Often times, readers can be turned away from a solid plot and story due to a stagnant character that either seems too perfect, which can make them difficult to relate to, or that seem too intense to enjoy. So how do you find the right balance of traits in your character?
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Honestly, it's hard to think of how to do it, now that I'm thinking about it! I think the two main things I'd say is:
A) You should always challenge your character's beliefs and personality traits. It's much easier to balance out a character - and for the audience to relate to a character - when that character is given the opportunity to doubt themselves. Even the character decides that no, they're going to stick to their worldview, that moment where they question it will make them infinitely more human to the audience.
B) Foils! Your character doesn't exist in isolation. A good way to balance your character is to balance them with the other characters. So if you have a character with a rigid sense of honor, a character with a looser ethical code could provide the contrast necessary to help balance things out! And it also plays into that first point because they'll both probably question their own behaviors in some capacity as a result.
I absolutely agree with you. One of my favorite things to write is a dynamic match-up between a stone-faced character A and a jovial and lighthearted character B. I've got something like that in the works in my current project right now as a matter of fact. I find it much easier to develop my characters when they interact with those around them. Sometimes I discover hidden traits about my character that I wasn't even aware of yet due to their natural flow in the scene.
That's the hardest part and that's what the editing process and revision is all about. I think if the author connects with the character it's easier for them to become balanced/relatable/believable on the page. It's definitely a hard thing to achieve.
I try to look at weaknesses first: what's going to hurt them most or prevent them from reaching their goal? I give them a positive to complement their weakness and an unrelated positive just to see how that changes their reactions. Like Sarah said, a lot of my character building is through revision.