Flat and Round Characters

[Dabs]

This is, obviously, an incredibly important subject for writers, and it's an issue that I see often when I'm critiquing stories (and an issue I sometimes find in my own writing, too). A lot of people have really interesting plots, and they know what they want to say, but the vessel through which the story moves, aka the character, is often uninteresting: either they have no motivations, or they're reacting to situations "just like a normal person" would, without any context as to why their responses are unique to them and how they affect them. I also wanted to bring this up because I've seen the word "flat" used incorrectly (as an alternative for cardboard character, which is a character without personality).

So, I want to talk about flat characters and round characters and their uses in fiction, so the writers here can:

1. Understand what they are

2. Know how to apply them accordingly

These definitions are examples based on E.M. Forster's definitions given in"Aspects of the Novel". I'm using him since he coined the terms "flat" and "round" in regards to writing.

Flat: The really flat character can be expressed in one sentence such as ‘I will never desert Mr Micawber.’ There is Mrs Micawber — she says she won’t desert Mr Micawber; she doesn’t, and there she is. These characters are easily recognised when first introduced and easily remembered afterwards, and their memorability appeals to our yearning for permanence. They are best when they are comic. A serious or tragic flat character is apt to be a bore.

Round: A round character by contrast has further dimensions to their personality, which are revealed as events demand them. A flat character never surprises us with their behaviour, but a round character may well surprise us with these unsuspected aspects of their nature; and the test of a round character is whether it is capable of surprising in a convincing way. Even if events never require these characters to extend themselves, they nevertheless have the capacity.

(Taken from: http://www.storyinsight.com/techniques/media/forster.html)

In spite of what some people may believe, it's important to incorporate both types of characters into a piece of fiction. Having both will allow you to better replicate the human experience, because let's face it, you can't possibly know everything about everyone. There are a few people you'll know like the back of your hand, and the rest of the world you judge based on your few or one-time encounters. As such, they will appear "flat" to you, even though you know they're not.

In regards to creating flat and round characters, obviously flat is the easier of the two. You just need to create a set of rules (a morality and philosophy, basically), and that's it. Their personality will follow alongside those rules, and of course their statistics are completely up to you. Creating a round character is a little more complex. You have to create a set of rules, but you also have to know what will make the character break those rules. They can't just be willing to break every rule at any point, obviously, otherwise they're flat. Why are they willing to break these rules? Who will they break them for? You get the idea.

Everyone learns this eventually, but I really wanted to get this up here for younger writers because I was never taught this in my creative writing classes when I was in high school, and I think it would have helped my writing out so much. I really don't think there's any reason to neglect it, either. It's not an incredibly advanced concept. In fact, I think it's fairly basic.

[Iridescence]

So, based on this, what would you think of a story comprised of entirely round characters? Is it possible for a character to be round even if we only know one of his/her motivations/philosophies/beliefs?

[Bowie20049]

You people say round, I say curvacious

[Dabs]

So, based on this, what would you think of a story comprised of entirely round characters? Is it possible for a character to be round even if we only know one of his/her motivations/philosophies/beliefs?

I guess it would depend on how many characters there are throughout the entire story. If, for instance, the story is like the movie Abagail's Party and it's only five characters in a room, then it's possible for all of them to be round and still have the story feel "human" or realistic, or what have you.

However, if you have a story that takes place in a larger setting then it's unrealistic to try and understand every single person's motivation. Like, during one of the early scenes of The Graduate (don't know why I'm referencing so many movies, but it's applicable to both, and if you haven't seen the Graduate you can probably look up this scene on youtube) Ben is briefly engaged in a conversation with a man. The man says, "Ben, I've got one word for you--plastics" and that's really it. We understand that he has a motivation, and we can get an understanding of his character from his movements and dress, but nothing beyond that. And there shouldn't be anything beyond that since he's only there to deliver one symbolic line. He's a tool for the plot.

I'm not sure you can really have a round character if you only know those aspects of him or her. Part of what makes a round character round is not only knowing the what but the why as well. Maybe your character is blunt, practical, and decisive, but if you don't know why they're like that then they simply become the personification of those traits instead of a living, breathing person.