The main purpose of most novels is to entertain the audience. They take their readers or viewers out of their day-to-day life and throw them into a new and more exotic or uncertain environment.

Whether it is science fiction plunging the reader into a distant future world, a boy who discovers that he is a wizard, or the adventures of a police detective solving a gruesome murder, the main focal point of the novel is your main character. They are the foundation of any successful novel. Indeed, if it’s a series, the readers purchase the books to follow the main character's development and any secondary characters that are mainstays in the books. For example, C.J. Box is the author of numerous novels built around Wildlife Warden Joe Pickett and his wife and daughters.

The best novels and movies need deeply flawed characters because the reader wants to get caught up in their world. They become page-turners if the reader wants to find out how the main character copes with their current dilemma. They want to discover how the main character triumphs at the end of the book.

Readers don’t want to read about characters without flaws or problems. Few people can drift through life without drama or struggles. They seem superficial or unrealistic at best. Perfect heroes make boring heroes. They are without the flaws or problems that most readers face daily. Readers can’t relate to characters that appear perfect, gliding through life without any drama. Readers may wish for such a life, but it is not realistic and certainly not desirable in fiction.

A good character is flawed in many ways. They don’t have to be “normal.” Multi-faceted characters can have negative traits such as getting drunk after too much to drink or getting into arguments with the wrong people, and they can have these traits while still be interesting. Their lives are messy. They must handle a difficult life situation, a troubled child, or a messy divorce. These problems make characters more relatable.

In the movie industry, the script will never get read, much less produced, if the main character is not facing a dilemma or major impasse in their lives. The movie's entire purpose is to watch the main character face a struggle and be forced out of their dull and predictable life and complete the journey of discovery. They discover their inner strength in order to triumph at the end of the movie. They must struggle with their problems or life situation and triumph against the odds. The classic movie ROCKY would never have become a success if the titular hero had accepted that he was a mediocre, down-and-out fighter who lived alone and collected money for the mob. Katniss, in the HUNGER GAMES, struggled to win the tournament to escape from the dismal world that she and her family were living in at the beginning of the book.

Recently, I started to read a self-published book called “The Cabal.” In it, the main character is simply called The Detective. He had no backstory and was trying to solve the murder of a senator. The writer did not give any dimensions to the main character‘s problems in the beginning chapters. After a few attempts to generate interest in the book, it wound up on the discard pile.

What is the point of reading the novel or watching the movie if you don’t care about what happens to the main character? Readers and viewers want to see the main character grow, get challenged with a problem or dilemma, and triumph over the adversities. If the main character is too perfect, the reader will grow bored and will not stay with the book for any length of time. The answer is that you don’t want to be perfect as the main character, just flawed enough to involve the readers with your struggles and dilemma.

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