I tried to be perfect...

Perfect characters.

Oh, what are we to do about them?

Take a peek at these at these lyrics from the song Pieces by Sum 41:

I tried to be perfect
But nothing was worth it
I don’t believe it makes me real
I thought it’d be easy
But no one believes me

Read the third line again.

I don't believe it makes me real.

I have stated at least once on this blog how much I HATE perfect story characters. Let me explain to you why...

1. They aren't real.

Real people have faults. Real people will make mistakes and mess up, and that's part of life. That's happened since the garden of Eden. Since there's no such thing as a perfect person, except for Jesus, we can't relate to them. They are unreal, lofty, and not at all realistic.

2. Jesus was the only perfect person.

Yes, it is our goal in life to try to become more like Jesus every day, but we are not perfect people, and neither are our characters. It kinda strikes me as a mockery to have a perfect character when Jesus is/was the only perfect human being.

3. Perfect characters are not well-written.

Unless your favorite book is Twilight (and it's probably not), take a look at your favorite character. Most likely they're very well-written and complex. And where does the complexity come from? Faults. Quirks. Little things about them that make them different. They are well-written because of their humanness.

4. Perfect characters are flat.

This relates to what I wrote above. Faults, mistakes, are what make us human; they are what make our characters human. When you have a perfect character, there is no room to go, no room to expand on them. They are just THERE and they do no growing. This quote from The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde illustrates my point perfectly.

Jack: Might I say, you look quite perfect today, Miss Fairfax.
Gwendolen: Oh, I hope I am not that, Mr. Worthing. That would leave no room for development, and I intend to develop in many different directions.

Coming back to what I said first:

5. I don't believe it makes me real.

And it doesn't.


Don't forget to enter 30,000 Words in 30 Days; you have until June 1st! See the previous post for details.

So go make those characters real, my writing buddies!