Round and Flat Characters

         Years ago in my English class, our teacher presented a section in our book about round and flat characters. I wanted to post some tips regarding characters so that it can help your current characters or stay in your mind for later.

         1. Design the characters with realism in mind. The story may be set with a completely odd and foreign setting, but that doesn't mean the characters have to be. The best characters are the ones that the readers can relate to. Even if the characters fill out an incredible story, they need to have a hint of "regularity" or no one will be able to relate to them.

         2. Different characters with different backgrounds work best. Personality clashes color a story. Without differences, there will be no plot, or "mini plot". Maybe the idea of the story is to solve a mystery, but the mini plot is how everyone learns to cope with each other's differences. Try mixing wealthiness, racial or ethnic backgrounds, or romantic tension together so at the end, the characters learn that they work best together, without these preconceived ideas. Maybe that message will get across to more people than the characters.

         3. Plant a piece of yourself in each character. Treat each character like yourself. Give one character your gift of love and compassion, another, your sense of humor, and so on. Use examples from your life to shape your character. Did you hurt a friend somehow? Use that time in your life to mold a character into a better and more supportive friend.

         4. Each character needs a storyline behind him/her. Characters can't be thrown into a story without a purpose. Maybe a certain character is on a quest to get answers to why something happened in his/her life. Whatever the storyline is, make sure the character has some sort of background and a purpose for being in your story.

         5. Dialogue! Have the characters talk out the problem; the answers can come more quickly if everyone shares. Add a bit of comedy or drama within the dialogue to liven the story and draw more attention to it. Readers will learn more about the characters through dialogue than any other way of presenting their past.

         6. Plot Twists! They'll keep your readers on their toes, along with your characters. How the characters react to the plot twist is your main goal. Try surprising the characters with something that will be huge for one. Will it be something he/she always dreamed of? Or dreaded? The round character will be affected by this twist, and hopefully work it out in the end.

         Those are all the tips I have so far- when I think of more, I'll post them here. Good luck!!