. She says that if you can overcome your own pride and prejudice, you can live happily ever after. If you let yourself be driven by greed, you’ll end up with a wife who doesn’t like you very much and a meager yearly allowance.

A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens

Perhaps the most famous example of a near-miss tragedy is Dickens’ holiday ghost story. The story focuses on the dynamic arc of a deeply, deeply flawed character, Ebeneezer Scrooge. Scrooge is avaricious, heartless, and a little too wrapped up in his own self importance.

Through Scrooge’s ghostly visitations, the reader learns what would happen if he allowed these flaws to overcome him. He comes to realize that his pursuit of material wealth has been inhibiting him from finding real human connection.

Had he ended up in the grave as the ghost foretold, this story would have been a tragedy. But because he was able to pull himself out of his downward spiral at the last minute, he received a second chance at a better life.

The Great Gatsby, by F Scott Fitzgerald

Fitzgerald’s portrait of the roaring twenties is riddled with messy character flaws. The protagonist, Nick Caraway, is flawed mainly by his antipathy and his inability to act. This paints him as a passive lens through which the reader can examine the actions of the other characters.

Jay Gatsby himself is flawed through his obsessive love, his dishonest portrayal of his old money identity, and his desperate hedonism. The love interest, Daisy, is just as flawed in her own way: she is corrupted by the immoral society and privilege with which she was raised. Together, Daisy and Jay’s fatal flaws lead to Jay’s downfall.

Elevate your story with unique character flaws

One one is perfect, in real life as well as in story, and readers don’t tend to invest as deeply in unrealistically perfect characters. Flaws such as debilitating self doubt or a dubious moral compass offer your characters room to learn and grow—which shows the reader that they can evolve, too.