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The Latest Article

Writing Flawed Secondary Characters

Okay, so this article is about creating characters who are different from yourself, and generally a bit unpleasant to be around for any length of time. These are characters you might have in the background of your story. People who your character encounters that may rub them up the wrong way, annoy them or make things difficult. The types of people we’re looking at are officious parking wardens, bullies, rude motorists, and cheats.

The main point about this article is writing characters who are different from yourself.

The techniques here can be applied to supporting characters who aren’t horrible, you’d just use a different list of personality traits, which don’t include being a sociopath, imperious, rude, or mean.

Why do we want to write about horrible people?

If everybody was nice, reasonable, good natured, fair, approachable, and extraordinarily humble – just like us, a story may get a bit same-same. By adding in characters who are flawed the story can become more realistic, and memorable for the reader. Flawed characters create problems and challenges for the protagonist, especially those flawed characters with agency. The protagonists own flaws can cause problems and challenges for themselves too, as they make their way through the story.

There is a certain fascination with unlikable characters. There are some stories where the protagonist is unlikeable. It’s like watching a slow-moving train-wreck. A sense of disbelief. How can this person do that? Are they going to get their comeuppance? Whose life are they going to wreck now, as they manipulate, back-stab, slander, and black-mail their way through the story?

A character who sets himself up for conflict and consequences through the dastardliness of his doing—is surely unlikable, yes, but also magnetic. You want to watch him ruin his life. He repulses you in the same way a car accident is simultaneously disturbing and hard to look away from. This character is a train wreck, and it is glorious to behold. Every time he does something unwholesome, immoral, felonious, or just, like, super-rude, he creates a conflict. The anticipation and delivery of that consequence are deeply satisfying for a reader, and by their very nature, not-nice characters create these conflicts almost constantly. In the words of Oscar Wilde, “The suspense is terrible; I hope it will last.”

Writing the Unlikeable Character (and Why You Should) - Adrienne Crezo

An unlikeable secondary character, is unlikely to be followed so closely, but their actions, or lack of, will impact the main character in some way, and perhaps raise the ire of the reader. Will the reader see some payback? Probably not. That’s just life, and is entirely up to the author.

Developing a Flawed Minor Character

Writing from Life

Take a moment to think about all the people you know. Are they all likable? No. Taking note of people’s behaviours and using this for inspiration for your story’s characters’ behaviour is a good way of creating flawed characters. It may even be therapeutic. Someone in a four wheel drive is tailgating you? – Include them in your story as a pushy, impatient, self-centred, small minded, rugby-playing, bigot who your main character has the misfortune to encounter while investigating the murders of local sports personalities. What happens to them is up to you.

Writing from life is a good source of believable characters just as drawing from life is good for portraying the human form. As you develop your supporting characters, and extras, bear in mind that their flaws will typically be the natural flip-side of their positive traits. When you consider their flaws, they should come from whatever their defining positive traits are. If the character is brilliantly intelligent, maybe their flaw is being patronising to the people around them. If the character’s key strength is their independence, their flaw might be an unwillingness to work in a team. If the protagonist, has encountered someone community minded doing some voluntary work and acts in an entitled and dismissive manner around them, the volunteer might be excused for getting grumpy with the protagonist.

Degrees of Horribleness

There are a whole range of negative traits that you can lumber your characters with. They can range from the completely harmless or even amusing, say Gullible, to the downright dangerous and destructive like psychotic.

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.

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

Minor Flaws

Most minor flaws are more annoying than harmful; some are even a little endearing. Others do have the potential to harm, but rarely evolve to that extent. They will likely add a little friction into your story. As with any character, minor flaws can be applied to the protagonist.

Examples are:

Awkward, Boring, Capricious,Childish, Clumsy, Foolish, Gossipy, Gullible, Humorless, Lazy, Meek, Mischievous, Naïve, Obnoxious, Prideful, Skeptical, Spacey, Spoiled, Stubborn, Tactless,Vain

Major Flaws

If characters with minor flaws are friction in the easy movement of the story, those with major flaws are the handful of grit and gravel thrown into the story’s gears to start making things a bit rough for the protagonist. They are serious and will definitely impact the story in a big way. Major flaws can be emotional, mental, or physical. They’re significant but not necessarily unforgivable. Again, Major Flaws can be applied to the protagonist too.

Examples are:

Adulterous, Anxious, Apathetic, Arrogant, Belligerent, Bitter, Cowardly, Dishonest, Envious, Greedy, Hedonistic, Hubristic, Hypocritical, Ignorant, Incompetent, Inconsiderate, Judgmental, Lustful, Morally gray, Obsequious, Possessive, Quixotic, Rigid, Selfish, Short-tempered, Spiteful, Stingy, Stupid, Vengeful, Weak-willed

Fatal Flaws

Fatal flaws are generally the domain of a story’s villains, and unlikely to be applied to a minor or secondary character. They can be fatal to the characters in a literal way or can lead to their downfall and failure. Some readers will consider various fatal flaws unforgivable, whether or not the character attempts to atone for their flaws in the story.

Examples are:

Abusive, Bigoted, Cruel, Disloyal, Fanatical, Intolerant, Machiavellian, Manipulative, Murderous, Neglectful, Obsessive, Oppressive, Paranoid, Remorseless, Sadistic, Self-destructive, Treacherous, Violent

Acting Consistently

To make the character believable, they must act consistently throughout their time when they have an effect on the plot. If you have a strong idea of the character’s flaws and the underlying causes, this will help ensure they remain consistently “in character.” For a background character you won’t need to go into the reasons why they act as they do in any great depth, but for characters with closer contact with the protagonist, thinking about their background will help develop plausibility for the nefarious or annoying ways they act.

Consider how they will act in the scene in which they are involved and any other parts of the plot where they will have an effect on the story. How will the environment affect their behaviour? Will the presence of other people encourage or discourage their negative behaviour. Consider any associated behaviours and preferences that might naturally spring from their personality flaw. For instance, a snobby character is unlikely to be helping out in a community food bank, but they could be at the same table as the main character in a posh restaurant. A nervous person is hardly likely to be the protagonist’s driving instructor, but they could be the fellow classmate the protagonist has to coax through some task.

Some Examples of Minor Characters We Like to Dislike

Aunt Agatha (Jeeves and Wooster) – Domineering, controlling, meddlesome, rigid.
Arnold Rimmer (Red Dwarf) – Officious, spineless, complaining.
Jar Jar Binks (Star Wars – The Phantom Menace ) – Clumsy, careless, thoughtless.
Arguably, Jar Jar is a character who completely failed and managed to piss off fans rather than just being the comedic element he was designed to be.

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References:

Writing the Unlikeable Character (and Why You Should)

The Power of the Unlikeable Protagonist

How to Write an Unlikeable Character

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

An Exercise in Writing With “Prickly” Secondary Characters

Write a story or a scene where your protagonist, is trying to achieve something, but is hindered by a minor character who is a bit difficult in some way. There are 600 negative personality traits list on the next page, so feel free to browse that for inspiration for the flaws that may be present in the various characters. You could go for gold and see if you can create a character with all 600 flaws. If you are after a prompt to help shape your story, here’s a small selection that may appeal.

Center your story around someone who’s being haunted - by what or whom is up to you.
Start your story with a character being led somewhere by a black cat.
Your character is invited to a secret meeting. Who invited them, and what do they encounter?
Write a story that includes the line “Have we met before?”
Start your story with people arriving at a special ceremony.
Center your story around two people who meet at a wedding.

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A list of flaws

Abnormal	Deceitful	Grumpy	Loud	Prideful	Submissive
Abrasive	Deceptive	Guilt-Stricken	Ludicrous	Privy	Subservient
Abrupt	Defector	Guilt-Tripper	Lustful	Procrastinator	Sullen
Abusive	Defenseless	Gullible	Machiavellian	Prodigal	Superficial
Adamant	Defensive	Harebrained	Mad	Profane	Superfluous
Addictive	Defiant	Harried	Malicious	Proud	Superiority Complex
Adulterous	Deficient	Harsh	Malignant	Provocative	Superstitious
Aggressive	Demeaning	Hasty	Manic	Provoking	Surly
Agitated	Dense	Hateful	Manipulative	Prying	Tactless
Aimless	Dependent	Haughty	Manipulator Of The Truth	Puerile	Tale-Bearing
Alcoholic	Deplorable	Hedonistic	Mannerless	Pushy	Tardy
All Talk	Deranged	Helpless	Materialistic	Quarrelsome	Tasteless
Aloof	Derisive	Heretical	Mean	Quick-Tempered	Temperamental
Ambiguous	Deserter	Hesitant	Mechanical	Quixotic	Tense
Ambitious Without Integrity	Desperate	Hideous	Meddlesome	Racist	Terrible
Amoral	Despicable	High-Handed	Meek	Radical	Testy
Annoying	Detached	Hoity-Toity	Melancholic	Rash	Thankless
Antagonistic	Deviant	Hostile	Melodramatic	Reactionary	Thievish
Antisocial	Devious	Hot-Headed	Merciless	Rebellious	Thin-Skinned
Anxious	Difficult	Hubristic	Messy	Reckless	Thoughtless
Apathetic	Disbelieving	Huffy	Mischievous	Red Neck	Threatened
Appalling	Discomfited	Humorless	Miserable	Redundant	Threatening
Argumentative	Disconcerting	Hurtful	Misinformed	Regimental	Timid
Arrogant	Discouraging	Hypocrite	Misleading	Remorseless	Traitor
Arrogant Competitive	Discourteous	Hypocritical	Monotonous	Repetitive	Treacherous
Asinine	Discriminatory	Idiotic	Moody	Repressed	Turgid
Attention Seeker	Disdainful	Idle	Morally Gray	Repulsive	Unapologetic
Audacious	Disgraceful	Ignorant	Morbid	Resentful	Unappreciative
Austere	Disharmonious	Ill-Mannered	Morose	Ridiculous	Unbearable
Awful	Dishonest	Illiterate	Murderous	Rigid	Unbecoming
Awkward	Dishonest Flatterer	Illogical	Nagging	Rowdy	Uncaring
Backbiter	Dishonorable	Imbecile	Nave	Rubber Necker	Uncertain
Banal	Disingenuous	Imitative	Narcissistic	Rudderless	Uncharitable
Barbaric	Disinterested	Immature	Narrow-Minded	Rude	Unchaste
Bashful	Disloyal	Impatient	Nasty	Rumor-Monger	Uncivilized
Bawd	Dismissive	Imperious	Negative	Ruthless	Uncooperative
Belligerent	Disorganized	Impersonal	Neglectful	Rugby Player	Uncouth
Big Mouth	Dispiriting	Impetuous	Negligent	Sacrilegious	Uncultured
Bigot	Disreputable	Impious	Nervous	Sadistic	Underachieving
Bitter	Disrespectful	Imploring	Nihilistic	Sarcastic	Undeserving
Blame-Shifter	Disruptive	Impolite	Nonchalant	Scandalous	Undiplomatic
Bland	Dissembler	Impractical	Nosy	Scheming	Uneconomical
Blasphemous	Dissolute	Impressionistic	Nuisance	Scornful	Uneducated
Blunt	Distant	Impudent	Nutty	Sedentary	Unethical
Boastful	Distressful	Impulsive	Obnoxious	Self-Absorbed	Unfit
Boisterous	Distrustful	Inactive	Obscure	Self-Centered	Unforgiving
Boorish	Disturbed	Inadequate	Obsequious	Self-Conscious	Unfriendly
Boring	Ditzy	Inappropriate	Obsessive	Self-Destructive	Unglamorous
Bossy	Docile	Inapt	Obstinate	Self-Harming	Ungrateful
Bothersome	Dominating	Inattentive	Obtuse	Self-Important	Unjust
Braggart	Domineering	Incompetent	Odd	Self-Indulgent	Unlikable
Brooding	Dormant	Incongruous	Offensive	Self-Pitying	Unnerving
Brutal	Doubtful	Inconsiderate	Offhand	Self-Righteous	Unpardonable
Bull-Headed	Dubious	Indecent	Officious	Selfish	Unpredictable
Bureaucratic	Dull	Indifferent	One-Sided	Shallow	Unproductive
Callous	Eccentric	Indiscreet	Opportunistic	Shameful	Unrealistic
Cantankerous	Egocentric	Indiscriminate	Oppressive	Short-Sighted	Unrealistic Expectations of Others
Capricious	Egoistic	Indolent	Outdated	Short-Tempered	Unreasonable
Careless	Enervated	Inefficient	Outrageous	Show-Off	Unrelenting
Chauvinist	Entitled	Inept	Overachieving	Showy	Unreliable
Childish	Envious	Inert	Overbearing	Shy	Unremarkable
Clingy	Envious Of Status Of Others	Inexperienced	Overcompetitive	Silly	Unrepentant
Clumsy	Envious Of Success	Infantile	Overconfident	Sinister	Unresponsive
Coarse	Erratic	Inflated	Overcritical	Skeptical	Unruly
Cocky	Erring	Inflexible	Over-Dependent	Sketchy	Unsatisfied
Cold	Escapist	Infuriating	Overexcited	Slack	Unschooled
Complaintive	Evil	Ingrate	Overindulgent	Slandering	Unskilled
Complicated	Exaggerated	Inhibited	Overreacting	Sloppy	Unsophisticated
Compulsive	Exploitative	Inquisitive	Over-Protective	Slothful	Unstable
Conceited	Extra	Insecure	Over-Saturation	Slovenly	Unsuitable
Condemnatory	Extravagant	Insensitive	Over-Sensitive	Slow	Unthinking
Condescending	Facetious	Insincere	Over-sharer	Sluggish	Untidy
Confrontational	Fanatical	Insistent	Over-thinker	Sly	Untruthful
Confused	Fascist	Insulting	Panicky	Smart Arse	Unwise
Conniving	Fearful	Interfering	Paranoid	Smart Alec	Vaccuous
Conspiring	Fickle	Intimidating	Party-Pooper	Smelly	Vain
Contemptible	Fierce	Intolerant	Passive	Snappy	Vapid
Contemptuous	Finicky	Intolerant To Criticism	Passive Aggressive	Sneaky	Vengeful
Contrite	Flirtatious	Intrusive	Pathetic	Snobbish	Vicious
Control Freak	Flippant	Invasive	Patronizing	Snooping	Victim Mentality
Controlling	Foolhardy	Irascible	Peevish	Snooty	Vile
Convoluted	Foolish	Irate	Perfectionist	Sophomoric	Vindictive
Copycat	Forgetful	Irrational	Perplexing	Sordid	Violent
Corrupt	Foul-Mouthed	Irresponsible	Perverse	Spaced-Out	Viscious
Covetous	Fraudster	Irreverent	Pessimist	Spacey	Vulgar
Cowardly	Fraudulent	Irritable	Pessimistic	Spiteful	Vulnerable
Crabby	Freak	Jealous	Petty	Spoiled	Wallowing
Crafty	Frenzied	Judgmental	Petulant	Spoilsport	War-Monger
Cranky	Frightful	Killjoy	Phlegmatic	Stagnant	Wasteful
Crass	Frivolous	Lack Of Empathy	Pitiable	Status-Driven	Weak
Creepy	Frugal	Lacking	Placid	Stealthy	Weak-Willed
Critical	Fussy	Languid	Plodding	Steely	Whiny
Crooked	Gloomy	Lascivious	Pompous	Stern	Wicked
Crude	Glum	Late	Possessive	Stingy	Win At All Costs
Cruel	Gnarly	Lazy	Power-Hungry	Strict	Wishy-washy
Cunning	Gossiper	Lethargic	Predatory	Stringent	Withdrawn
Cynical	Grandiose	Lewd	Prejudiced	Strong-Willed	Workaholic
Daredevil	Greedy	Liar	Preposterous	Stubborn	Worrywart
Debauched	Grim	Libidinous	Presumptuous	Stupid	Worthless
Decadent	Grouchy	Listless	Pretentious	Subjective	Zonked

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