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Hey there, I am hitting you with a quick update before we get to the video. A huge thank you to
everyone who has supported my Project K.E.E.P drive. The response has been incredible! If
you're not familiar, Cliff and I are working with Project K.E.E.P., an amazing organization that
provides backpacks and essentials to kids who are in foster care. We are collecting money as well
as new and unused supplies over on my website. I have the link listed down below. All of the
information is available. We are also giving away prizes to the wonderful donors who help out with
this campaign! Every time a donation goal is met, we'll be handing out a prize! And literally the day
we announced the drive we met our second monetary goal of $500 which means we got another winner!
Congratulations to this awesome human being! You are walking away with a signed copy of Olympian
Confessions: Hades and Persephone, written by the talented Erin Kinsella. And I gotta give my props
to Erin Kinsella. She has been a huge support system throughout this drive. I cannot thank
her enough! If you're not already following Erin, she's an author as well as a YouTuber! I have her
information listed below. She's also pretty much the most adorable person in the known universe.
So follow her, get on it! Once we hit 10 donated items or $1,000 raised, another person will be
winning a prize and we are so close to these figures! Keep donating, keep spreading the
word. Cliff and I really appreciate your support! Let's help foster kids and win some badass prizes,
all right? All right! On to the video! Hellooo everybody! Today we're talking about character
creation, specifically how to make characters not suck. This topic was requested by one of my
patrons over on Patreon: Lauren King. Lauren King is awesome ‘cause we have the same name. Lauren
King, Jenna King Moreci. Are we secretly related? Who's to say! Lauren wanted to know more about
character creation and development, specifically how to make characters interesting and engaging.
This is something I could go on about for multiple videos, but I decided to start with
the most relevant topic and that is flat versus round characters. If you wanna create realistic
and engaging characters more often than not, you gotta make ‘em round. Per Lauren's request,
I'm going to teach you guys the difference between flat and round characters and more importantly,
how to create a realistic multi-dimensional cast. So first things first, we gotta get some
definitions straight. What is a flat character, and what is a round character? Simply put,
a flat character is a one dimensional character. They don't have a lot of depth. They've got maybe
one or two personality traits. That's it. On the flip side, a round character is three dimensional.
They have layers, they have depth. They're complicated. It's important to clarify that
flat and round characters are not the same thing as static and dynamic characters.
Static characters are characters who do not develop during the course of a story,
whereas dynamic characters DO develop. While it's common for round characters to also be dynamic,
it’s not a requirement, nor is it a determiner. In other words, just because a character is static
does not also mean they're flat. They're not the same thing. Now typically, writers are discouraged
from writing flat characters because they're less believable. Most people in the real world have
layers, so fictional people should probably have layers as well. Thus, round characters is usually
the goal. That said, there are situations where flat characters are perfectly fine, and those
situations are as follows. Number One (1): You're writing for kids. Stories aimed for children
don't need to go into as much depth regarding the psychology of the character. Sometimes people mock
the lack of dimension in say, a Disney character, to which I say calm your tits. When you're writing
for kids the story is much simpler, which means the characters are simpler. Not everything was
made for adults. So sit your ass down. And Number Two (2): You’re writing background characters. If the
character doesn't play that much of a role in the plot, they can be flat. It's not a big deal.
I can’t exactly flesh out a character that only shows up for three chapters. Some characters play
a very minimal role in the story, and if that's the case, flatness is hard to avoid. Now, with
that mentioned, it's also worth noting that many people believe it's okay to write flat characters
in plot driven stories. Plot driven essentially means that the story focuses on the action,
not so much the characters involved. However, there are people who condemn movies and books
for having flat characters, even though the stories are plot driven. Because of this, I would
say this particular rule is more subjective than others. Now that that's out of the way, it's time
for the meat and potatoes. There are five major differences between flat and round characters,
and I'm breaking ‘em down right now. #1- Layers. The number one issue with flat characters is
layers. And by that I mean they don't have any. He's a dumb jock. She's a kind princess. He's an
evil sorcerer. They have zero depth outside of these one dimensional archetypes. Now,
sometimes writers will try to hit you with a twist and say “Hey, not only is he a dumb jock,
he's also a brooding edgelord.” Wow, a whole two personality traits! The fact is most people have
more than TWO characteristics. So this maneuver doesn't really work. If you want your character
to be round as opposed to flat, they should probably have multiple characteristics. Sure,
they can be dumb, but maybe they're also insecure because of family criticism. Maybe they're
outgoing because of extroverted tendencies. Maybe they're an animal lover, a philosopher, or a bigot.
Regardless of whether it's positive or negative, adding depth to your character will make them
feel more realistic and multi-dimensional. #2- Stereotypes. Characters who are walking, talking
stereotypes are not engaging to read. The fiery redhead. The damsel in distress. If your character
has no personality outside of these cliches, then they are indicative of stereotypes, which means
they're flat. This doesn't mean that you can't write a character who is both dumb and blonde,
but they should have layers OUTSIDE of that. Relying on stereotypes is not only unimaginative,
but it can be harmful because it perpetuates cliched ideas about different groups of people.
Women are not a monolith. Gay people are not a monolith. East Asian people are not a monolith.
If you're writing characters in this manner, then you're most likely repeating stereotypes
which is detrimental to both your audience and your writing. #3- Goals. What is your
character's primary goal throughout the entirety of the novel? If you can't answer this question,
you've probably written a flat character. Now if they're a minor character, that's fine.
But if they're remotely important, that's gonna be a problem. Most people in life have some kind
of goal or motivation. They are working for or toward something. People usually have
motivations for their actions that extend beyond “the story requires it.” So if your characters are
only behaving a certain way because you need them to, you might need to take a step back and rethink
their goals. Their motivations can be completely self centered, like greed. Or they could be
benevolent, like helping the greater good. Either way, you should figure out what motivates them and
why they're motivated by that specific instinct. #4- Conflicts. This may be shocking to hear
but most people have problems. Even if those problems are miniscule in comparison to yours,
they exist and they probably feel a whole lot bigger to whoever else is dealing with them.
This is the same deal with characters. Round characters probably have some kind of problems
they're dealing with or trying to work through. On the flip side, flat characters don't have
any issues outside of the main plot. They're just there to move the story forward. Again,
if we're talking about minor characters, that don't matter. Background Character Number 5
probably doesn't need a chapter devoted to his tumultuous backstory, but main or supporting
characters should have some kind of struggle going on in their lives. It can be as severe as
a death in their family, or as minor as a personal insecurity. Bottom line is, flat characters have
carefree lives, round characters got problems, big or small. And #5- Development. I'm really
hesitant to mention this because I feel like a lot of people are going to take it way too seriously,
so let me make this abundantly clear. Most round characters develop as the story goes on,
but not all of them, okay? As I said at the start of this video, there are static characters and
there are dynamic characters. Static characters never grow, dynamic characters do. Most of the
time, round characters are dynamic because most people develop in life based on their
experiences. This means most flat characters remain static, they don't develop at all. However,
not all flat characters are static, and not all round characters are dynamic. Some people, whether
it's in fiction or the real world, never change! They're stuck in their ways! So while uncommon,
it is possible to write a round, complex character who doesn't develop. Basically this rule fits for
a majority of circumstances, but not all of ‘em. So that's all I got for you today! A
huge thank you to Lauren King for requesting this topic! If you'd like the chance to have a video
dedicated to you or if you want access to tons of other rewards, check me out on Patreon. We've got
an exclusive writing group, you can get early access to videos. We have signed merch, we've
got a monthly live stream. The link is listed below. Check it out! Don't forget to subscribe
to my channel! I post new videos on Wednesdays, and if you want to be alerted as SOON as I upload,
ring that bell! I have it on good authority that I'm gonna start posting bonus videos very soon,
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Do you REALLY want to face me? If you don't do it, you know what will happen. I'll rip out
your tongue, torture you, then leave your rotten corpse out for the birds to feast on it. Now press
the goddamn button, and the bell too…