I like stories that depict true human emotion and real-world circumstances. Maybe that's why my favorite genres to read are biography, true crime, and history. I find real people fascinating. That's not to say that well-written fiction can't bring a character to life, but it takes a skilled writer to do it. When we authors create our main characters, we rarely start out thinking about their flaws. I posit that whether we write in first of third person, the MC represents ourselves, so unless we're the sort who dwell on our own shortcomings, the MC is generally a pretty nice guy.
That said, no one (even me!) is all good. Experts tell us to show the MC's flaws, but that's a fine line. The main character has to be likeable, so flaws can't be flagrant, unless it's some kind of psychological thriller and the "psycho" is the MC. I may not be great at establishing unique personalities for my MC's, but I'm not keen on the flawed character angle. My main characters have a story to get to, so I'm not going to waste time on psychoanalysis. At best, they may tend to be distrustful, but that's about as far as I'll go.
A bigger struggle for me is making sure my MC drives the story (agency). A lot of the time things are happening to her. I'm hoping her reactions to those events tend to drive the narrative, because if one is telling a tale, things happen. That's why it's a story.
But there's more to agency than that. Sure, I lean on her reactions, but when the BIG SCENE arrives, she has to be the one taking action. For me, that's easy to forget. It would be simpler if she was just a bystander, but then why have an MC at all? I haven't written the BIG SCENE yet, but I know that she is going to save the day. Because she has to. This time she will be an initiator, not a reactor.
Then there is the age-old question of what the MC's objective is. I start out with a simple one; like she's looking for a new job or (as in my current story) she wants her own business. But the initial objective can get lost as I delve deeper into the story. Again, because things happen. In the novella I'm writing now I try to bring things back to the main objective, and simply being conscious of that is half the battle. The further we get into a story the more enamored we become with the exciting scenes, and we can easily forget how we started out.
It's a wonder we aren't all crazy from the "rules" we're forced to remember.
I've talked about back story before and my spectacular failings with it. I have now become almost physically averse to back story. There is always a bit required, but just a bit. Not chapters! When I began my current story I had to explain how my MC could even afford to buy her commercial enterprise, so I wrote a couple paragraphs about her childhood relationship with her great uncle to show why he bequeathed her his small estate. The same held true for why she is so drawn to roadside motels. They bring back memories of family vacations, during which her dad would avoid chain hotels and always look for a quaint independent spot. That took two paragraphs. Explain what you need to, then move on.
On my scorecard, I'm maybe two for four. I guess that's why we have to keep writing.
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