Are Your Romantasy Characters Paying Rent?

Our stories are glorious castles.

Characters are the people who live inside them.

The woman running down the stairs to chase after the love of her life.

The man having a drink in the study while plotting against his enemy.

A couple defining their relationship in the library.

Characters are who we build for because stories aren't about castles or politics or magic.

They're about people.

It doesn’t matter if it’s a chosen girl or a dragon shifter. A magic Santa or a werewolf.

Our characters and their messy emotional lives are the story.

They are always the most interesting thing we create.

Romantasy writers make their characters work for their rent. We put them through battles, magic systems and let them flounder in all kinds of disastrous scenarios.

All while insisting that they fall in love on an epic scale.

During our Character Series, we’ll discuss creating the romantasy character and how to design them to survive our castles.

In this article, let’s look at a pervasive problem in romantasy: The Flat Character.

The Flat Character

We all know a flat character (*cough* Bella Swan cough). It’s the character that has no personality beyond the plot. Remove them and the story still unfolds the same way. Or they serve a singular purpose inside the fantasy or romance arcs.

These kinds of characters take up space in our castles but don’t pay rent.

They aren’t pulling their weight in a dual arc structure.

So why do we let them move in? Good question. Here are a couple of answers.

1. There’s a lot going on in a romantasy novel. We’re building castles, magic systems, entire worlds. Sometimes, we lose our characters inside a chaotic plot.

2. Flat characters often solve specific problems. We have a plot issue or need some romantic tension so cue the side character or rival to fix our structural problems.

3. Flat characters create self insert or wish fulfillment voids for both writers and readers. They’re “blank” enough to allow for an immersive experience.

None of these mean we have to evict our character. On the contrary, we can clean them up and put them to work.

Let’s look at one specific type of flat character and how to take them from flat to fabulous.

Wish fulfillment is a huge part of both romance and fantasy. Part of the joy is imagining yourself somewhere else as someone else. This has led to a dramatic rise in the flat female protagonist in romantasy.

She appears everywhere, doe eyed with her lips parted, as a supernatural world swirls around her.

We’ll talk about her in detail in a later article. But there’s another emerging flat-character trend in romantasy that deserves attention right now.

The Main Male Character (MMC) is designed by female driven romantasy to orbit a strong female character.

• His personality is abs and a sword or a suit with broody eyebrows

• His purpose is to make her look special

• His arc is changing for her

• His goal is protecting, saving, or loving her

He is a special brand of wish fulfillment but this makes him one sided. He exists solely to move the female protagonist through her arc. Often, he has all three of our problems - he gets structurally brushed aside, serves a singular purpose, and fulfills our readers' needs.

Don’t get me wrong, I love our MMCs but I prefer a well rounded man. Don’t you?

Here is one method to fill out our morally gray shadow daddies that can be applied to any character who’s falling flat inside your story.

Method

Give them their own arcs.

Not saving the world – that’s your fantasy arc.

Not falling in love – that’s your romantasy arc.

But something that belongs to them.

The real problem with flat characters is simple: they never change. Their journey doesn’t transform them. They don’t learn a lesson or resolve something inside themselves.

They’re moving from room to room inside your castle but they aren’t doing anything.

If your characters are building toward something – if they’re growing and changing – it almost guarantees they won’t fall flat.

Example

Our MMC that’s all abs and steel is amazing. His purpose is to protect the chosen one. That’s great but let’s give him a failure. Now he’s abs and steel with a purpose that he didn’t fulfill once before. He couldn’t save the last woman. He has conflict, guilt, and determination. His arc becomes one of forgiveness and self worth.

This isn’t something his female protagonist can fix for him. It’s his journey and it’s an interesting one.

Let’s plot his arc.

Exercise

This arc template is also in my dual arcs article. If you’re confused about arcs or looking for a way to weave both fantasy and romance arcs in your story, have a look. It’s full of information, diagrams and exercises.

Beginning - Inciting Incident

Lord Abs of Steel is conflicted about protecting another woman.

Rising Action

He’s unsure of himself and keeps his distance to protect his feelings.

Midpoint (not the climax, but when your story changes midway)

He defends her because he does care and his emotions force him to rise to the challenge.

Climax

He comes face to face with his failure and realizes he has to let go of his fears if he’s ever going to protect her.

Falling Action

His success brings a sense of inner peace. He is redeemed but only because he found himself worthy.

End - Resolution

Our Lord Abs of Steel is transformed from distant protector to diligent partner.

Notice his mission can still be her. We didn’t change who he is. We just completed him.

Now he’s a man we’re rooting for. He’s someone we relate to and we’re satisfied by his transformation.

This is a character who earns his room and board inside our castle.

If any of your characters feel incomplete, ask yourself if they have their own arc. Complete the template above for each of your main characters to ensure they’re involved in their own transformation.

Flat characters aren’t a failure. They’re an invitation.

They’re your story telling you there’s still something left to discover about the people living inside it.

Give them their own arc. Let them struggle. Let them change.

Your characters already belong in your castle.

Now let them earn their place there.