Original Character discussion

Just what was asked at the panel. By flat the writer was referring to characters who have very limited personalities or stories due to their limited screen time or presence in the story. For example the guy who mans the booth at the parking garage that your main character (MC) just drove out of. They would be the writing equivalent of NPCs. Many were of the opinion that there were no "flat" characters, only ones who don't get the time of day. Quite a few good examples were given showing how a character may not be as "flat" or one-dimensional as they may first appear. In my writing many of these types of characters are revisited at later points in the plot. It may be the MC always uses the same parking garage when in town. Or a character is part of the maintenance crew and so will return from time to time. Of course there's also the case where this individual will only be seen once and that's it. That pan-handler you ran across on that one trip? You're never gonna see him again, right?

well in the case of only seen once and never visited again, then he is such a minor character that even if the character did get any dialogue, it didn't really add weight to the story. Its like having a population on a planet where everyone is the same. The only oddball is your MC ... thus the rest while needed for the story, carry no weight in the story, aside from having an interaction with the MC. I can see the no "flat" characters dilemma, because there is a saying that goes with it. "There are no minor roles in a play" ... if you catch my drift. It is all part of a wider plan, thus they carry an importance if not just for environment. The more interactions with the MC the more important the character is.

In my case, I just can't see anyone as being a "flat" character. Perhaps it's because my story effectively has 5 main characters. That provides a myriad of opportunities to interact with the world. Through the subtleties of these interactions, you can flesh out the world without always using exposition. I think a good example of this would be the old men from Cowboy Bebop. Though minor characters, they have personality and through their dialogue you learn about the universe the show is set in. And as always they provide excellent contrast to your main characters who often are driven to extremes by the plot.

But its all based on how you develop your story, is the point I was making referring to the characters. Disposable ones to put it in a way, could be called "flat" characters. Those whose one and only interaction with the MC where there to explain/setup a plot point in the story. But their role is so insignificant that they don't need a backstory, just a point of existence that might be ended soon after presentation or just not needed any longer. But if your story is based on a set environment, where the interactions are repetitive then yes, I totally agree with you that in that specific case for a story environment there are no "flat" characters. As for the comment on the old men on cowboy bebop ... they were pretty entertaining in their own way. And even though they had no backstory (that i remember) they added to it by just simply being there being themselves.

I enjoy that both Jinsei and boundblluck feel the need that no "minor character" or "flat character" exist... every character introduced in a story should play some role to the outcome of the "big picture" story... I am writing short storys and novels... and every person that is named has produced something to the main plot... ALL characters should mean something, but,,,,,,,,,, I am not a I am not a successful writer so maybe that theory isn't 100% necessary

@ alonzo if you bothered giving the character a name and not a title (job description) that makes him important to you as a writer. Or at least thats how I feel when I write.

@boundbyluck Yes I feel, or at least how i write, anyone with a name means something to the overall plot... Its a unique approach but thats what i feel... why give some one a name if they have no purpose

I always make OCs in role play. Though, it's because I role play in Second Life, where you're always encouraged NOT to RP as a canon character unless specially assigned one by admins. Even when I was assigned canon characters, I preferred my own since I could customize them however I wanted. I used to always RP shy characters, but now I avoid it as much as possible since it's hard when everyone else wants to be the shy/kawaii one, and then nobody ends up initiating in the RP. So I think for that reason it's important to sort of "plan" out a "roster" of different personality characters with your friends, and brainstorm possible situations that would compliment your characters. It's also very important that every character have some flaws. Otherwise it may as well be god-modding. I don't consider shy or clumsy a flaw in RP since so many people just use it to make their character more "moe/cute/kawaii". It really depends on where/what you RP. If the RP itself is based on an existing anime/show/book, and it's just you and your friends, it makes a lot of sense to RP as the canon characters unless you're doing like just using the setting as an AU of your OCs. By the way, if you really like RP, I do recommend Second Life as a medium, since it's really nice to see and customize your character in 3D, and have a 3D setting you can actually move around in and such. Some MMO games can be nice too, particularly ones that have "Role Play" servers, which I only know a few do, like The Secret World and Tera. I see people role play in FFXIV too. It's nice because just about everyone is an original character. No canon characters.

Really? I thought it was forums and such. I remember trying to RP on Deviantart once, and it was hard because it wasn't real-time. >.< I think the very first time I RPed was probably in an AOL chatroom, when I was young, lol. It was an Inuyasha role play.