Avoid ‘Em Like the Plague

By Windsong

 

Ah, the ever-popular fanfic “perfect character.” You know the ones: always in a cheerful mood (though this may be a good and dynamic characteristic for a naturally happy person, normal  characters’ faces and feelings are not set in a permanent smile), coming away from every battle unscathed, knowing exactly what to say in every social situation, always having that spare dagger handy (“just in case”), friend to everyone; essentially never screwing up. Has your blood pressure risen yet?

 

A perfect character can affect the story itself. A large, scary-looking cloud labeled in big neon letters “Boring” always hovers about the stories having one or more perfect characters prancing through the sentences. And, as these positively charming (*seethe*) personalities are without fault, there is no way for them to grow or develop throughout the story. You have no flaws, you have no story.  Ever heard your dad (or grandpa) say, “If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it”? That applies to story writing. If your character is completely without fault, that leaves nothing for you to do while writing your story. They might as well be sitting in a field plucking daisies somewhere (Hmmmm…the male characters might not appreciate that very much. I guess we could cart them off to this mysterious place where all fanfic characters learn how to fight “better than anyone in their [insert group here].”). And that would make for a very uninteresting read. Characters should have faults of some kind or another.

 

            Personality flaws generally make a story. A character who is extremely spontaneous may blurt things out more than he should, but usually this endears him to the readers. A person who is irrepressibly funny (even at the inopportune moments) may become a reader's favorite character, transforming a good story into a great story. This also gives you somewhere to go in the way of a parallel that runs along your main sequence of events. If your character is growing and maturing, learning from his mistakes and slowly smoothing out his flaws, your story suddenly becomes realistic—what happens as real life progresses; your readers can clearly see the change that has been brought upon your main character. And, because most of us aren’t perfect warriors, readers tend to identify with someone who messes up, just like them.

 

             Connecting your readers with the character and creating dynamic characters is most of the battle when it comes to writing. For that reason, Perfect Pam or Flawless Floyd doesn’t fly with publishers and story contest judges. As I mentioned before, a perfect character brings the  entire story to a grinding and painful halt. The story goes nowhere; therefore, it’s not a good one.

 

            The most extraordinary stories are the ones about ordinary people. Readers will be more interested in reading how Joe Schmoe saved the world instead of flipping through pages riddled with the name "Superman". Superman is predictable. He's unnaturally strong, can fly through the air, has a nifty-looking cape, and does cool stuff with his laser eyes. He's perfect. We already know that it's possible for him to save the world. We already have guessed that he will likely accomplish it. The only thing left to wonder at is how he’ll be the hero, which only gives you an interesting but very short last page or two. But what about Joe, with arms like string beans, coke-bottle glasses, and a lisp? Could he defend Chicago from an underground network of serial killers? That's when things begin to get interesting and your readers wonder what will happen next. The world isn’t filled with Supermans (Supermen?), and your stories shouldn’t be either.  One suggestion I’d give would be to simply study how real people act and react in different situations. Write your observations down (Okay, so you don’t have to write them down, but it  would help.). Believe me, it’ll put a spin on your characters as you develop them. 

 

             Perfect isn’t always good. Character development is an area where imperfection is better.