A flat character shows only one side, and is usually a stereotype or a stock character. Stock means the character is a “typical” example of a group of people; some examples are a friendly fireman who saves kittens from trees, and a crabby librarian who wears heavy glasses and scowls. These figures represent respectively all firemen and all librarians, though they don’t represent any particular individual.
Next, we will look at how the author has developed round characters in your novel. This lesson will prepare you to develop a character sketch of the main character, who is always a round or complex character.
(Open School BC, 2008)
We learn about the characters in a novel in many ways. The process of creating believable characters, and of sharing information through characters, is called characterization.
The methods authors use to create their characters are:
telling us directly what kind of person the character is
describing the character’s physical appearance, habits, clothing, and environment
showing what the character says
showing what the character does
showing what other characters say about him or her
Sample Solution