Are Your Characters Too Perfect?
Are your characters ever wrong?
Everyone says you need conflict to move and engage the reader. Most of us create conflict through a bad guy or a bad situation. But if you really want some depth in your characters, let the protagonist or even the bad guy, be wrong.
Yeah, yeah, the bad guy is wrong by definition, but what if he gives his henchman the wrong address and an innocent person is killed. (I am reminded of the many fiascos in Fargo the TV series.) Now he owes the assassin, still has the problem, and is low on funds.
Now let the protagonist be wrong. There is more than one way to rachet up conflict. Kiefer Sutherland’s 24 TV series had plenty of bad guys but Sutherland’s screw ups in his personal life made everything worse. Gus and Call in Lonesome Dove were soiled protagonists. It gave them depth and unpredictability…tension for the audience.
Your assignment is to check out your characters and see if they are too right too often. Would they be more interesting, less predictable if they made unforced errors?
Hmmm…
