The Flaw That Sabotages the Goal
A Recipe for Readers’ Nail-Biting
Ever had a character that fell flat?
The potential is there: a rich backstory, snappy voice, solid arc, and cool hat… But something doesn’t click, and you can’t shake off the taste of cardboard.
I have a great technique for such cases:
Give your character a flaw that contradicts their goal—
but make it subconscious.
Let me explain.
What They Want vs. What They Do
We all know the importance of giving your characters flaws. Anger, jealousy, fear of commitment, hubris—the flaw list is endless.
But this tip isn’t about giving your character surface traits. It’s about hidden patterns that actively sabotage the thing they want most. And the key is—they don’t even realize they’re doing it.
Say your protagonist wants love. Great. But what if they also—without knowing it—believe they’re unworthy of love? That belief shows up in little ways: pushing people away, picking emotionally unavailable partners, or cracking jokes when things get real.
They say they want connection, but their actions quietly undermine it.
The tension between the two will get your readers biting their nails in anguish and delight.
Why This Works So Well
People who need a positive arc—i.e. people who have a deep wound or flaw to overcome, or in other words, 99% of humankind—often sabotage themselves without realizing it. They might not even realize the wound or flaw is there. It’s as human as it gets.
The reader, however, is often quick to understand what’s going on. This gap between what the reader knows and what the character knows adds depth, tension, and strong emotion.
And it leads to the kind of arcs that readers remember. Because we’ve all been there—repeating patterns we can’t quite name, even when they’re getting in our way.
Quick Example
Let’s say you’re writing a heist story. Your lead, Maya, wants to pull off the job of a lifetime and retire. But she has an unconscious need to prove she’s the smartest person in the room—because she grew up being told she wasn’t.
So even though the smart move is to play it safe, she keeps taking bigger risks to prove herself. Eventually, that flaw threatens the whole job… and forces her to choose: ego or survival?
Boom. Now you’ve got a character arc and great conflict—both driven by the same internal contradiction.
A Little Prompt to Try
Think about your current protagonist. What’s their main goal?
Now ask:
“What belief, behavior, or wound could secretly keep them from achieving it?”
They might not see it—but you should.
If this helped, feel free to like and share this post so more writers can bring their characters to life in sharper, deeper ways.
More next week!