Can there be a TOO perfect male lead?

[Vixx]

A quick q . . .

My reader recently returned her verdict on the first three chapters of my book. The feedback was essentially pretty positive, but the one thing she did comment on was that she thought that my male lead was a little too perfect (apart from, that is, the fact that he cheats on his wife for the lead heroine - but that's another story!)

I've never thought of him being too perfect before; I don't really enjoy the imperfect perfection of male leads as a reader of CL, and I want him to be a really cute, really lovely guy who gets himself ensnared with the female lead. That said, I know it's a staple of CL so am now a little flummoxed. This is the first book I've ever been close to finishing and it's been written, beginning to end, for me - which means I've been very selfish in creating them just for me! Your thoughts and suggestions would be greatly appreciated; is a perfect male lead just too much of a good thing?
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If I don't write it down my head will explode.

[DMac]

Well, the fact that your Male Lead is commiting adultery makes him way less than "perfect" imo -- my concern would have been, giving him enough positive attributes to make up for that major flaw. Though, from your description it sounds like you've trapped him in circumstances to make the cheating understandable or excusable or sympathetic?

But I'm not sure what your reader meant by "too perfect." Maybe you should ask her, specifically -- is he too handsome/charming/funny/kind/ devoted/smart/etc. etc.? Or ask her to give some examples of Male Leads from other novels which she's found to have just the right touch of 'imperfection.' Whenever someone offers a vague, subjective critique or suggetion, I try to pin them down with *specific* examples otherwise I'll flounder around trying to guess what they mean.

I think it is true that multi-dimensional characters are just more real and thus more interesting -- all humans are a mixture of virtues and flaws.

[Pain au Chocolat]

Hmm... a too-perfect male lead...

Well, I guess a guy who looks ultra-handsome and knows how to cook and sing and is good with children and has a good job etc. Also has pretty hair and pretty eyes and a sense of style. Angsty/tragic past is also something that makes me shudder, unless it's interesting (which makes me wonder what kind of books have I been reading if lots of corpses in one's past is boring!)

let's strive for the perfectly flawed and hope they appear in real life too! <3
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Everyone’s entitled to be stupid, but you’re abusing the privilege.

[Vixx]

ultra-handsome: check
and knows how to cook: nope
and sing: um - nope!
and is good with children: yes
and has a good job: yes
Also has pretty hair and pretty eyes and a sense of style: yes yes and no
Angsty/tragic past: nope

Is that any better?! lol

Thanks for your perspectives!
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If I don't write it down my head will explode.

[lttlredcorvette]

are you familiar with the phrase 'mary sue' at all? i believe it's used primarily in fanfiction, but it pertains to the seemingly-flawless character. basically, reading a mary sue makes you kind of roll your eyes every time he/she does another perfect thing and ask yourself, 'alright, seriously, has he/she EVER done something wrong??'

i always reference the avoidance of mary sue romances in soap operas in this instance (not sure if you watch/have watched them at all, but i think it makes sense regardless): the goal of a soap opera is to keep the watchers hooked, so they spend an agonizingly long time bringing characters together. viewers are on the edge of their seats waiting for john and marlena to get back together, or for hope to just finally remember who she is so she can realize that she really *is* in love with bo! (these are days of our lives references, as that's the only soap i've ever watched hehe.) once they're back together, there are a few days/weeks of joy and fabulousness, but after a moment, that gets BORING, so it comes out that marlena's ex roman really IS still alive, and she really DOES still love him, or bo had a baby with another woman while hope didn't realize she was hope, so he didn't REALLY spend all of his days aching for her to return, alone and sad.

the good couples survive these things in soaps, just as, if your characters are meant to be together, a few flaws in your male MC will annoy/perturb/anger your female MC in the moment, but will not make him any less fabulous and attractive and perfectly matched to her. it just gives the characters a little depth, makes them a little more interesting, and mostly, makes them more believable to readers. i think these are points that are somewhat lost in much of current CL, but aren't we ladies of nanowrimo chicklit supposed to be revolutionizing the genre anyway?


(furthermore, i apologize for posting a hundred years after the fact, but i just re-found this forum, and i want it to come to life!!)