I have eight rounded-characters, four men, three women and a girl. My cast includes a male protagonist. I planned to have eight and sketched a small profile on each. However I was told that five or six rounded-characters is best.
Did you plan a number of rounded-characters for your novel?
A. M. Techera 9 hours ago ("Well, his name is Adrian, not Aidan..")
Accidentally on purpose. A case of "See how YOU like it."
Well, his name is Adrian, not Aidan...
@ Adrian ("Emily, flat characters are those that play minor roles. They may appear in one chapter and never be seen again. It's vital to know the difference between flat and round characters.")
Does that go for real life? As far as I'm concerned, one of the PROBLEMS of [most] literature is precisely that: that it teaches people that there are main characters and secondary, throw-away ones. Evil governments (such as those of Bush and Blair) are able to carry out wars because everybody in other countries belongs to the latter class.
But it's a tragedy on smaller scales as well. Children grow up believing that some people aren't important - not ONLY to THIS story but in general.
Admittedly, films are even more guilty of instilling these attitudes, but - as writers - shouldn't we work against that tendency? (This isn't an original idea: I borrow largely from Kurt Vonnegut, jr.'s writings opposing the "important / unimportant characters" division.)
And, Aidan, my name isn't Emily: it's Emilie.