How To Write Character Flaws like Brandon Sanderson & Joe Abercrombie | WritingCraft

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Flawed characters breathe life into our narratives, allowing readers to embark on emotional journeys filled with triumphs, failures, and personal growth. By embracing character flaws, we create relatable protagonists who mirror the complexities of the human condition. Writers can improve their stories by keeping in mind the reader-character connection and strive to ensure that readers can sympathize with their characters.
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[@CapturedInWords]

This video was sponsored by Brilliant. To try everything Brilliant has to offer-free-for a full 30 days, visit brilliant.org/CapturedinWords/ . The first 200 of you will get 20% off Brilliant’s annual premium subscription. Who is your favorite flawed character?

[@Avarn388]

One of my favorite examples to create a character flaw is to base it off a character wound. A wound is usually something that comes from a character’s backstory and often acts as a stumbling ground for said character with regards to the external and internal conflict. A very good example of this is Aang from Last Airbender. His core wound is that he wished he could have had a normal life. The byproduct being that as the Avatar, his entire life was changed in a way that was beyond his control. Thus he ran away and his entire group of people suffered a genocide. This ties well with the external conflict, defeating the Fire Lord because mastering all four elements is about him fully embracing the title. Inner conflict we see this with Aang needing to accept what happened and facing his problems head on. In short core wounds can help you in that it creates a connection between external and internal conflict, like interwoven rope or string. As opposed to two separate threads.

[@tobeydasilva4464]

Love this new series! Such a good idea especially for those new to writing.

[@CapturedInWords]

Thank you! Making videos on writing really gets me inspired and focused on enhancing my own writing, so i hope to share that passion and inspiration with other writers, and hopefully provide some useful insights :)

[@elyam.]

Barry Allen on the flash breaks me really hard as he deeps into any pit to just get what he wants messing up with everyone or anything 😢 DAMN BARRY

[@Pharysz]

Beautiful video as always :) Quick questions: Where do you find those stunning wallpapers which you include in all of your videos?

[@CapturedInWords]

Thank you! :) I find most the art that I use in my videos from ArtStation

[@Pharysz]

@@CapturedInWords Thank you so much! :)

[@heavymetalelf]

Excellent rundown! Thank you

[@Gundam00257]

Great content!

[@makaamaka]

Great stuff buddy. You just won me over. Subscribed thnx

[@Royalscriber5633]

I've been trying hard to work out a revenge character for a while now and him losing himself to rage often is probably his biggest flaw after a tragic story beginning. Trying to bring him back on the right path is difficult but I have a few ides on how to do it but my biggest issue is how far can he go and still be realistically redeemable considereding certain circumstances

[@thekwjiboo]

Oh wow, somehow my channel membership ran out! Don't worry, I wasn't abandoning you, I just renewed it and was happy I did!

[@LynxxMan]

STANNIS IS THE RIGHTFUL KING, HE IS FLAWLESS.

[@Halfsaladzw]

Erm, how far with part 2 of TWMF please?

[@ryanmars509]

You've completely missed the point of a Mary Sue. It's not just that they lack flaws, or are improbably capable. It's that they distort the world around them so that they're the only one who matters. When Mary Sue is on the scene, Spock becomes less capable of doing science, so she can solve the problem single-handedly and he gets to praise her for it. Buffy becomes worse at fighting, so Jonathan can save the day. Without that key element, they may be a boring, perfect character, but they aren't a Mary Sue.

[@Pengalen]

I understand everything you said, but I'm really not sure how to apply this. Also, most of your examples were not things I'm familiar with, so it's hard to concretize the advice.

[@carlosroo5460]

5:31 Or has some like to call (And rightfully so) Kathleen Kennedy self-inserts.

[@grifflancer2999]

Those 2 books have awfully written characters.

[@jajj_draws]

dude excellent stuff!! look out for me in the next couple of years... I'm working on a comic book passion project, and as a long time fan of this channel and your content I have been watching your writing tips videos religiously. I will definitely be reaching out for critique and review when my first chunk of story is finished!

[@CapturedInWords]

That's great to hear! I'm excited to follow your progress and see your comic book project come to life. Thanks for being a fan of the channel and watching my writing videos! :)

[@Johanna_reads]

Tragic flaws for the win (ahem, Cersei Lannister)! Love what you said about how character flaws find new expression in the presence of other flawed characters. Would love to watch a video expanding on that concept as an extension to this one. 😊

[@CapturedInWords]

Cersei is a great example, such a complex character!! Gladx you enjoyed the video, I may make a similar video expanding on some of the points here in the future 😊

[@ambeatch]

Great contrnt. I lookword to your novel when it's finished. As a mostly audio book user I hope it becomes available in audio form.

[@CapturedInWords]

Thank you!! I will definitely make sure my series will be available in audio book format

[@Hammy900]

I want to write my own stories. I think whats more important is finding that balance of character strength and weakness. Both are important to make fully realized characters. For example, a character with only strength is boring and can't grow like a real person, a person with only flaws is frustrating and also can't grow or change. Both are needed to form the foundation of a good character for stories like The Wheel of Time or Stormlight Archive. Just like external conflict and internal conflict, both are needed. At least that's what I think. Great video Jay!

[@CapturedInWords]

I agree with your insight! A well-rounded character needs to have that perfect balance. Thanks for watching!

[@Tusk7]

One of the best videos I've seen on characters flaws, this really helped me figure it out for my characters.

[@louisianalevy7484]

Robin Hobb is also great with character flaws, Burrich is a great example of this. His past history with “the wit” colors his treatment of Fitz and when his backstory is revealed you really get to appreciate his depth and connect with him emotionally. ❤

[@toomuchtimeonourhands2891]

Sanderson's characters overcome their flaws, Abercrombie's do not

[@currangill430]

Mythology is actually the og of flawed characters. So perfect characters don't work there either lol.

[@IndiaTides]

Are you writing a book?

[@SlowBurnReader]

Excitingly yes! He has talked about it in other videos

[@CapturedInWords]

Yes, I'm working on my own fantasy series 😄

[@IndiaTides]

@@CapturedInWordsGreat to know. Series is monumental task. Best of luck. I liked Daniel's approach of publishing novella before novel. I will eagerly wait for name of the book.

[@CapturedInWords]

@@IndiaTides It's definitely a monumental task 😅 Especially since I'm trying to tie this first series in with a second series I want to write after. Lots of planning and structuring! I do have some rough ideas for some novella's that take place in the same world, and I'm starting to think it might be good to start with one of these, just so I can get that first story written and improve from there. We'll see!

[@mageprometheus]

Thanks. Always interesting and educational.

[@ld_raine4247]

Video starts @3:10

[@PatrickRyanBookReviews]

My least favorite flaw for a main character is addiction, specifically when they're already addicted before the book begins. It's one thing if something drives them to it and their downward spiral into addiction is part of the narrative, but if it's just a weakness that was assigned to an overpowered character at the very beginning then I no longer relate to the character and instead view it as the author forcing conflict into the story and not letting it come organically.

[@stanislavstoimenov1729]

When it comes to flaws, we should remember that we all are the sum of the qualities of our shortcomings and the shortcomings of our qualities.

[@vivic.k.c.4244]

Another great video! Thank you Jay!

[@CapturedInWords]

Thanks!! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@DiegoM163]

3:47 Cough... Joffrey... Cough cough

[@mumbles2518]

A flawed character is fine, a stupid character is not.

[@ihavepermissiontospamracia7794]

Imagine a protagonist that thinks their the main character, while the actual main character is having an adventure somewhere else

[@unknowngod8221]

actually that could be a good story and flaw because it's kinda like overconfident flaw or arrogant but way more