Flat vs Round Characters: Both Are Valid - When Archetypes Serve the Story
The writing advice is nearly universal: “Make your characters three-dimensional! Give them depth! Show their complexity!” And then you look at some of the most beloved stories ever told—fairy tales, myths, adventure films, genre fiction—and realize: many of their characters are flat as paper. And it works perfectly. James Bond doesn’t have a meaningful character arc across most films. Indiana Jones is the same person at the end as at the beginning. Sherlock Holmes remains fundamentally unchanged across decades of stories. ...