Curing Flat Characters

Characters.

They are the most important part of a story.

If your characters are good, you can do no wrong.

Well, not exactly, but your plot can be terrible and your reader might still want to read your book just because they like the characters.

I've read books before where they have the most cliche, boring plot ever. But I still read them.

Why?

Because they had good characters.

Their characters brought life to the story and connected with me, so I didn't really care that the plot wasn't the best. I still enjoyed the book.

What I don't like, is flat characters.

Every writers nightmare is to have someone call one of their characters flat, boring, or one-dimensional.

Today, we're going over the biggest sign your character is flat and how to cure it.

Let's get started.

They can't stand on their own.

The biggest sign your character is flat is when they are only interesting in the plot of your book.

This might sound weird, but it's an amazing way to help your character grow a personality.

Your character has to be able to stand on their own.

They have to be interesting and fun to read about while doing anything, not just partaking in the plot of your story.

If your character can't be seperated from your story and still be interesting, then your character isn't worth writing—at least the way your currently writing them.

Though every character in a book should benefit the plot in some way, they still have to have personality and depth and enough of both to be a person outside of the storyline.

So what if your character can't stand on its own?

How do we cure this character flat-ness?

There's a few options.

Scrap the character.

Look at your character.

Are they a vital person in your plot?

Would your story still be able to continue without them?

Do they play a huge part in your book?

If your flat character is not vital, the best option may be to scrap them. It sounds harsh, but we don't need depth-lacking characters dragging down our work. I've seen this happen time and time again, and it can really shift the dynamic in a person's story.

Rewrite them.

This is probably the best option.

If a character just isn't working, if they're lacking depth or personality, simply rewrite them.

Change them.

Give them a new name and personality.

I did this with a side character in one of my WIPs.

Originally, they weren't really going to have a huge personality or part in the book. But they were dragging down the writing because of their "boring-ness".

I decided to turn them into a different character, and they eventually became a comedic relief character.

That just means their main purpose was for comedic relief.

This new version of the character I was going to write played a bigger part in the book and was much more entertaining to read about.

By rewriting my chracter, I got a completely different one who was even better than the original.

If you're struggling with a flat character, rewriting them might be the best option.

Put them on their own, until they can stand.

This is a good option for if you really like your character the way they are and just need to get to know them better so you can get a better handle on their personality.

What you need to do, is take your character, and write about them in a completely different situation than your story. Write about them in everyday life.

You could use a scenerio to start (going to the store, getting coffee, going swimming, having a picnic) or you could use a writing prompt you find on Pinterest or Instagram and just insert your character in it, then build upon it. Write some one-shots.

By writing about your character seperately from your story, you help get to know your character's voice, quirks, and personality. This will help them not seem so flat.

Eventually, you'll probably get to the place where your character isn't flat anymore and you can write about them easier.

Tweak the story.

Every writer knows there are probably times in your book where your character doesn't quite react right or is a bit flat.

To fix these, just edit them.

Tweak your story.

Editing is your strongest weapon.

Sometimes, to fix a flat character, all you need to do is edit their dialogue or thoughts, or simply the way they process or react to things.

You guys, flat characters happen.

It's usually either because your character is boring and lacks personality, or because you don't know your character's personality well enough to write them.

Make sure your characters can stand on their own.

Make sure your readers would have fun reading your characters without the plot to your book.

I hope you found this blog post helpful. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to send me a message in the contact bar below.

Happy writing!

-Jocelyn