I have recently been listening to Epic: The Musical which is a re-telling of the classic story Odyssey. Ode, as fans have taken to calling the classic hero, is a character with one motivation- he wants to get home to his wife and child, no matter what he has to do to achieve it. This standfast determination becomes a defining trait of the character, and one that never changes throughout the musical.
But I would still hesitate to call this Odysseus a flat character.
Wait, why am I talking about flat characters in a blog on character arcs? To understand that, let us look at what a flat character is and how it differs from round characters.
Flat vs. Round Characters
A flat character is often one-dimensional or a character that rarely changes throughout the course of the story. Their motivation, values etc. remain the same from the start to the end. Round characters are dynamic and often progress in ways that might even surprise the reader.
Think Ned Stark v/s Sansa Stark from the Game of Thrones.
Ned is a flat character, defined by being honorable. After a point, viewers might even be able to predict what the character would do. Sansa, on the other hand, grew from a docile and shy girl with dreams of being a princess to a queen and a warrior. If she met her younger self for coffee, it would be like meeting an entirely different person.
Yet, that does not mean round characters do not have character consistency or that flat characters do not have character arcs.
A good explanation for this is given by reditor BenWritersStories on r/writing when they say that a flat character has an arc which ends with them holding firm to their initial stance in a story after all the trials and tribulations of the story, which they face. They are not unchallenged by the narrative.
Similarly, Macabre Storytelling on YouTube has an amazing series on the Game of Thrones show and how the writers could have done more justice to the characters by giving them compelling and consistent arcs.
These would have built on their personalities and any changes we saw would be believable. Because, at the end of the day, just because a round character changes, doesn’t mean this is an abrupt change. Consider Tony Stark in the MCU.
Consistent Arcs for Round Characters- An Example
Tony doesn’t wake up one day and decide to end his weapons business or his partygoing ways- he sees the weapons hurt those they were meant to protect. And this anger at the lack of accountability becomes one of the cornerstones of his character going forward. He is driven by guilt and while he trusts himself to do the right thing as Iron Man when needed, he also does not, especially after Ultron. And neither does he trust his team. Hence, Captain America: Civil War.
As we can see, the one consistent threat through all this is his guilt.
When we see the character’s arc come to a close in Avengers: Endgame, he has largely overcome this guilt. He is a family man at peace, but last we saw him, he was wrecked at losing Spiderman.
Anjali, didn’t you say character changes cannot be abrupt? This was- right?
Well, no.
We know a huge amount of time has passed- five years. Tony is a smart character who has spent a long time trying to learn what he can and cannot control. Moreover, we see him retired from society, the constant influence of Pepper who wanted him to rest, and also being a parent. All of which can and often will change a man. Moreover, it did seem that the world in the MCU was much calmer villain-wise in the five years of the snap, making Tony Stark the husband and father more important than Iron Man, the superhero.
Which again is consistently followed through when the reason he gets back into the game is because of the opportunity to save Peter Parker and also leave the world a better place for his child.
See, how it all ties together? And we can always see hints of the original character in the new one. But Tony is a round character- challenged often by the narrative- and towards the end he changes his beliefs about how much society needs him to be Iron Man. At least, in my opinion.
So then, how do we understand flat character arcs. Well, we can always look at Aang, from Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Aang’s Non-Violence: An Example of a Flat Character Arc
Sure, he grows as a character- a lot. He comes into his powers, gains a team, and finds peace after learning of the loss of his people. Aka many are right in saying that Aang is not a flat character. But one belief that defined Aang is his belief in the air nomad philosophy of non-violence, even when other avatars tell him it won’t work. And in that moment, he has a flat character arc.
While he does get some help from the plot when he “spiritually attracts” the solution to his ethical dilemma, the point is very much he decided to meditate on how to proceed with the apparent violence he was being asked to inflict and then finally chose a method that allowed him to solve the Ozai issue without killing the man. His faith was tested and he walked away with it in tact. We see a similar thing with faith and Luke Skywalker where he refuses to back down and believe Vader is too lost, despite all the character growth he has. Sure, he has a learning arc and he is on a hero’s journey but this unwavering faith that he holds like a shield, can in flat characters be their entire character arc.
Another writer has wonderfully described yet another way to write a hero arc or a flat character arc. Unlike round characters, flat character’s interpersonal changes (should they occur) do not play a part in them defeating the antagonist. Instead, the flat or “hero” character is pivotal to changing the world around them. To learn more about how to write a wonderfully engaging story with a flat protagonist, read their blog. Another great source on how to use genre and other aspects to write a flat character arc is Self-Publishing school’s piece on flat characters.
So what do we learn?
Through these examples, we learn that any character challenged by the narrative, their goals, or even other characters can have a character arc, showing their journey from point A to point B. It is the catalogue of all they learned and how they grew or how it affected them. That is step one of writing a character arc.
Yet, different characters respond to these differently. When tested, a round character most likely will change, while a flat character walks away with their faith reaffirmed.
Yet, that does not mean round characters can change in an unrecognizable manner. They have to follow logical consistent progression that makes sense to the audience watching or reading their story. Otherwise, it will feel like a forced change for the sake of the plot. Hence proven, reality is stranger than fiction.
Have authors challenged these ideas? The idea of consistency, for example, has often faced resistance, but that is the story for another blog. Until then, happy writing!
For more writing tips or simply some good stories, do not forget to subscribe and read my books on Muses_Saga. Once again, thanks for being here, I welcome all discourse related to the topic in the comments.
