One Note Characters (and How to Fix Them)
I’ve mentioned something in many reviews without ever really defining that thing. One-note characters are a significant gripe that I have with some books, but what exactly are they? Why do I dislike them and, more importantly, how would I suggest improving them? Can these characters be redeemed? I’ll discuss all of this in today’s post: One-Note Characters (and How to Fix Them). I’m T. L. Bainter and on my website and YouTube channel, I frequently talk about stories of all kinds, so thanks for stopping by and I hope you stick around!
What Are One-Note Characters?
This should be fairly obvious just by the title alone, but I want to clarify what one-note characters are for those who probably think it’s about people who always carry a single sticky-note sheet around with them. One-note characters are those characters in stories who seem to beat the dead horse relentlessly. They’re given one adjective, and they play out that single adjective religiously. That’s their thing and they want everyone to know it’s their thing.
I find this to be most common in horror and comedy stories or other tales where character development and personalities tend to take a backseat, but every genre is guilty of it one way or another. I’m sure if you think back to films, you can think of these characters who took a singular adjective to the extreme. These can range from funny to lustful and anything in between. A one-note character will be that thing just that thing. Any decisions the character makes are based on that assigned descriptor, any dialogue the character has is associated with that adjective.
Beyond that, a one-note character doesn’t really have any unique personality traits. If there are other traits present, they’re reserved and negligible compared to the primary note.
In worse examples, it may not even be a personality quirk; the character could just have one idea that’s being repeated on and on throughout the series. Things like “we just need to survive” or “let’s split up and look for clues, I’ll go with Daphne”. You know, stuff like that.
What’s the Problem?
More than likely, you already know the problem with one-note characters: they’re dull and unrealistic. These characters are not well-rounded, and they aren’t a good representation of actual humans. This makes relating to them a challenge, and it makes caring about them challenging as well. It’s one of the reasons I don’t really care much for horror films that aren’t comedic. The characters are so bland (and, yes, one-note) that I just do not care about what happens to them. Obviously, this isn’t the case for every horror story, but you get my point.
Additionally, this becomes exhausting when it’s read over a long series. When characters constantly repeat the same thing or get into the same situations repeatedly, it’s easy to lose interest in the tale. Sometimes, the plot is good enough to keep you chugging along, but other times it’s so obnoxious that the story just needs to be put down.
How Can We Fix Them?
There are a few ways to fix characters like this. One of them is to give them a reason to hit this singular note. Things like trauma can lead to something of a locked or hyper-focused state in people that can last a long time. Tau in Evan Winter’s The Rage of Dragons is a good example of this. Tau is extremely one-note; he’s rage-filled and driven by gory vengeance. It can be frustrating to read and is in fact one of the reasons many people didn’t finish the book, according to reviews I’ve read. I actually liked this because there was a reason for Tau’s extreme personality trait and because there were consequences for Tau’s one-note nature. Having the singular note be something that is addressed in the story makes it more believable and can round out the character.
My other suggestion is to just have more than one note. It’s seriously that easy! Human beings have more than one thing that makes them a person and makes them unique. Think about yourself and your friends! I love hiking, riding my motorcycle, playing dungeons and dragons, reading, writing, and creating music; I’ve worked in IT for ten years, and had my heart broken, and broken hearts… there’s so much about me that makes me a person. I can’t even pick one thing that would be the most prominent! I’m sure the same is true for you if you really think about it; I know it’s true for my friends!
Another suggestion I have for improving one-note characters is to consider the unique take on that note. How can this character make that primary adjective special? You might have two primarily funny characters in a room, but they should make different sorts of jokes because they’ve had different past experiences. Think about how that one note assigned to the character can be used to round out the character, rather than condense them.
In a crowd of people, every single individual is unique and special. They have their own histories, goals, desires, and fears. Writers don't have to create personalities for seven billion people, yet still some can't manage to make unique personalities for the handful of characters who actually need them.
Examples of Well-Rounded Characters
It’s easy to dog on characters, but how about I take a moment to talk about well-rounded characters in fiction? I don’t think that it will surprise anyone when the first character I mention is from the Breaking Bad universe: Jesse Pinkman. Jesse Pinkman is a prime example of an excellent, well-developed character with a beautiful story. When we first meet Jesse, he seems pretty one-note. I’m sure different people would summarize him differently, but I’ll just summarize him as lazy. Selfish might be another good note for him, but laziness seems to be his most dominant trait on a surface level.
Over the course of the series, though, we learn so much more about Jesse. He’s not some lazy, selfish, entitled bad boy. He’s a loving, passionate, caring person. He had a rough life growing up, he made some bad decisions, and since then he has been embroiled in turmoil with terrible people. It would have been so easy to just have Jesse be lazy for the sake of laziness, but the writers created an in-depth, relatable character in Jesse who just continued to grow and develop of the course of the series.
What do you expect from Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould, though?
Another shining example of a well-rounded character? Jimmy McGill. Wait, you want me to pick someone from beyond the Breaking Bad universe? Okay, fine. Just let me think…
Joel from The Last of Us. On the surface, Joel seems to have one note to hit, and he hits it well: survive. However, as the story moves forward, we learn a lot more about Joel (and he learns a lot about himself). We see the bond between himself and Ellie grow stronger with time. His gruff exterior sometimes softens, showing us the wounded and caring man underneath. He’s got a lot more depth and wants more out of the world than simply surviving it. We see Joel make decisions that don’t necessarily align with the “survival first” attitude that we get from him, especially as the story progresses and we learn more about him. I’d also say that Abby from the sequel is an extraordinarily well-rounded character, but that’s a fairly recent game that I don’t want to spoil for anyone.
I can think of so many other excellently-written characters to share! Death from Discworld, Trevor from Travelers, Jin Sakai from Ghost of Tsushima, Ephraim from the Red Rising series… there are tons of shining examples out there, but I think the most fleshed-out characters you’ll ever encounter are those you meet in real life.
Conclusion
There you have it! Now when I say that I found the characters in a story to be pretty one-note, you’ll know exactly what I mean. One-note characters just beat the dead horse ceaselessly, constantly hitting that singular note that they’re expected to hit, instead of playing a beautiful chord like believable characters ought to do. Well-rounded characters breathe life and humanity into a story, making it more engaging. There isn’t a single story on my top ten list that isn’t filled with rich, grounded characters, and there’s a reason for that.