Round vs Flat Characters: Definitions, Examples and How to Write Them

What is a round character?

Definition of a round character:

A round character is complex and detailed with a well-thought-out personality. Often, they have an in-depth backstory and the audience will get regular insights into their motivations, ambitions, fears, thoughts, feelings, strengths and flaws.

Round characters should be multifaceted, just like real people. This also means they’re often capable of doing things that surprise the audience. They make the story feel real and propel the narrative forward with their actions. Main characters tend to be round.

Round vs. dynamic characters:

A round character is often confused with a dynamic character. While there is overlap between these character types, the key difference is that a dynamic character undergoes a big transformation throughout the story.

Typically, round characters, too, transform during the course of the narrative, meaning a character can be both round and dynamic. But round characters can also be static e.g. they have an in-depth personality, flaws, motivations and a fleshed-out back story but don’t undergo a huge transformation. You can tell the difference by comparing the version of a character at the beginning of a story with who they are by the end.

Examples of round characters in books and film

• Daenerys Targaryen in the TV show Game of Thrones (and A Song of Ice and Fire, the book series) is a round and dynamic character. At the beginning of her story, Daenerys is passive, often frightened and seemingly powerless. But with her strong claim to the throne and mind for politics, she evolves into a ruthless yet merciful and beloved leader who frees slaves. At this point, she is complex, ambitious and fearless. However, power gradually corrupts her and, in her pursuit of absolute rule, Daenerys goes against everything she once stood for.
• Severus Snape in the Harry Potter series becomes both a round and dynamic character as the narrative progresses. At first, Snape appears flat as a one-dimensional villain who takes a severe dislike to Harry. But he emerges as a complex, conflicted character and a double agent: masquerading as a Death Eater for Lord Voldemort while protecting Harry and providing intel to Dumbledore. His true motives and allegiances slowly unfurl as the plot progresses.
• The Grinch in How the Grinch Who Stole Christmas is also a round character. He has a detailed backstory that provides context to explain why he is the way he is (being bullied as a child leads to him swearing off the Whos and hating Christmas). And he’s a dynamic character too: he goes through a transformation when his heart grows three sizes and he decides to save Christmas, even though he was the one who tried to destroy it.

Tips on how to write a round character

• Write up backstories for your round characters: Spend time thinking about the motivations, personality traits and personal histories of your main characters. Next, imagine you’re writing up a back story to give to an actor who would be playing that character and flesh out the details. You can use Scrivener to help you store and organise your backstories.
• Give your character a strong purpose: All round characters want something. Make sure you’re clear on what their goal is and why they’re pursuing that goal. These motivations will help you come up with ideas for building their character development.
• Give them good qualities and flaws: Realistic characters, like people, are nuanced. Even an honourable, moral character still makes mistakes and has undesirable traits. Consider the good and bad about each of your main characters to make them well-rounded.
• Consider who they are at the start of the story vs. the end: One of the keys to success in any story is strong character development. So, work out how you see your character changing, evolving and growing as the narrative pushes forward. This could be a huge transformation (making them a dynamic character) or a more subtle change.

What is a flat character?

Definition of a flat character:

A flat character is a simple, two-dimensional character with little depth or backstory and a minor role overall. The reader often only knows a flat character on a surface level. They typically support the main character(s) in some way along their journey.

This type of character can serve their purpose as a foil (opposite of your main character, therefore making their traits starker), wise mentor, antagonist or henchman/sidekick. A flat character can also serve the story by providing endearing comic relief or providing key information to a primary character.

But remember: flat characters do need to serve a purpose, in one way or another. And flat doesn’t mean boring or necessarily forgettable.

Flat vs. static characters:

Like round characters are often confused with dynamic characters, flat characters are often lumped together with static characters. Again, this is because they are similar and a character can be both.

But the different is: a static character does not develop during the course of the story. Whereas, a flat character can still be dynamic and undergo some kind of change throughout the narrative.

Examples of flat characters in books and film

• Ginny Weasley in the Harry Potter series is the tenacious, youngest member of the Weasley family. But throughout the series, Ginny’s only real purpose is as Harry’s love interest – making her a flat character.
• Spicer Lovejoy in Titanic is a flat character. Apart from a suspicion that he used to be a police officer, the audience never learns much about him. He serves his purpose as Cal Hockley’s right-hand man and bodyguard – the secondary antagonist of the film. As he doesn’t change throughout the story, Lovejoy is also a static character.
• Crabbe and Goyle in the Harry Potter series are also flat characters. Similar to Lovejoy, they are henchmen-like stock characters for Draco Malfoy. Throughout the series, we never learn much about their interior lives and they don’t have multifaceted personalities.

Tips on how to write a round character

• Determine their purpose in the story: Flat characters often complement the character development of others or take some action that helps the main characters progress the plot. When writing a flat character, write a brief list of why they’re part of your story. But don’t write them in too much detail.
• Decide on a handful of personality traits: Whether they’re a foil, mentor, henchman or another type of flat character, this will inform what kind of personality traits they should have. Use your instincts here to give this character a few mannerisms and traits to make them memorable and useful without overshadowing the characterisation of your main cast.
• Don’t be afraid to write flat characters: Some see flat characters as being poorly written or underdeveloped. But as long as they have their function, they deserve to be part of your story. Sometimes, they’re even essential to it. Carefully consider how many flat characters your story needs and let your storytelling instincts take the reins from there.

How round and flat characters work together

A story with too many rounded characters can be confusing and dense, making it more difficult for the reader to follow along and get emotionally invested. But stories with too many flat characters can feel weak, lacking depth and high stakes. To create a compelling story, you typically need a balanced mix of both round and flat characters.

Determining how many round and flat characters to include depends on a number of factors including genre, story structure, point of view and the central conflict of your story. Some stories require a bigger number of both, others naturally have a smaller cast.

To get more familiar with the use of both round and flat characters, read widely and watch films too. Challenge yourself to categorise the characters in the books and films you consume. Then, when you’re writing your own characters, you’ll feel confident in fleshing them out or stripping them back.