Inspired by the Pendragon Variety Podcast relaunch episode—in which the Pendragon ladies vamp on the topic: “Character Flaws – Balancing Your Character’s Awesome”—I decided to expound on… uh… character flaws.

First things first: We’re all told that our characters should have “flaws.” But what are these mythical creatures? What makes a flaw?

• any imperfection in a character?
• something that gets the character into trouble?
• something that makes us unsympathetic to the character's plight?
• something that keeps the character from meeting his needs?
• a dysfunctional character behavior or habit?
• a self-defeating character trait?
• a physical characteristic?
• an emotional characteristic?

While many authors and commentators ask this question, I’m not sure many have given a good answer.