It’s Not Always Pleasantville

I’ve recently discovered something that may be holding me back as a writer. Characters, no matter how cool and badass, can’t do everything. They don’t always achieve their goals, they don’t do everything perfectly. They make mistakes. This somewhat falls into the category of not babying your protagonist.

I’ve always known that characters need to have flaws to make them who they are. They need to make mistakes to move the story forward, and to help their development. I’ve tried to put this in...