Fractures in the Frame

The Value of Flaws

There is a temptation, especially in early drafts, to make our protagonists admirable. We want the reader to like them, so we sand down their edges. But a character without edges is impossible to hold onto.

I’ve found that empathy doesn’t come from a character’s strengths; it comes from their fractures. We connect with people who are struggling with their own contradictions. Today, I looked at my main character and asked: what is their most destructive habit? By leaning into that flaw, the character suddenly felt three-dimensional. A flaw is not a weakness in the writing; it is the light-well that lets the reader in.

The Monroe Minute
Identify your character’s greatest virtue. Now, write a sentence where that virtue, in excess, becomes a vice.

Until the next page,
Sloane S. Monroe

Sloane Shay Monroe

I don’t write to idealize love, but to explore it honestly, with emotional precision and depth.