Character Flaws

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People seem to hate giving flaws to their perfect character but oh my goodness just do it. It's such a good way to write a better character, believe me. People will hate your character if they're too perfect. And no, having an abusive family is NOT a flaw, being ugly is NOT a flaw, and having a disability is NOT a character flaw.

Minor character flaws don't affect the plot, but they do help build a basic grounding for your character. These could be:
-Sarcasm
-A minor fear (a fear of spiders, a fear of the dark)
-Self-deprecation
-Know-it-all
-Obnoxiousness
-Stuttering

Major character flaws shape your character a little more. These could be:
-People pleaser
-A defining fear (fear of being alone, fear of failure)
-Paranoia
-Selfishness
-Egoist
-Judgmental

Fatal character flaws define a character and are good set up of character development.  These flaws should and/or need to be recognized for the character to overcome them. These could be:
-Life changing fear (fear of death, fear of fear, fear of being forgotten)
-Inflated pride
-Holding grudges
-Physically abusive to other characters
-Toxic character traits
-Disrespectfulness
-Lack of interest in others
-Self absorbed/narcissism
-Lack of loyalty
-Liar

Tragic flaws can be the undoing of a character.  These don't get overcome often and can lead to making a character a villain or become the cause of their downfall/reverse character arc. These could be:
-Need for praise
-Pride drives all their decisions
-A need to hurt themselves or others
-Obsessions that lead to something problematic
-Having no fear
-Having too much fear of big unknowns
-Having fear of not being the best

I had to look for prompts to find these so if you come up with any others or have questions, ask them in the comments.

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