75+ Character Flaws To Use In Fiction Writing (with Examples)

What are character flaws?

Character flaws are negative aspects of a character’s personality. They affect characters in undesirable ways, though some flaws aren’t as negative as others. They range from slightly detrimental to extremely harmful! For example, a boring character isn’t fun to be around, but there’s nothing truly bad about them. By contrast, a murderous character is (for obvious reasons) much more dangerous and villainous. All character flaws typically have consequences of some kind, depending on how severe the flaw is (and the character in question). Character flaws can also manifest differently based on the personality of each character and their role in the story. Overall, there are three categories of character flaws: minor, major, and fatal. Your characters can have flaws from multiple categories if you want.

Types of Character Flaws

Minor character flaws A minor flaw is something small that doesn’t affect the character’s life too much beyond making them feel more realistic and memorable to readers. Minor flaws might affect a character’s behavior rather than their overall story; though they can be bothersome, they can also be endearing sometimes. Awkward - socially inept and uncomfortable. Example: Jess Day (New Girl) Boring - dull and lacking enthusiasm or energy in life. Example: Bella Swan (Twilight) Capricious - impulsive and prone to suddenly changing their mind. Example: Romeo (Romeo & Juliet) Chatterbox - the tendency to talk constantly but without any substance. Example: Jaskier (The Witcher) Childish - immature and prone to child-like behavior. Example: Peter Pan (Peter Pan) Clumsy - uncoordinated and prone to accidents. Example: Tonks (Harry Potter) Cynical - pessimistic and distrustful of other people’s intentions. Example: Gregory House (House, MD) Foolish - lacking good judgment and acting unwisely. Example: Donkey (Shrek!) Gossipy - prone to spreading rumors and talking about other people’s private lives. Example: Lydia Bennet (Pride & Prejudice) Gullible - easily duped or persuaded into believing things. Example: Forrest Gump (Forrest Gump) Humorless - overly serious and lacking a sense of humor. Example: Angela Martin (The Office) Independent - not dependent on anyone to the point of not asking for help when they need it. Example: Elizabeth Bennet (Pride & Prejudice) Lazy - unwilling to work or exert effort when they’re supposed to. Example: Homer Simpson (The Simpsons) Meek - submissive and reluctant to stand up for themselves. Example: Jerry Gergich (Parks and Recreation) Mischievous - enjoys playfully causing trouble. Example: Bugs Bunny (Looney Tunes) Moody - often grumpy or irritable even when it’s uncalled for. Example: Heathcliff (Wuthering Heights) Naïve - a tendency to get taken advantage of because of their trusting nature. Example: Primrose Everdeen (The Hunger Games) Nervous - a tendency to be anxious and easily alarmed. Example: Hazel Grace Lancaster (The Fault in Our Stars) Obnoxious - unpleasant to be around and often annoying. Example: Ross Geller (Friends) Prideful - egotistical and having an overly high opinion of themselves. Example: Mr. Darcy (Pride & Prejudice) Shallow - incapable of serious thought and only concerned with trivial things. Example: Daisy and Tom Buchanan (The Great Gatsby) Skeptical - doubtful and prone to disbelieving things. Example: Temperance Brennan (Bones) Spacey - absent-minded and sometimes being out-of-touch with reality. Example: Luna Lovegood (Harry Potter) Spoiled - self-centered due to overindulgence from others. Example: Veruca Salt (Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory) Stubborn - headstrong and unwilling to change their opinions or attitude. Example: Nynaeve (The Wheel of Time) Vain - overly concerned with physical appearances and looks. Example: Gaston (Beauty and the Beast) Workaholic - devoting too much time and energy to work. Example: Hermione Granger (Harry Potter)

Major character flaws Major character flaws are pretty serious and will definitely impact a character's story (and life) in a big way. Major flaws can be emotional, mental, or physical, and a character may end up trying to atone for their flaws or simply overcome them over the course of the story; they’re significant but not necessarily unforgivable. These flaws include things like being: Adulterous - cheating on their spouse or significant other. Example: Hester Prynne (The Scarlet Letter) Apathetic - uncaring and lacking concern or emotion, even for important things. Example: Holden Caulfield (The Catcher in the Rye) Arrogant - having an exaggerated sense of their own worth and abilities. Example: Cal Hockley (Titanic) Belligerent - prone to being hostile and aggressive. Example: Tyler Durden (Fight Club) Bitter - angry and resentful because of past experiences. Example: Scarlett O’Hara (Gone with the Wind) Cowardly - lacking courage and eager to avoid danger. Example: Wormtail (Harry Potter) Dishonest - prone to lying and deceiving others for their own benefit. - Example: Iago (Othello) Envious - feeling jealous of others and wanting to possess what they have. Example: The Evil Queen (Snow White) Greedy - having selfish desires and always wanting more. Example: Smaug (The Hobbit) Hedonistic - seeking out as much pleasure as possible to the point of overindulging. Example: Dorian Gray (The Picture of Dorian Gray) Hubristic - an exaggerated sense of self-confidence and pride. Example: Jay Gatsby (The Great Gatsby) Hypocritical - behaving in a way that contradicts what they claim to believe. Example: Mr. Brocklehurst (Jane Eyre) Ignorant - lacking knowledge and awareness of something (or the world overall). Example: Effie Trinket (The Hunger Games) Incompetent - lacking the skills to do something (usually their job). Example: Michael Scott (The Office) Inconsiderate - not caring about how other people feel. Example: Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes) Judgmental - excessively critical of other people. Example: Javert (Les Misérables) Morally ambiguous - not conforming to “good” or “evil” conventions. Example: Deadpool (Marvel Comics) Obsequious - excessively flattering and fawning over others. Example: Uriah Heep (David Copperfield) Possessive - controlling and unwilling to share something or someone. Example: Mr. Rochester (Jane Eyre) Quixotic - impractical and excessively idealistic or romantic. Example: Emma Bovary (Madame Bovary) Rigid - unwilling to adjust their principles, even when given a good reason to. Example: Spock (Star Trek) Selfish - only concerned with their own needs and desires. Example: Count Olaf (A Series of Unfortunate Events) Short-tempered - quick to get angry and lash out at people. Example: Jack Torrance (The Shining) Spiteful - malicious and wanting to hurt or upset other people. Example: Scar (The Lion King) Stingy - ungenerous and unwilling to give or spend money. Example: Ebeneezer Scrooge (A Christmas Carol) Stupid - lacking intelligence or the ability to think clearly. Example: Patrick Star (SpongeBob SquarePants) Vengeful - determined to hurt someone to get revenge. Example: Hamlet (Hamlet) Weak-willed - spineless or unable to resist outside influences. Example: Arthur Dimmesdale (The Scarlet Letter)

Fatal character flaws Fatal flaws are usually reserved for the villains in a story. “Fatal” can be literal (resulting in the character’s death) or figurative (meaning the flaw can lead to a character’s downfall), and some people may consider fatal flaws unforgivable, whether or not the character attempts to atone for their flaws in the story. Abusive - regularly cruel or violent towards others. Example: Humbert Humbert (Lolita) Bigoted - prejudiced against a certain person or group of people. Example: Dolores Umbridge (Harry Potter) Cruel - deliberately causing pain and suffering to other people. Example: President Snow (The Hunger Games) Disloyal - lacking loyalty and devotion to someone or a cause. Example: Gollum (Lord of the Rings) Fanatical - relentlessly full of single-minded zeal about something. Example: Annie Wilkes (Misery) Immoral - villainous and unwilling to conform to traditional moral standards. Example: Patrick Bateman (American Psycho) Intolerant - narrow-minded and unaccepting of other people. Example: Aunt Alexandra (To Kill a Mockingbird) Machiavellian - sneaky and cunning while lacking a moral code. Example: Tom Ripley (The Talented Mr. Ripley) Manipulative - controls or influences others to get what they want. Example: Amy Dunne (Gone Girl) Megalomaniacal - an unhealthy need for power and control over others. Example: Big Brother (1984) Murderous - the desire to kill others. Example: Hannibal Lecter (Silence of the Lambs) Neglectful - careless and inattentive toward someone or something. Example: Paul Dombey (Dombey and Son) Obsessive - utterly consumed by a single thing all the time. Example: Captain Ahab (Moby Dick) Oppressive - imposing cruelty and hardship on other people. Example: The Commanders of Gilead (A Handmaid’s Tale) Paranoid - feeling suspicious or mistrustful, convinced something bad will happen. Example: The narrator in The Tell-Tale Heart Remorseless - lacking regret or shame for the bad things they’ve done. Example: The Joker (Batman) Sadistic - taking pleasure in hurting or humiliating others. Example: Joffrey Baratheon (A Game of Thrones) Self-destructive - acting in a way that could cause serious harm to themselves. Example: Lady Macbeth (Macbeth) Treacherous - guilty of betraying someone who trusts them for self-gain. Example: Brutus (Julius Caesar) Violent - prone to inflicting physical violence and harm on others. Example: Dexter Morgan (Dexter) Some of these flaws concern delicate issues, so consider how you plan to use them carefully.

How to Write Character Flaws

Figure out what kind of arc you want the character to have. There are three main types of character arcs: positive, flat, and negative. You can choose to address your character’s flaws in many ways depending on the type of arc you choose. Positive arcs involve characters ultimately overcoming their flaws, negative arcs involve characters succumbing to their flaws, and flat arcs involve little to no significant change. Positive arc: In a positive arc, an arrogant character might learn to appreciate and work with others while gaining a more humble view of themselves. Flat arc: In a flat arc, an arrogant character might be no more or less self-important than they were at the story's beginning; instead, the story reflects how their arrogance affects other characters. Negative arc: In a negative arc, an arrogant character might sink deeper into their arrogance, becoming convinced that they’re the only person who can do something and refusing to listen to or cooperate with others.

Give the character strengths to balance their weaknesses. A character should also have corresponding strengths for each flaw—especially since the two are often related. So, when choosing your character’s flaws, consider what strengths they’d have based on each flaw and how each strength or flaw would manifest. For example, a hedonistic character could also be fun-loving, enthusiastic, or worldly. A skeptical character could also be smart, knowledgable, and difficult to trick or deceive. An arrogant character could also be very skilled and accomplished (to reflect their self-importance).

Incorporate the character flaw into the plot of your story. Don’t make all your characters’ flaws random or unrelated to the story. Figure out how their flaws affect the narrative and how they can have an arc based on those flaws throughout the story. Remember: a character can have quirks or benign flaws, but they should also have a couple of larger flaws that affect their journey. For example, a character’s cynicism or skepticism might prevent them from getting closer to their love interest. Similarly, a character’s pride might make it harder to work with others until they encounter a setback they can’t overcome alone.

Embrace your character’s flaws rather than trying to avoid them. No character, even a story's protagonist, should feel utterly perfect or without flaws. Try not to worry about making your character unlikable—because a “likable” character isn’t one with no faults. Don’t be afraid to pick major (and sometimes fatal) flaws for your characters to make them more engaging! For example, a character whose only flaws are being clumsy and talkative won’t have many interesting conflicts because those flaws are so minor. Conversely, if you give a character compelling flaws (like being short-tempered, vengeful, selfish, or hedonistic) on top of their minor flaws, readers are more likely to get invested in their journey.