What is a flat character and how do you use them in your novel?

A flat character sounds…flat. Boring. Dull. But don't write them off!

Flat characters have an important role and purpose in a story, and as a fiction writer, you can use flat characters to your advantage to help your protagonist achieve their goals.

What is a flat character?

A flat character is a character who does not change much over the course of the novel or series. Think of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple or Gandalf from Lord of the Rings.

They may change in small ways, or even be killed off for the sake of your plot, but they won't have an overarching character arc like a protagonist would.

In other words, they don't have internal conflict and aren't required to change significantly to achieve their goals.

What is the purpose of a flat character?

If a flat character sounds awfully useless to you, don't judge them just yet! They do have a purpose: flat characters are there to be the supporting act to your protagonist.

They are a constant, reliable force your protagonist, and reader, can rely upon.

You know how a flat character will act, and you know they will be there to support, or undermine, your protagonist.

This role as a supporting act allows them to subtly set the narrative and mood of the story.

This might be through comedic relief, providing the voice of reason when needed most, guiding the protagonist towards their end goal or stopping the protagonist from doing something silly!

You can often describe a flat character's role as a "stereotype." Common roles flat characters serve are the mentor, best friend, love interest or parental figure.

When the flat character is the protagonist of a story, such as Miss Marple, they allow the plot to shine.

Flat character identification checklist

Flat characters often meet the following criteria:

• Flat characters have a defined role in the story, such as friend, detective, mentor or love interest. This role can sometimes be defined as a stereotype.

• Flat characters don't have internal conflict

• Flat characters don't have an overarching character arc

• Flat characters don't change much over the course of a story (though they can be dramatically killed off for plot reasons!)

• Flat characters support the protagonist or plot to achieve their goals or resolution

• Flat characters have a harmonious personality, bringing unity, peace and/or comedy to the story

• When the flat character is the protagonist, they allow the plot to take the lead

How to use flat characters in fiction writing

As we discussed earlier, the purpose of a flat character is to be the supporting act and a reliable force for your protagonist and readers.

To use flat characters in your writing, you want to be strategic with their placement so the flat characters can set the tone and step in to guide your protagonist or plot at the right time.

An example of how flat characters can work well is when your protagonist keeps getting themselves into trouble and they need someone to guide them back to the right path, or when they need someone to go to for advice.

Let's say your protagonist is at a crossroads: they need to choose between two love interests, and they're not sure how to make their decision. As an author, you want this decision to be well thought out and impactful on your reader.

A good way to have your protagonist make this decision is to have the flat character talk to them about their feelings and tell them to follow their heart, or be the voice of reason by showing them one love interest has been constant and kind, while the other has been flaky.

This is why flat characters can be fan favourites! They provide the voice of reason and support your protagonists in their time of need.

You can also use flat characters as red herrings. You could portray a side character as a flat character, but drop hints that they have a bigger scheme ticking away in the background your protagonist isn't aware of.

How to use a flat protagonist in fiction writing

If you're starting to sweat because you've realised your protagonist is a flat character, there's no need to panic. After all, who wouldn't want to read a book following Gandalf across Middle Earth?

Flat protagonists can work. In fact, they can be highly effective in novels where the plot is the main driver such as a serialised crime series like Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes or Agatha Christie's Miss Marple.

When your protagonist is a flat character, they will serve as a supporting act to the plot, rather than be at the centre of It, like how Holmes or Marple are used as tools by the author to solve the crime by collecting clues.

How to turn a flat character into a non-flat character

The simplest way to turn a flat character into a non-flat character is to give them a character arc.

Summarise in one sentence what you want the flat character to achieve over the course of your novel. This could be learning to be a good friend, identifying their purpose in life or finding the courage to leave an unhealthy relationship.

Next, identify what stops them from achieving this goal and what they need to do in order to overcome this barrier.

Let's say your character's arc is learning to be a good friend and their selfishness is stopping them from achieving this goal. To overcome this goal, they need to be put in situations where they let their friends down and suffer the consequences, such as being uninvited from their best friend's wedding after failing to organise the bridal shower after promising to do so.

Make sure this character arc influences your character's actions and decision-making process throughout the story.

In the first half of the novel, their selfishness should guide them: why would they organise a bridal shower when they can play video games instead and hope someone else does it for them?

They then need to feel sad about being uninvited from the wedding and lonely after being isolated from their friendship group.

Finally, your character needs resolution. Especially in the final chapters, you want to show their growth and change. If the wedding venue burns down and their best friend's wedding might be cancelled, instead of waiting for someone else to solve the problem your character might offer to host the wedding at their homestead, even though they hate having guests over.

Conclusion

While flat characters may be flat, they are not boring. If used right flat characters can allow your protagonist, or plot, to shine and propel them through your story.