By Jenn Windrow

As a developmental editor, I spend a lot of time helping authors strengthen their characters. One of the most common issues I encounter isn't that a character is too flawed. It's that they're not flawed enough. They are sunshine and rainbows and sugar and spice.

After all, most writers want readers to like their characters. We want them to root for the hero, fall in love with the love interest, and cheer when they succeed.

But here's the thing: readers don't connect with characters because they're perfect.

They connect with them because they're human. And all humans have flaws. Some more than others, but like the old saying says, “nobody’s perfect.” And your characters shouldn’t be either.

The Problem With Perfect Characters

Think about some of the most popular characters in fiction right now. Many of them are stubborn, reckless, arrogant, secretive, impulsive, or morally gray. Some are assassins. Some are thieves. Some make terrible decisions that leave readers yelling at the page.

And yet readers love them.

Why?

Because flaws create authenticity.

Real people are flawed. We make mistakes. We misjudge situations. We act out of fear, pride, insecurity, and old wounds. When readers see those same imperfections reflected in a character, they recognize something familiar. They see themselves in those flaws and they can relate to them.

Perfection creates distance. Imperfection creates connection.

Flaws Create Conflict

A character who always makes the right decision isn't particularly interesting. In fact, most of them are downright boring. And no one wants to read a story about boring characters doing boring things. They want conflict.

Stories thrive on conflict, and some of the best conflict comes from within.

A character's flaws often become the very thing standing between them and what they want most. The warrior's pride keeps him from asking for help. The heroine's fear of abandonment causes her to push people away. The king's need for control costs him the loyalty of those closest to him.

The flaw isn't just a personality trait. It's a source of tension that drives the story forward.

As writers, we often focus on external obstacles, but sometimes the most powerful obstacle is the one living inside the character's own head. So, as a writer, find that internal flaw, that inner conflict and use it to your advantage.

Morally Gray Doesn't Mean Morally Empty

With the rise of romantasy and dark fantasy, morally gray characters have become incredibly popular. But I think many writers misunderstand what readers love about them. Being morally gray isn't about being cruel, rude, or edgy for the sake of it.

It's about forcing characters to make difficult choices.

Should they choose duty or love? Justice or mercy? Revenge or forgiveness?

The most compelling characters aren't wrestling with easy decisions. They're navigating situations where every option comes with consequences.

Readers don't fall in love with morally gray characters because they're bad. They fall in love with them because they're complicated. And complication means conflict.

The Secret Ingredient: Vulnerability

I've read manuscripts with characters who lie, manipulate, steal, and make one bad decision after another. And sometimes I still love them. Not because of what they're doing, but because I understand why they're doing it.

Vulnerability is what turns a flawed character into a relatable one.

Show me the fear beneath the arrogance. Show me the loneliness beneath the anger. Show me the heartbreak beneath the need for revenge.

When readers understand the emotional wound driving the behavior, they're far more likely to stay invested.

As an editor, one of the questions I ask most often is:

Why is the character behaving this way?

The answer usually leads straight to the heart of who they are.

Flaws Create Growth

Character arcs exist because flaws exist. If your protagonist starts the story with all the answers, what is there left to learn?

Growth comes from struggle. It comes from confronting fears, challenging beliefs, and recognizing the ways we've been standing in our own way. The flaw that creates problems in chapter one often becomes the thing the character must overcome by the final chapter.

That's where transformation happens. And transformation is what readers remember.

Give Your Characters Permission to Be Messy

The next time you're revising a manuscript, take a hard look at your protagonist.

Are they too polished? Too reasonable? Too perfect? Consider giving them a few rough edges. Let them make mistakes. Let them struggle. Let them fail. Most importantly, let them be human.

I put my characters through hell and back, and I am proud of it.

Because readers don't fall in love with perfect characters. They fall in love with flawed characters who keep moving forward anyway.

About Jenn Windrow

Jenn Windrow once attempted to write a “normal” book—and promptly bored herself into a coma. So now she sticks to what she does best: writing snarky, kick-butt heroines, broody supernatural men, and more sexual tension than a vampire in a blood bank.

She’s the award-winning author of the Alexis Black novels and the Redeeming Cupid series, where the undead never sparkle and the drama is always delicious. Jenn moonlights as a developmental editor, helping other writers wrangle their wild plots and tangle-free prose.

When not arguing with her characters or muttering about Oxford commas, she can be found binge-watching trash TV, wrangling the slew of animals that live in her house (husband and teenagers included), or telling herself she’ll only have one more cookie.

You can find her at jennwindrow.com or lurking on social media where she pretends to be an extrovert.

Photo by Random Thinking on Unsplash