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Part i. Character Archetypes

When you're creating a character, the most important step is to figure out what they are like: their purpose, personality, quirks, and voice. The list can go on and on.

So, where do you start? Many professional authors suggest starting with character archetypes because they give characters their purpose in the story, and they are also a really basic element of storytelling.

What is a character archetype?

An archetype is basically a typical example of a type of person. They appear over and over again in books and movies. Nearly every character in a fairy tale is an example of an archetype: the hero, the villain, the princess, the orphan, etc.

Here's the thing about character archetypes, though: everybody's got their own take. There is nothing wrong with running with all of them. The fact that archetypes are both universally applicable and yet endlessly varying provides authors with both structure and flexibility.

Character archetypes present important guidelines for creating a well-rounded cast that can provide the best help for advancing your hero's journey. But, depending on which approach you take, they can also be either frustratingly vague or claustrophobically limiting.

There are eight common character archetypes according to "Dramatica" by Melanie Anne Phillips and Chris Huntley: Protagonist, Antagonist, Sidekick, Skeptic, Guardian, Contagonist, Reason, and Emotion.

While there is quite a bit of overlap between them, there are also some key differences. In this part, I'll focus on these eight and a half character archetypes.

1. Protagonist

Your Protagonist is the most important person in your story. The story belongs to him or her. This is your main character, the one who moves the plot forward. Your readers will get to know this character the best. Examples of the Hero/Protagonist are Tris from "Divergent," Harry Potter from "Harry Potter," and Katniss from "The Hunger Games."

The Protagonist is:

• The main actor.
• The person most greatly affected by the Antagonist.
• The person whose reactions and actions drive the majority of the plot.
• The person with whom the readers will identify most strongly.
• The person whose inner journey, as influenced by the outer conflict, will be the most obvious manifestation of your story's theme.

2. Antagonist