What’s the difference between round and flat characters? Flat characters maximize a single trait so readers remember them at a glance. They’re common in comedies and character-driven light novels, but rarely grow. Round characters are multifaceted and change with their mood and circumstances, feeling real; they appear mostly in realist fiction. Utsudo’s own style balances plot and character, and she believes it’s better to find your own direction than to cater to every critique.

Translated from Utsudo’s original Chinese column.

Flat characters: maximizing a single trait

As I understand it, a flat character has a narrow personality. They’re common in comedies: one trait is pushed to the max, even beyond reason, until only that particular trait remains. They’re very easy to remember.

For example, someone who loves chewing curtains. Whenever he appears, he’s chewing curtains. A whole series of events is triggered because he can’t resist lunging at any curtain he sees. He starts out as a loner, but once his habit is discovered, classmates egg him on to enter a world-record curtain-chewing contest. He wins big, earns the attention of a beautiful girl, and sets off a global curtain-chewing craze (?

Hmm, someone like that in real life would be kind of scary XD

But the moment people see this character, they immediately associate him with “curtain chewing.” Maximizing that trait sets off a chain reaction and makes a very distinctive work with a strong personal style.

Flat characters are also common in light novels (character-driven works). Readers quickly become interested in and remember them, but such characters usually lack depth, because you can almost predict their actions and reactions from their behavior.

Characters like this almost never exist in real life, so they feel light and unrealistic—but that’s also what gives them their unique charm.

Round characters: multifaceted and realistic

Round characters are more multifaceted. Think of them as real people: every action may change depending on their state of mind and other factors, and they react differently to different people. They’re much more complex than flat characters.

Round characters feel measured and more “real.” Most realist works feature this type.

Plot-driven vs character-driven works

In plot-driven stories, characters’ personalities are usually not too extreme (though they still differ). Characters act out the plot to make events happen, showing their joys and sorrows, and behave reasonably and logically. If a light novel emphasizes classic story structure too much, it can end up like this.

Then the characters can’t really come alive; it feels like they’re just performing for the plot. That’s a bit of a shame in character-focused light novels—and editors often told me exactly that (covers face)

Works can differ in how much they lean toward plot or character, but if you push one aspect to the extreme, the work’s impact is completely different.

My direction: plot and character together

Unless I deliberately adjust, I lean toward balancing plot and character. But I’ve been stuck between commercial light-novel editors saying I’m not “zany” enough and literary editors saying I’m not “realistic” enough.

I used to care a lot about their evaluations and deliberately adjusted my work to suit their tastes. The revisions were sometimes exhausting and made me feel like a bad writer. But later I thought: maybe this is my “signature.”

I just love stories that are grounded in reality with a touch of fantasy—a blend of the real and the imagined. Since half of it is real, it can’t be too weightless. So what I should do is follow my instincts and create my own stories.

After all, I’m a “novelist,” not a “writer for hire.” I want to write for the long term, not for short-lived fame or profit. My ultimate goal is to live my ideal life through creating and to share the stories in my heart.

So what I should do is forge my own path, not sway like grass on a wall.

Of course I’m not sure whether this is “right,” but I think it’s my direction. That said, through constant back-and-forth and practice with those editors, I’ve learned the key differences between the two, so if I want to write either way, I can.

For example, 《唉呀！變成寶箱怪了》 uses flat light-novel characters, while my other works are mostly a mix, differing only in proportion. Take a look if you’re interested.

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Further reading

• Previous: Hey! I Heard You’re a Writer on Ghost Island #124: When the Big Names Return, Is There No Room for Newcomers? (?
• Start from the beginning: Hey! I Heard You’re a Writer on Ghost Island #01: Utsudo’s Debut — A Road to the Dream Covered in Frost
• Utsudo’s books

About the author

Utsudo is a Taiwanese light novelist and novelist VTuber with more than ten years in the industry and 40 commercially published print books. Her novel 《遺失的情書》 received a 2022 Ministry of Culture youth creative award. The 《嘿！聽說妳在鬼島當作家》 series records her experiences as a novelist in Taiwan.