what does it mean that a character is flat in a story?

Everyone should have their own goals and agendas that they are pursuing as actively as possible.

There shouldn’t be very many plot passengers in your novel.

They also need to be going after that thing. That said, it’s not enough to just show a character who wants something.

So the first question you should ask yourself when one of your characters feels flat: Do I know what this character wants? Their personality will be on full display. Once we know what a character wants we become invested in seeing whether they’ll get it and we’ll learn a lot about them from the manner in which they go after it. They don’t seem lifelike because there’s nothing beating in their heart.Įvery character in your novel should want something and this should be either explicitly or implicitly apparent to the reader. It’s unclear what motivates themīy far the most common reason why a character feels flat on the page is that they don’t want anything.

Here are some reasons why your characters might be falling flat. Characters who are dull or flat will send your readers scurrying for another book.Īnd yet it’s so tricky to really nail a lifelike character and to translate your vision of them onto the page. Characters who feel lifelike and relatable will compel your readers to turn the pages and breathlessly await the sequels.

What does it mean that a character is flat in a story?