Writing Tips — the Fatal Flaw

In this week’s Story Club, my young writers’ workshop, we explored the fatal flaw. What gets in the way of the protagonist’s goal, besides the antagonist? Sometimes it is a mistaken viewpoint or unhelpful approach to life.

Elizabeth Bennet makes a snap, negative judgement about Mr. Darcy when she meets him in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. To realise she is actually in love with him, she needs to learn her prejudice against him is misguided, just as he must work with his fatal flaw, pride. Fortunately these flaws do not prove fatal to their love story, though there is enough nail-biting tension for the reader when it looks like their love is doomed by character flaws.

Elsa, in Frozen, believes she must hide her powers and deal with them on her own. Her fatal flaw almost results in her living in an ice castle, alone. Her sister Anna enables Elsa to reveal herself, accept she’s part of a family, and become the queen.

In Story Club, Mika worked with two protagonists, Marie and Charlotte. One of them makes snap judgements and the other is afraid of her own life and purpose. In an argument between the two friends, Marie tells Charlotte her fatal flaw. Now Charlotte can look at it and grow as a character, to achieve her goal.

Paikea worked with one protagonist, a princess who wants to save someone from a tower. However, the princess is uncertain she can do it, so she does nothing. A squirrel named Acorn gives her the confidence to go on her heroic quest.

What is your protagonist’s fatal flaw? How do they overcome it?

If you’d like to explore your character’s fatal flaw in your story, here are the questions I used at Story Club:

1. What is your character’s goal?

2. What are some of your character’s weaknesses?

3. Choose one weakness that prevents the character from getting their goal.

4. Who or what helps the character realise and overcome their flaw, so they grow and achieve their goal?

I’d love to hear what your character’s fatal flaws are, and how they overcome them.