Or-and this is important-that they can’t play an important role in your story telling. They end up much the same as they were at the beginning of your book.īut it’s important to know that just because a character is flat doesn’t mean they are boring or poorly written. They don’t experience any measurable transformation, inner journey, or personal growth (or backslide) throughout the story. Their backgrounds are not developed, their complete personalities aren’t shown, and we don’t have insight into their motivations.Īnother sign (but not the only defining feature) of flat characters is that they don’t have an arc.
So, some further examples of Flat Characters could be:Īs readers, we don’t know much about these ‘characters’. The important thing about flat characters is that they never transcend or break with the formula that defines them. Typically, flat characters can be easily and accurately described using a single word (like “bully”) or one short sentence (like “A naive and idealistic school teacher with a fragile heart of gold”). Read on to find out… What is a Flat Character, Anyway?Ī character is said to be “flat” if it is one-dimensional or lacking in complexity. So how can you learn to use flat characters effectively when you need to, and transform them into complex round characters when it’s called for? In a primarily plot-driven story, even your main characters can be flat (more on that below.) Overdoing it can wreck your story.īut when a character’s role or importance in your story demands more of them than the simplest descriptions, you may need to spend some time rounding them out.Īs always, there are no hard and fast rules. Readers only want to bond with important characters in your story.
You risk confusing, overwhelming, or even boring your audience. We’ll explore the differences in this post.Īfter all, you can’t round out all your characters. They work when they move the story forward in a limited but critical way.īut while not all flat characters are bad (poorly written), most bad characters are flat. They’re often used to great effect by skilled authors. You haven’t given enough detail or injected enough personality or backstory so your readers will fall in love with them.Īnd that must mean you have to improve or rewrite them, right?įlat characters have definite, important roles to play in stories. Having one in your story means you haven’t done your job as a writer. A flat character is a bad character, right?
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