To break it down further, positive attributes are traits that produce personal growth or help a character achieve goals through healthy means. They also enhance one's relationships and benefit other characters in some way. Honorable, for instance, is easy to place on the positive side of the personality wheel.
A truly honorable character is going to use healthy measures to achieve success, and because of his nature, he can't help but aid others and strengthen his relationships along the way.#429•
Characters are all about self-discovery, finding meaning, and achieving goals. They're usually seeking to improve themselves in some way—at work, in personal relationships, spiritually, or through self-growth. But time and again, their flaws sabotage them, blocking them from gaining what they want both on a conscious and subconscious level.
It's ironic, really; who they are and what they want are often at odds, making it difficult for them to achieve success#417•
But the most crippling factor—the one that authors should always strive to unearth from their characters' pasts—is emotional trauma. Old hurts can have a huge impact on our characters, influencing their current behavior. Emotionally painful events like these are called wounds and are profoundly powerful.
This defining emotional experience from a character's past is so debilitating that she'll do anything to avoid suffering the same kind of pain again#420•
Wounds are often kept secret from others because embedded within them is the lie—an untruth that the character believes about himself. He may think that he deserved what happened to him, or that he's unworthy of affection, love or happiness, etc. Self-blame and feelings of shame are usually deeply embedded within the lie, generating fears that compel him to change his behavior in order to keep from being hurt again.#423•
Most importantly, hidden behind the persona is the lie that creates the character's flawed behavior and negative thinking. As mentioned earlier, this lie is different for each character and stems from their emotional wound.#424•
Introduction
For example, if a man believes he is unworthy of love (the lie) because he was unable to stop his fiancée from being shot during a robbery (the wound), he may adopt attitudes, habits, and negative traits that make him undesirable to other women. If he does grow close to someone, he might sabotage the relationship before it can become too serious.
He may also avoid situations in which he is responsible for others, believing that he will only fail them in the end.#5470•
Due to their unconventionality, flaky characters add interest to a story. Their defining characteristics are usually ones that don't normally go together, making them truly unique. Because they're expected to be unpredictable, flaky characters can usually get away with things that regular people can't.#1492•
Flaky characters don't live by the same rules as everyone else, making them unpredictable and unreliable. They may be perfectly content with changeability, flitting from interest to interest, but their lack of structure frustrates others and makes cooperation difficult. The flaky character's idea of success may differ from that of her co-workers, causing strife at work.
Even simple conversation might be hard, since she may not adhere to the accepted norms for common topics such as politics, entertainment, and current events.
Relationships may struggle when the flaky character supports a friend one day but then disagrees the next, or her lack of filter and careless words cause offense#1502•
The martyr's need for love is often met by the empathy or attention of others, which they hope to receive by proving how unappreciated they are. But their constant complaining quickly becomes a drain when those around them realize that the martyr will never be satisfied, that any resolved problem will merely be replaced with a new one.
Although a martyr will express dissatisfaction with life, they usually refuse help, since their problems are necessary for them to gain the empathy they seek.
After a while, they lose credibility and people begin to placate or ignore them, which heightens the martyr's need for validation.#1504•
The Role of Flaws within the Character Arc: Complicating the Journey
The internal change that a character undergoes over the course of a story is called the character arc.#427•
The outer motivation is what the character wants to achieve, and the outer conflict is the element that's stopping him from attaining that goal#419•
Compelling and multi-dimensional stories also consist of an inner journey that parallels the external one. For every outer motivation, there should be an inner motivation; this is the reason the character wants to achieve his goal, and it's almost always an effort, in some way, to gain greater self-worth.
This inner motivation should be accompanied by an inner conflict: the flaws and/or lies within the character that stand in the way of him achieving his inner motivation.#422•
A character arc works best when it mirrors the ups and downs of the outer story. As the character strives to overcome an antagonist or challenge, so must he overcome himself and his greatest fears. Throughout the arc, the damaged character must face himself and his shortcomings. To emerge healed and whole, he must acknowledge his wound and see the lie for what it is.
Once he is able to let go of his false belief, the lie that has motivated his actions to this point will no longer control his life.#426•
The Role of Flaws within Relationships: Creating Friction
SPARKS
This low-level friction often manifests as impatience, frustration, irritation, and disappointment—all of which bubble mostly under the surface, affecting a character's mood, judgment, and perception. Outwardly it might cause a verbal exchange that shows a difference of opinions or beliefs. The character may disagree with, doubt the competency of, or pass judgment on another person in the scene.
Sparks can strain a friendship, causing one character#421•