When reading a book, what characters are you most drawn to? Do you often root for the under-dog in the story and want to see them succeed? Why do you root for the under-dog? It is simple; the under-dog character has flaws that we can relate to and makes them a believable character. When writing a book you want to ensure that your characters are believable and have flaws that make your reader care about them.

Writing a book that involves down to earth characters prompts your reader to stay up half the night to finish the book. If you character is too perfect then many readers will not care whether the character succeeds or not. Think about it this way, would you be more inclined to root for Lance Armstrong knowing that he had survived cancer or to root for an athlete that has perfect health? Lance Armstrong’s public fight against cancer brought in more fans because it showed that he is not a superman, but susceptible to health difficulties just like the rest of us. His fight to overcome his cancer shows that the under-dog can succeed.

So how do you write a book with believable characters? Create flaws for each character that may or may not be integral to the story. The flaws can be as simple as a man that is afraid of heights or as prevalent as a child that overcomes his stutter to become a public speaker. These “flaws” can also be viewed as gifts and help to cement the differences between your characters. In essence, you will be writing a book that avoids one-dimensional cardboard cut out characters.

Character flaws can also help move the story forward in terms of the plot line. For example, a character that is paralyzed in a horse riding accident may go on to raise money for medical research. If your character had survived the horrible horse riding accident without a scratch on him then your readers may close the book because it is just too unbelievable.

Grab your pen and paper and create your character flaws today. Your readers will thank you and root for your under-dog.