"Character Flaws"

"Character Flaws"
by Mark O'Bannon
'In many ways, a story is a way to experience emotions through other people - the characters in your story. Every story runs along two separate tracks: The SPINE of the story, and the HEART of the story. One is about the DESIRE of the character, the other is about the NEED of the character. One track deals with the OUTER MOTIVATION, the other deals with INNER MOTIVATION.'

'Emotional storytelling is all about the NEED of the character. The need describes how the character is broken at the beginning of the story. The need to change forms the basis of the character arc. The need comes from a main character flaw, or a weakness.'

'There are two kinds of character flaws:
A Psychological Weakness - This is a character trait within the hero which is destorying his life. Think of pride, cowardice, vengeance, and distrust. 

A Moral Weakness - This is a character flaw that harms the main character and also other people. So when designing a flaw for your hero, ask yourself, "How is this harming other people?" and "How is the hero living at the expense of others?"' 

'The way to create a hypnotic-like attraction for the characters in your story, give your hero character flaws. Use this weakness as the basis of the entire emotional story.'

'We all love seeing broken characters overcome their flaws.'

http://www.betterstorytelling.net/advancedwriting/characterflaws.html

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