𝐒𝐈𝐆𝐍 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒 ━━ 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘪𝘱𝘴

⠀⠀²⁷ creating depth & development

          "Such goals are certainly possible – 221B Baker Street is a museum dedicated to Holmes, and tourists in Verona can visit Juliet's balcony. All this despite the fact these people never existed.

          "But is there a fool-proof way to avoid having a flat protagonist lead your story? Frankly, no — otherwise everyone who put pen to paper would be doing it. What makes a fictitious person real in the eyes of the public is as easy to lay bare as quantum physics. There's a strange interplay between pop culture and public mood, niche demands, and creative rebellion. The one thing all 'famous' characters have in common, though, is that they're believable. They have virtues, but they also have flaws — in short, they have depth."

          Before continuing on, let's establish a few things.

━━ 𝗙𝗟𝗔𝗧 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦: "Only a few features (usually based on clichés) are necessary to create flat characters; they're generally static characters meant to serve the story."

           ➳❥ 𝘞𝘏𝘌𝘕 𝘚𝘏𝘖𝘜𝘓𝘋 𝘠𝘖𝘜 𝘜𝘚𝘌 𝘍𝘓𝘈𝘛 𝘊𝘏𝘈𝘙𝘈𝘊𝘛𝘌𝘙𝘚 𝘈𝘕𝘋 𝘞𝘏𝘠. . . "Flat characters are often used in TV comedies (30-minute sitcoms with canned laughter) because comedic stories usually focus on the anecdote and the joke. Thanks to their commonplace situations and characters, sitcoms are able to transmit a sense of familiarity to the spectator. Flat characters also have a supporting role in stories with round main characters in order to achieve one of these effects:"

               *˚‧ 𝐅𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝖸𝗈𝗎 𝗇𝖾𝖾𝖽 𝗒𝗈𝗎𝗋 𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋𝗌/𝖺𝗎𝖽𝗂𝖾𝗇𝖼𝖾 𝗍𝗈 𝖾𝖺𝗌𝗂𝗅𝗒 𝗋𝖾𝖼𝗈𝗀𝗇𝗂𝗓𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗍𝗒𝗉𝖾 𝗈𝖿 𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗋𝖺𝖼𝗍𝖾𝗋𝗌 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝖺𝗋𝖾 𝗉𝗋𝖾𝗌𝖾𝗇𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀.
               *˚‧ 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭: 𝖥𝗅𝖺𝗍 𝖺𝗇𝖽/𝗈𝗋 𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗍𝗂𝖼 𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗋𝖺𝖼𝗍𝖾𝗋𝗌 𝖼𝖺𝗇 𝗁𝗂𝗀𝗁𝗅𝗂𝗀𝗁𝗍 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗂𝗇𝗍𝖾𝗋𝗇𝖺𝗅 𝗈𝗋 𝖾𝗑𝗍𝖾𝗋𝗇𝖺𝗅 𝖾𝗏𝗈𝗅𝗎𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇 𝗈𝖿 𝗋𝗈𝗎𝗇𝖽 𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗋𝖺𝖼𝗍𝖾𝗋𝗌.

           ➳❥ 𝘞𝘏𝘌𝘕 𝘚𝘏𝘖𝘜𝘓𝘋 𝘠𝘖𝘜 𝘈𝘝𝘖𝘐𝘋 𝘍𝘓𝘈𝘛 𝘊𝘏𝘈𝘙𝘈𝘊𝘛𝘌𝘙𝘚. . . "Unless you're specifically looking for one of the previous effects listed for flat characters, it's best that your characters (especially the protagonists) are round in order for your readers to identify with them."

     ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐒 𝐀 𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐑? ⸝⸝ ⇗
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀→ ⺌ This section is inspired by AutoCrit and Liternauts. Credit for this portion goes to them. Disclaimer: I have added my own words, advice, and paraphrased sections of the article.

          "As a simple definition, critics might say a poorly written character is flat, while a well-written one is rounded." So, what is a round character, exactly?

━━ 𝗥𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦: "A round character is one that has depth; they have weaknesses, strengths, flaws, fears, tastes, and dreams; they are well characterized in order to seem real."

           ➳❥ 𝙁𝙐𝙍𝙏𝙃𝙀𝙍𝙈𝙊𝙍𝙀. . . "A round character is not static or inconsistent; it's dynamic and changes over time. Round characters feel affected by the story's events because they suffer their consequences and learn from them which makes them more realistic and believable."