character development

Previously, we tackled flat female archetypes and possible solutions to their plight. Now, it’s the men’s turn.

For those of you who aren’t aware—or just don’t feel like going back to this post—flat characters are those who are neither decision-making nor influential to the story’s plot. Sometimes, it’s hard for writers to spot a flat character because they know more information about him than what makes it into the story. More often than not, flat characters are difficult to recognize because they do make a decision—once. Then that choice becomes their M.O. for the remainder of the story, or until the character dies.

The problem with making the same choice at every crossroads is that the character doesn’t change or grow. He stagnates; he keeps the plot from changing; his scenes become lifeless, tired, worn out. He is a flat character, and this must be remedied.

Here, I’ve laid out five common flat male archetypes, reasons why they fall flat, and some suggestions for fixing them and turning them into characters who are full of life and make unique decisions. Hopefully, this list will give you a head start when it comes to identifying any flat characters who could be lurking in your own WIP.

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Picture this: You’ve just written a scene, slaving away at your keyboard or notebook for hours, and all your characters have done exactly as you told them—hallelujah, right? 

But wait—something feels… wrong. The scene feels flat—worse, it feels like it’s happened before. Your problem could, of course, be the plot; maybe the scene really has happened before. But, barring that—are your characters flat?

Flat characters are the bane of every writer’s existence, especially writers who rely heavily on character-driven stories. These are stories that revolve around characters who are fully fleshed out as living, breathing, decision-making human beings to keep things rolling. (I have a whole post on character-driven stories here.) Flat characters crush these stories into teeny-tiny pieces that fly off into the night in a gust of smoke while dramatically sobbing, “I could have been so much moooooooore!“

On a more serious note, flat characters often appear fully developed to the writer, smiling up at them through their character charts detailing everything from height to fatal flaw to favorite kind of pie. However, while these characters look good on paper, not enough of those details are present within the story to flesh them out as decision-making and influential characters. 

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