Every unforgettable character believes something that simply isn’t true—and that belief quietly wrecks their life. This is the character’s lie: a flawed worldview shaped by past hurt, bad lessons, and emotional survival tactics that no longer work. It explains why your protagonist makes terrible choices with confidence and why they don’t already have what they want. When a story feels flat, it’s usually because no one is internally wrong enough. In this article, we’ll break down what the character’s lie is, where it comes from, how it shows up on the page, and why breaking it is the emotional engine of a satisfying story. Consider this your permission slip to emotionally ruin your characters—for excellent narrative reasons.