A writing tip

Here’s a way to make your writing richer and deeper:

We all know you should create a character who has a tremendous need for something.  The more crucial the need and the more impossible to achieve his goal the better.   He has to diffuse a bomb or get Kira Knightley to fall in love with him.  She has to win the Indy 500 or kill Bill Cosby. 

Those are all external problems.  

And many stories are told just fine with your protagonist tackling that problem.

But…

It also helps if you give him an internal problem. 

What is that?  A flaw in his character that becomes another obstacle towards achieving his goal.  People in many cases can be their own worst enemy.  Judgements are impaired by vanity or impatience or greed or a thousand other flaws.  Does your main character have a drinking problem?  Is he habitually late?  Does he have poor social skills?  Find ways for him to shoot himself in the foot. 

Characters with flaws are more dimensional.

And if you’re writing a comedy, it also makes your lead character funnier.  Perfect characters are death for comedy writers. 

So when you plot your next great screenplay/novel/pilot/opera (like Natalie Wood was in the above photo), remember to give your protagonist both an external and internal issue to overcome.  


from By Ken Levine