I have a confession to make.
I don't really want my characters to get everything right.
Actually, I usually prefer it when they don't.
Give me a character who makes a questionable decision, gets a little too confident, misunderstands what is happening, or accidentally creates a much bigger problem than the one they started with.
That's where the fun begins.
And after spending years teaching children, I think I understand why those characters work so well.
Kids Aren't Perfect. Their Characters Shouldn't Be Either.
When I taught martial arts, I worked with a lot of kids over the years.
Some picked things up quickly.
Some needed to practice something twenty times.
Some listened carefully to every instruction.
Others were already attempting the technique before I had finished explaining it.
There were confident kids, nervous kids, serious kids, silly kids, competitive kids, and kids who somehow managed to turn almost anything into a game.
None of them were perfect.
That's what made working with them interesting.
Children are learning how the world works while they are living in it. They try things. They get things wrong. They become frustrated. They surprise themselves.
Sometimes they make decisions that leave the adults around them wondering what possible thought process led to that particular choice.
That's childhood.
So when I write a children's story, I don't want the main character to already have everything figured out.
Where's the story in that?
Mistakes Make Things Interesting
Imagine a story where the main character wakes up, makes excellent decisions all day, listens to everyone, solves every problem immediately, and goes to bed.
The end.
Technically, I suppose that's a story.
I'm not sure I'd want to read it.
Problems give characters something to do.
Sometimes the problem comes from the outside world. Sometimes the character creates it.
I especially like the second kind.
A character decides to do something.
It seems like a fantastic idea.
It is not a fantastic idea.
Now we have a story.
That doesn't mean every mistake needs to turn into a big lesson. Sometimes a mistake can simply be funny.
Sometimes the consequences can be ridiculous.
Sometimes everything can spiral wildly out of control before eventually working out.
Those are often the moments kids remember.
I Saw This Constantly While Teaching
Martial arts classes gave kids plenty of opportunities to get things wrong.
A child would learn a new kick and lose their balance.
They would forget which foot was supposed to move.
They would mix up a sequence.
They would try something difficult and discover that watching the instructor do it was considerably easier than doing it themselves.
Then they would try again.
That last part mattered.
Getting something wrong wasn't the end of the experience. It was part of learning how to do it.
As an instructor, I didn't expect a child to be perfect the first time.
I expected them to participate.
I wanted them to try.
I wanted them to discover that being bad at something for a little while was completely normal.
And I loved the moment when something finally clicked.
You could see it on their face.
"I did it!"
That little burst of pride was worth all the failed attempts that came before it.
That's the Kind of Courage I Like
When we think about bravery in children's stories, it's easy to imagine something enormous.
Fighting a dragon.
Saving the kingdom.
Sailing across a dangerous ocean.
Those things are certainly brave.
But children's lives are filled with much smaller acts of courage.
Walking into a new classroom.
Trying something they're not sure they can do.
Talking to someone new.
Admitting they made a mistake.
Going somewhere unfamiliar.
Trying again after getting something wrong.
To an adult, some of those things can seem tiny.
To a child, they can feel enormous.
I find those moments interesting because they're real.
A character doesn't have to be fearless to be brave.
In fact, I think it's much more interesting when they aren't.
Perfect Characters Are Hard to Cheer For
I want kids to be able to look at one of my characters and think:
"I do that too."
Maybe the character gets nervous.
Maybe they're impatient.
Maybe they get carried away.
Maybe they're curious enough to investigate something they probably should have left alone.
Maybe they try to be helpful and make everything considerably worse.
That's okay.
A good character doesn't need to show a child how to be perfect.
They can show them that mistakes are survivable.
Problems can be solved.
Embarrassing moments eventually pass.
And sometimes the thing you were afraid to try becomes the thing you're most proud of doing.
Besides, Getting It Wrong Is Usually Funnier
There is also a much simpler reason I like imperfect characters.
They're fun.
A perfectly sensible character would probably avoid half the adventures I want to send them on.
They'd see the suspicious path and say, "That doesn't look safe. I'll go home."
They'd hear the strange noise and decide not to investigate.
They'd read the warning sign.
They'd probably have a very peaceful afternoon.
Unfortunately for them, I have a book to write.
So my characters will continue making mistakes.
They'll get nervous.
They'll occasionally make terrible decisions.
They'll try things that don't work.
They'll learn.
They'll try again.
And every once in a while, they'll discover that they were capable of doing something they didn't think they could do.
Which, when I think about it, sounds a lot like being a kid.
A. F. Sparks