Choose your favorite main character or think up a new one. I bet they have lots of wonderful things about them, right?
Now, give them an unlikeable quality. Something ugly. Something shameful.
Giving a good character an unlikeable quality makes them more human, relatable, and complex, rather than a boring “perfect” archetype. It drives character growth through mistakes, creates internal and external conflict, and prevents them from being one-dimensional. It makes them interesting.
Depending on your story, despicable is not the goal. But, assuming your character is human (and even if they’re not), we’re all human, and none of us are perfect.
Write a scene in which your likable character does, says, or behaves in a way that is unlikeable.
First, tell us your unlikable quality in the comments.
Then, write that scene. 100-300 words. Go.