A good part of writing believable, 3D characters is ensuring your readers find an emotional connection. If your protagonist is too perfect, no one will be able to relate to them. We spend most of our lives downplaying our best skills, hiding behind humility and chiding ourselves for our mistakes. No one can relate to a character who gets everything right ALL the time and truly believes in themselves without exception!
Find the flaws. Weed out the vulnerability of even the hardest villain and toughest heroine. Seek moments of tenderness, where the reader can catch the smallest glimpse of reality behind a character’s usual façade. When I sculpt all my characters, the first thing I do after physical description is list their flaws and weaknesses. It is somehow easier than attempting to list strengths. I prefer the latter to be the shortest list as well.
Try it with your existing characters or give it a go when you next have to design a brand-new character. Flows and weaknesses are much more interesting and will result in more exciting story stakes.
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