When Characters Act Badly — Sept. 14, 2025

Elephant seals facing off, Año Nuevo State Reserve — June 2019 photo

“Bad decisions make the best stories.” – Kristen Lamb

I’ve been struggling with a scene in my story that has to do with my protagonist’s judgement under pressure. My dilemma is this. How badly can she act and still have readers invested in her story? At what point do they just not care about her anymore?

I went looking for advice. The suggestion to “give your character likeable flaws,” just didn’t satisfy me. One podcast pundit suggested making sure readers understand what’s motivating your character to make a morally questionable choice. That hit closer to home. If readers can see what’s driving her, they’ll likely still want to know the outcome.

Being human is complex. Having to navigate under competing pressures is something most people can relate to. Who doesn’t have something they’d do differently next time? Our experiences change us. The important thing is we evolve and grow, and so presumably do our characters. At the very least, literature can show us how to dig deep and think for ourselves, and when things go wrong, to seek the path to redemption.

— For more on this topic, check out “The Concept of Morality in Literature” at englishpluspodcast.com.

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