Creating flaws for a likable character

i'm writing a chracter who is intended to be likable, but I can't think of any 'actual' flaws. I don't want to make him into an annoying Canon Sue, but at the same time he is supposed to be 'a pretty good guy.' Are there any flaws in particular that can be used well, but without being comepletely unforgivable?

I Think that is impossible to have a "likeable character" that doesn't have any flaws(except for counted situations). In fact chractwrs are often more liked for their flaws than their virtues.

Keep in mind that flaws aren't unforgivable, actions mIght be depending to who you ask...

edited 6th Aug '12 8:13:25 PM by FallenLegend

Well, here's a small tip- all 'flaws' and 'good traits' are subjective. Almost any trait can be spun around into a flaw when setting, cultural biases from not only author and reader, but also in-story, and other circumstances are taken into account.

Think about people that you know in real life- all people have flaws, no matter how perfect or idealized they seem. Does having a flaw in personality or character make you automatically despise that person? I hope not, but you get the point. However, a flaw in real life ultimately makes sense for the person.

You have to do the same when writing a character- look at this character's backstory, personality, and other factors and see what makes sense, or else you'll end up with something like what you're afraid of. Many inexperienced authors tend to look at their characters and, upon realizing that they're getting Sueish, will tack on an easily-airbrushed flaw such as shyness, flaws that are too-easily spun into a good thing such as a temper that only explodes on bad guys, or what's called an Informed Flaw, such as being a bad cook without ever cooking a thing in-story. In a departure from real life, a character's flaw should also impact them in ways that are seen in-story, such as arrogance driving people away or disorganization getting them in trouble with their boss. The thought from the reader if the flaw has no impact or never comes up is generally something akin to 'well, why do they have that flaw?'

And as a final note, Mary Sue litmus tests, except for the one that jewelleddragon made on this site, should not be completely trusted. And probably not even that, because there is no mathematical method of determining the quality of a character.

So, TL;DR: flaws are subjective, but should fit into the character without being tacked-on. They should also actually impact the character in-story. And don't put too much stock into Mary Sue litmus tests. I hope all that helps!

edited 6th Aug '12 8:16:58 PM by CrystalGlacia

There are plenty of flaws that can be used without making the character unlikeable. I'd say pretty much all of them, actually. Pride is a good one. Impulsiveness (used as a flaw, that is). Stubbornness, or conversely, a tendency to be too easily swayed. Insensitivity to other people's feelings. Laziness.

Really, the only flaw I can think of that would make me seriously dislike a character all on its own is spitefulness, and even that can be thrown in in small quantities without it being too bad.

Words to live by. Flaws and personality traits have to come organically from a character's upbringing and backstory, not something which needs to be added just for the sake of it.

Wait, you want an in-universe likeable character or audience-reaction likeable character? Or a character the audience would like as a person if they met?

And as for the jewelleddragon MS litmus test, don't trust that either. As a writer it's best to listen to everyone (except actual trolls) but never put too much weight on their words. This applies to any and all MS litmus tests.

edited 7th Aug '12 9:53:55 AM by peccantis

He's supposed to be a nice guy in-universe. I'd like him to be a likable audience reaction character also (even though I know that's almost impossible to control)

A "nice guy" could have any number of flaws and still be considered nice. To be a nice guy simply means he has some level of empathy and some propensity to act on said empathy. You could have any other number of traits, positive or negative.

You know I as going ask a similar question in the Random Questions Thread but now I have my answer. Thanks a lot!!!

On a similar note... would fashioning a character in the style of a Hipster count as a flaw and/or make him/her less likable?

Only if you portray it as something negative. While there are some people who despise all things hipster and some who love it, anything can be spun into a good or bad thing. On its own, I, personally, would not despise a hipster character and don't really see anything inherently wrong about it.

edited 8th Aug '12 4:03:42 AM by CrystalGlacia

The entire cast of Scott Pilgrim is made up of hipsters, with some incredibly likable (Kim Pines! Wallace Wells! Stephen Stills!), some incredibly unlikable (Gideon, Envy Adams, Julie Powers), and the leads in between (Scott Pilgrim, Ramona Flowers).

It all depends on what you're using it for. Like Crystal Glacia said, most things can be run positively or negatively. Being single minded can either make you and wildly insane extremist who refuses to compromise with anyone or a Determinator dependant on how you use it.

If you're portraying the character as elitist and disapproving of anything mainstream as the most prominent trait of being a self-defined hipster (such as the often mocked idea of "I was liking [x], but then it became mainstream"), then it's probably going to come off as negative and make them less likable because they are smug. However, if you use their "hipster" side to make the character one who likes to pick and choose, ignoring the concept of popularity, then it can come off as just a general trait and can swing either direction. There are very many ways to swings this into a positive trait as well.

Thanks for the insight. At the moment, I'm being very superficial about the term and using it as a one-off joke with the character looking in the mirror one day and realising (much to her dismay) that she looked like a goddamned hipster.

I was then contemplating to have her go on to essentially be a hipster in denial (though the label 'hipster' isn't really further referenced) in terms of her personality and interests; particularly in her dress sense (a standard outfit of video game tee, flannel shirt and jeans +/- fingerless gloves, headphones and/or flat cap), willingness to eschew the popular crowd in order to decide for herself who she befriends and interacts with (defying the ingrained social class system by preferring the company of lower class characters over the snooty upper-crust characters around her), and overall loner mentality (having been raised in foster care).

Another idea I had was to turn it into a running gag with her occasionally finding stuff like a keffiyeh, brightly coloured jeans and non-prescription glasses in her wardrobe and be horrified by them.

edited 8th Aug '12 9:50:27 AM by peasant