For the story I'm currently working on, one of the main characters seems…flawless. And that's not good because literally every other character has flaws. Her future boyfriend doesn't take anything seriously, her sister is hot-headed and emotional. But for her, I got nothing. I've been so focused on making her such a nice and caring person, that no one could actually dislike, that I've forgotten to make her have flaws. She's a great advice-giver, sweetheart, amazing friend. She's involved in so many volunteer organizations like Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity. I don't think any dialouge I've written that involves her is bad or makes her out to be anything more than a nice person.
Well, I'm no expert, but you could make her too quick to speak. Have her give unwanted advice, even if it is good advice, not everybody wants it. I bet she probably doesn't care very much for the people who slack off when work is at hand, so again with the too quick to speak, she could go up and try and get them to help out. Idk, just a suggestion.
I've been so focused on making her such a nice and caring person
Maybe you could have her be someone who is still nice, but almost to a fault. She cares so much about other people, that she spreads herself too thin. She doesn't like to say no to people, even when it's really inconvenient for her.
She's involved in so many volunteer organizations like Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity
Maybe she could be someone who is in it for the wrong reasons. Like, she spends her time volunteering with these organizations, but only so that she can brag about what an amazing person she is.
@Starfast Well the problem with that is, her entire character is meant to be….nice. Her name, Amity, means kindness, peace, and friendship and that's why the story is called Finding Amity. She brings people together. Her whole reason for being involved in those clubs was because of her wanting to help people less fourtanate than her and her family. There's an entire part where she reveals that she's in so many organizations because her mother died, and she wanted to help people who were going through something similar. Her (kinda spoiler)) death at the end of the story comes as a shock to everyone, because how could something so awful happen to someone so caring and kind. About the thing of her not being able to say no, or being so nice she kinda appears fake or annoying, that's one thing that people think about her. Her ex-boyfriend was abusive, and she never said anything about it. She tries to stop her friend and future boyfriend from attacking him after he hits her. There's several popular kids in the story that don't like her because she seems too cheerful and happy.
Her ex-boyfriend was abusive, and she never said anything about it. She tries to stop her friend and future boyfriend from attacking him after he hits he
It sounds to me like maybe people might be taking advantage of her (or at least there's potential for that to happen). Also, I don't know too much about abusive relationships, but that kind of thing can be incredibly traumatic. I'd recommend doing some research because that could open up some possibilities for flaws (maybe she has a hard time trusting people?)
If not, I honestly don't know what to tell you other than you might need to sub out some of her positive traits in lieu of some flaws. I get that it's important to the story for her to be nice, but she can't be perfect.
If not, I honestly don't know what to tell you other than you might need to sub out some of her positive traits in lieu of some flaws.
Hang on, I'm back with better advice. Maybe just tone things down a little bit. Like, maybe she can still be good at giving advice, but every now and then she gives advice that's actually not that helpful or she just doesn't know what to say. Maybe instead of being involved with multiple charities, she only volunteers for like 1 or 2. That sort of thing?
Also, here's a pretty extensive list of character flaws. Obviously, some of these traits won't work for your character, but there might be some on here that you haven't thought of that might work for your character and her story
https://writerswrite.co.za/123-ideas-for-character-flaws/
Actually, yeah I think I have a few ideas now. Like RainyDayArtist said, make her too quick to speak. I always though traits like "too pretty" or "too nice" weren't really flaws, because those are things people try to be. But, I feel like I can do something to make her seem more…realistic. Now that I think about it, she's only involved in Habitat for Humanity, environmental club, Red Cross club, and Amnesty International. I think another thing I'm gonna do is make her seem, idk naive to some things? Which might not make the most sense because she's very down to Earth, was with her mother when she died, and also was domestically abused, but I feel like I'll make her the kind of person that assumes the best in everyone, no matter how badly they've treated her. She's not the kind of person who points out every five seconds that she's very nice, but she's also not the type to point out how she's mean or not caring. I also think I'm gonna make her give advice or offer help, when it isn't needed, or when she doesn't know exactly how to help.
I don't know if this will still help, but I remember getting advice one time about flaws, and I actually really liked what they told me.
Make your characters good qualities their weakness. Like if your character is independent, have them rush into things and not listen to anybody. If they are really smart, make them pretentious and snobby. If they're loving, make them try too hard and intrude on things. So like you said your character was really nice and good at giving advice, then maybe she tries too hard and kind of butts in to conversations, or she's kind of a doormat.
You can also use examples in your life. I have a friend who is really nice and loving, but sometimes she can get annoying, and she sometimes seems fake. I also know that she consciously tries to be nice, but also doesn't want to be a push over, so she has a lot of confidence issues and struggles with her mental health sometimes. For most of my character flaws, I find people that I know that are kind or really open, and I look at their flaws and kind of use that.
I really don't know if this is any help, but it's what I do.
I saw u say smthn about making her more realistic. Maybe something like she tries her best to do the right thing, to help in any way she can and make everything okay to the point she overworks herself. At some point it get's to much and she unnaturally lashes out. OR it's too much and she breaks down because there's everyone expecting so much of her. Maybe she disregards her peers advice to just take time for herself.
