: Re: How to write a socially awkward, anxious character without them ending up like Bella Swan? I'm trying to write a character who is shy and awkward and has anxiety so she would stutter or have
Disclaimer. I have not read Twilight and have no desire to. However, I'm familiar enough with the character archetype to answer the question.
To write a relatable character you must first utterly convince the reader said character is a living, breathing person who existed/exists/will exist in a specific time and place.
Nothing less will do. The plot will (hopefully) chuck many sharp objects at your protagonist as she moves towards her goal. When she's hit and starts bleeding, I want to watch her clutch the wound, curse loudly, pick herself up and keep moving. If instead the knife slits a hole in her sweater and a bunch of packing peanuts fall out, revealing the MC to be a mannequin mounted on a RC car, I will close the book and stop caring.
What makes a character feel human, then? That's an awfully large question and open for debate, but you already hint at one important aspect: the presence of flaws. Hotheadedness, cowardice, a martyr complex -- packing peanut-stuffed mannequins don't have these negative qualities. They're uniquely human.
Here's where I think a lot of people will disagree with me (especially writers for teen TV shows), but anxiety and social awkwardness are not character flaws. Anxiety is an emotion anyone can experience; awkwardness is one mechanism by which the emotion shows. You can stick these 'flaws' on a character like a pair of googly eyes, but they're instantly recognizable as fake.
That's not to say you can't write a socially awkward character. However, you should consider what happened earlier in the character's life leading her to develop a flaw that causes her to screw up in social situations. Perhaps her parents moved a lot and she never had friends for longer than a few months, eventually causing her to believe the effort isn't worth it? I don't know, you doubtlessly have better ideas.
In short, before or while writing, figure out why your character is who she is. If you don't buy the explanation, neither will the reader.
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