Reading Fiction: Flawed Characters or not?

[Indurrago]

I read little bit everyday I was wondering what what kind of characters do you like to read in fictional stories? or just stories in general. Flawed or not?(You can go into more characteristics like intelligence, personality, etc) I read quite a bit of fiction and from my own experiennce I've come to join are not just under-dogs but characters who struggle with self-confidence but grow and mature enough as their stories unfold to become pretty amazing characters in their own right. I tend to enjoy characters that have alot of growth. I do come upon characters in stories in which the hero or heroine may come off as near perfect and sometimes I like them and their stories alot but then I realize how unrealistic those characters really are. And as a reader they seem less tangible to me and that's where my limits my immersion into the story. I mean I don't mind crazy super powers or even magic but in my opinion, it's the strengths AND flaws that make the characters so enduring. Having only either one feels like an incomplete package.

Mary Sue-
Examples of traits(but not limited to) of a perfect fictional character:
Well-mannered, perfect gentlemen(and doesn't have an off switch this mode)
Very intelligent
Independent
Completely selfless
Very versatile(Jack-of-all trades, if not shows potential to be)
Accepted and loved by nearly everyone
Almost never fails to complete a task given to him/her.
Never acts selfishly or has inconsiderate thoughts and behavior..EVER.
(You can add on more)

[Agent 47]

or just stories in general

Yeah, that's me.

I don't think I've ever really studied the characters in stories, particularly. (Sorry!). I just like a good interesting story over-all. For me, it's more about having a good author, that can tell an interesting story, in an interesting way. I like an author that can immerse me in a total experience!

[Indurrago]

I agree the overall story is more important than individual characters. If its a short story than I usually don't try to examine characters too deeply but when its a LONG story, then I start looking more deeply into the characters. Too WTF moments, can ruin a character for me. Sometimes the settings are more interesting than the characters.

[recovering_fan]

I read quite a bit of fiction and from my own experiennce I've come to join are not just under-dogs but characters who struggle with self-confidence but grow and mature enough as their stories unfold to become pretty amazing characters in their own right. I tend to enjoy characters that have alot of growth. I do come upon characters in stories in which the hero or heroine may come off as near perfect and sometimes I like them and their stories alot but then I realize how unrealistic those characters really are.

Hi Indurrago,

I hope it's not too late to respond to this old thread?

I generally read classics, and almost every character I read about in the classics is flawed in some way. However, I enjoyed Lord of the Rings, which seemed to have a lot of perfect characters (or at least many who were perfect for their roles in the mission and who knew their roles perfectly).

As far as modern books set in reality go, I connect much better with screwed-up people than with the sort of demigods you described. I can't stand perfect men, because I am a man, and perfect fictional men make me feel like crap by comparison. I can't Dan Brown women either, because I can't see how they would need me for anything. Just don't make my characters too stupid, because as stupid is, stupid does. And when stupid is all anyone ever does, it gets a bit tedious to read about.

Cheers,
RF

[Silence]

Well, I myself am an avid reader. I find myself relating to characters that have flaws and strengths, as long as they can balance out each other. I can't really relate to characters that have flaws and no strengths or strengths and no flaws, they just seem to take it too far and become unrealistic.

There's also another side to my opinion, what I stated up above is when I read. When I start writing, it becomes slightly different. As Indurrago stated, Mary Sues are perfectly perfect characters (i.e. Bella Swan from Twilight Series, and some others I may have forgotten). I struggle with trying to write decent characters that aren't Mary Sues. Those types of characters can really derail a possibly good story and turn it into something that isn't... Really good. Which is why I detest most of the Twilight books and my old writings.

So, for me, it's the balance between good characters and a good plot that makes a good story. You can't really have one without the other, at least in my opinion.

[recovering_fan]

Well, I myself am an avid reader....

... I struggle with trying to write decent characters that aren't Mary Sues. Those types of characters can really derail a possibly good story and turn it into something that isn't... Really good. Which is why I detest most of the Twilight books and my old writings.

So, for me, it's the balance between good characters and a good plot that makes a good story. You can't really have one without the other, at least in my opinion.

Does your school have a literary magazine? Given how you have described some of the bullies at your school, I can understand why you would be hesitant to publish your work in it (if your school even has one). But when I was in high school, a lot of people joined that club just to meet others who were into writing. We had coffee nights, where we would all gather and read aloud either from our own stuff or else other people's stuff.

Cheers,
RF

[Silence]

Does your school have a literary magazine?

Unfortunately, no. Reading or writing isn't exactly much supported here, unless you're an AP or Honors English student. I have browsed the reading lists for these advanced english classes, I bought all of the books from their repertoire, just so I can see the type of material I would be working on later in High School.

The point I was truly trying to make is the character issue. Most, if not, all of my original characters fit the Mary Sue description, or at least resemble it. So it's the fault of my high judgment that prevents me from actually publishing anything. I keep all of my material under close watch and only show my best and most believable work.

Also, I know that Mary Sues aren't exactly treated nicely. If you do know of a book series called The Twilight Saga, I cannot count how many times people said the books are either bad, abysmal, or the worst of the worst just because the already bad story was completely derailed by Bella Swan and Edward Cullen. I'd sacrifice popularity every day, if it's to have writing that's actually considered of decent quality by people that can identify good writing.

[Skul]

A good way to check if your character is a Mary-Sue/Gary-Stu is to use the Universal Mary-Sue Litmus Test.

Remember, this is for original characters only, not canon characters. For example, and I can only think of two off the top of my head, here -- Shadow the Hedgehog and the Master Chief. Both, if original characters, would be considered extremely over-powered if they were non-canon. Shadow is immortal and has incredible power, and the Master Chief is strong as hell even without his suit (which gives him superhuman capabilities), not to mention he's "lucky", as in, no matter what happens, he survives.

As for TV, movies and books... um... I really can't think of anything at the moment...