Writing: Character's Worst Flaw
Similar to motives, each character has a trait they cannot control. This is also known as the character's worst flaw, or neurosis as a technical term.
More often than not, the character’s worst flaw will get them in trouble. It will cause conflict and provide obstacles that will sidetrack the protagonist from reaching their goal. For villains, this flaw will lead to their ultimate downfall. For protagonists, it’s something they must overcome at some point in the story, with determination or strength. Anti heroes always have this major flaw; it almost always brings them to their downfall.
Some common worst flaws are:
Arrogance/Pride (Ex: Oepidus, from Oepidus the King)
Anger (Ex: Anakin Skywalker, from Darth Vader: Star Wars)
Fear/Phobia (Ex: Indiana Jones and his fear of snakes, from Indiana Jones)
Greed (Ex: Agamemnon, from The Iliad)
Curiosity (Pandora, from the ancient Greek myth Pandora’s Box)Some other notable ones are insecurity, impulsiveness, and cowardice. Sometimes worst flaws are uncontrollable needs the character has, like a need for love or a need for recognition. Other uncontrollable needs may include:
Need for Affection: This is the need to be liked, the need to please others, the need to have a romantic partner. People like this fear anger and hostility from others, and are extremely sensitive to rejection.
Need for Approval: Similar to the need for affection. People with this need are always struggling to please everyone around them and have everything they do be approved by others.
Need for Power: Usually a villain or anti-hero trait. They are constantly seeking praise and despise weakness of any kind. They often dominate and exploit others for their own needs. These people fear being in uncontrollable situations, being helpless, and having their power limited.
Need to Keep Life Restricted: This is often a protagonist trait. A person with this trait are undemanding and wish to remain unnoticed. They often undervalue themselves and their skills. They don’t seek out trouble and don’t have particularly large personal goals. They fear life getting out of hand or being forced into situations outside their personal circle.
Need for Prestige: These people have a need to be famous and wish for public acclaim. They evaluate everything on a prestige status. Obviously, these people will fear public embarrassment and a loss of social status.
Need to Exploit Others: People with this trait often see others in terms of what can be gained by them. They are focused on manipulating people for personal desires such as money, sex, or power. People like this would fear being seen for what they do, or being distrusted.
Need for Personal Admiration: This is mostly a narcissistic trait. People with this trait have an exaggerated view on themselves and put themselves on a high pedestal. Their need would be to have everyone else see them the exact same way they see themselves. People like this would fear things like being hated, being undervalued, or being unnoticed.
Need for Perfection: People with this need strive for perfection. They’re constantly evaluating themselves for small flaws and work to fix those neurotically. Things they might fear would be an inability to overcome a flaw or having too many.
Need for Independence: These are people who are loners and wish to distance themselves from people. Their worst fears would be to become dependent on someone or being tied down to other people.These are just some examples of major flaws your character might have. It’s also common for a character to have more than one flaw, but those are usually secondary or minor flaws and depending on the plot, may or may not change.
