Why My Characters Are Flawed—and Why That Matters

If you’ve read any of my books—Romero, especially—you’ve probably noticed something right away: my characters are far from perfect.

They’re messy. They lie. They overreact. They sabotage love just as quickly as they beg for it. And while some readers are drawn in by that honesty, others might wonder: why write people who are so...broken?

Here’s the truth:

I don’t write perfect characters—because perfect characters don’t exist.

Flaws Make Us Real

The thing about flaws is that they ground us in reality. Nobody wakes up every day saying and doing the exact right thing. We love too hard. We let fear guide our decisions. We say things we don’t mean and stay in places longer than we should.

My characters reflect that chaos—because they’re mirrors of us.

When Romero spirals into obsession, it’s not because he’s evil. It’s because he’s desperate. When a character pushes someone away while simultaneously begging to be loved, it’s because trauma has twisted what love means to them. That might not be “healthy,” but it’s real. It’s raw. And sometimes, it’s more honest than the tidy stories we’re used to reading.

Broken Doesn’t Mean Hopeless

There’s this misconception that flawed characters are unlikeable. But in my experience, readers don’t need to like a character to connect with them—they just need to understand them.

When I write, I’m not aiming for moral perfection. I’m aiming for truth.

My characters might mess up, but they’re trying. They want something—love, freedom, redemption, validation—and they’re fighting like hell to get it. That’s what makes us root for them. Not because they always do the right thing, but because, deep down, we recognize their pain. We’ve been there.

The Beauty of the Downfall

A character’s downfall is often the most important part of their journey. It’s where the real story lives.

What happens when the person you love doesn’t love you the same way?
What happens when you realize you’ve become the villain in someone else’s story?
What happens when healing feels harder than staying broken?

These are the questions I like to explore—not because I have the answers, but because asking them feels human. Because, honestly, I think we’re all somewhere in the middle of our own redemption arc. And fiction gives us a place to confront that safely.

Art Imitates Emotion

I write flawed characters because I’ve been flawed. Still am. I’ve made the wrong choices. I’ve hurt people and been hurt. I’ve struggled with identity, obsession, and all the messy emotions we’re told to keep tucked away.

So when I sit down to write, I don’t want to create a filtered version of humanity. I want the full picture—the beautiful, brutal, and complicated truth of being alive.

Because if someone sees themselves in one of my characters…
If they feel seen in the chaos…
If they realize they’re not the only one who feels broken sometimes…

Then I’ve done my job.

Final Thoughts

Flaws aren’t the enemy of good storytelling. They’re the heartbeat of it.

And maybe, just maybe, if we can learn to love these characters despite their darkness…
We can learn to love those parts of ourselves, too.

Written by: Michael Knight
Author of Romero and other stories that don’t play by the rules.