7 Rules for Writers, #5: The 15 Character Types that Affect Plot - 10-21-2014 by Chazda Albright - GreatStorybook.com - http://greatstorybook.com/dev 7 Rules for Writers, #5: The 15 Character Types that Affect Plot by Chazda Albright - http://greatstorybook.com/dev/7-rules-for-writers-5/ Character creates plot; the plot doesn’t happen to the character. This is a key distinction that affects absolutely everything about a story. The protagonist must make decisions that drive the plot forward. That's their role and ultimately what makes them the main character. When the protagonist doesn't fill that role, the story is at best a collection of events happening to someone - at worst, it's a passive story where the character drifts from moment to moment without purpose. A plot is driven by the decisions your protagonist makes when presented with options. Likewise, the types of characters appearing in a story are defined by their actual purpose, so you can functionally break it down to character type to help structure your writing. This is why you should create your characters before planning out the story's plot points. So let's take a look at the types of characters you might have in a story, and how that influences the plot. Protagonist: the main character who makes the decisions that drive the plot. Antagonist: the secondary main character or thing (especially in children's books, the antagonist can be a thing - the first day of school, the potty, the darkness under the bed, etc.) that poses a problem for the protagonist. This can be a villain, but does not have to be. The key is that this is an important source of friction for the protagonist. Hero: In stories with a happy ending, the hero chooses definitively to take action. In dramas, the hero often chooses to not take action or to take action when it is far too late. Traditionally, the hero is the protagonist, but many stories use the hero as a stock character rather than the protagonist. Stock character: a cliche character or type of character that is so often used in stories that it is more about how to use the character as a tool in the story rather than an a multi-dimensional character. Stock characters are functionally a talking road sign in the story and are most common in comedies. These characters usually have a lot of personality, but are static (they have no character arc). Best friend or sidekick: The sidekick will follow the hero anywhere, without question. Samwise Gamgee is the quintessential best friend of a martyred hero (not a tragic hero). Foil: (Note: used here as a noun, not a verb) can be any important character (an antagonist, a sidekick, etc.) who displays characteristics that are the polar opposite of the protagonist. If a sidekick foils the protagonist, that means it emphasizes or magnifies the main character's personality traits by being the opposite, thereby teaching us more about the protagonist. 1 / 4 7 Rules for Writers, #5: The 15 Character Types that Affect Plot - 10-21-2014 by Chazda Albright - GreatStorybook.com - http://greatstorybook.com/dev Symbolic character: these are characters, usually in a dramatic ensemble story, where the character's function is to symbolize something else, oftentimes an aspect of society. This is different from a stock character because stock characters symbolize a personality type whereas symbolic characters symbolize a topic. Symbolic characters can be static or dynamic (either with or without a character arc). Anti-hero: The anti-hero will try not to take action for self-interested reasons but then do the right thing anyway. These are the rogues, the scruffy-looking scoundrels. Tragic Hero: The protagonist who tries to do the right thing but makes a massive error in judgement that leads to his or her misfortune. This is a character who begins the story with a great deal to lose, and loses it all. Martyred Hero: The martyred hero makes the best decisions he or she can, given a terrible set of options from which to choose. The martyred hero willinging faces great loss and even death to do the right thing. The Forgotten Characters Narrator. We don't usually think of the narrator as a character - but it is, because whether first person or third, the narrator affects the telling of the story and how we feel about the story. The narrator can even impact the story plot (example: because they are a character in the story, or because they insert themselves into the story for a moment - like a god). Here are the four basic types of narrative POV. Narrative Point of View First Person: when a character tells the story. It can be the main character or a close friend. Regardless, we are only able to know what the narrator knows. In some novels where the narrative is in first person, the point of view changes from chapter to chapter so that we can get more information than what just one character might have (or be willing to share with us). The narrator says "I" and "We." Second Person: when the narrator speaks directly to the reader as "You." This brings the reader directly into the story, involving them as another character - who in some cases might even affect the story in some way (think: Choose Your Own Adventure books). This is the rarest type of narrative. Third Person: the omniscient view, sometimes called the non-personal entity, where things are explained by a voice removed from the story but that can explain everything that happens. In third person narratives, it is easy to forget we are reading it. These are the words we accept as facts. This is the most common type of narrative, where the narrator says, "They" or "He" and "She." Alternating Person: This is when the narrator actually changes from that of one character to another. Traditionally, writers have been told that this isn't a good idea, but some of the best books written do this from chapter to chapter. Narrative Characterization Once you have determined the Point of View for your narrator, you need to decide its characterization. 2 / 4 7 Rules for Writers, #5: The 15 Character Types that Affect Plot - 10-21-2014 by Chazda Albright - GreatStorybook.com - http://greatstorybook.com/dev The characterization is the way the narrator gives you information - directly or indirectly. Direct characterization: When the narrative voice says quite simply how things are. If a character is an idiot and the narrator tells us this quite frankly and in those words, that is a direct characterization. If the story is told in first person, we have to keep reading to determine if the statement is true or not. If the story is told in third person, we can accept it as fact. Indirect characterization: This is when the narration describes things as they appear, as they unfold - without bias. It is left up to the reader to decide if the character is good or bad, or smart, etc. We aren't told things, we are only shown. If the story is in first person, we tend to suspect there is something wrong - that truths, or at least facts, are being held back from us either because the narrator doesn't know or because they don't want us to know. If the story is in third person, we can accept the descriptions without question. Location, location, location: as Character It counts. There is a huge difference between a fantasy story on another planet and a fantasy story in modern New York City. This is about much more than window dressing. Location absolutely affects plot because certain characteristics of a location will make certain plot points either possible or impossible. Hot Objects as Character? You bet. Hot Object. I always design hot objects as I do a character - because of three reasons: 1. hot objects must have an arc - these are dynamic things with character and a lifeline, 2. hot objects must affect their owner either in a good or bad way, 3. hot objects die - meaning they are either destroyed or they lose their significance for the owner. Other character types: about writing rather than function There are other character types that are usually meant to describe the quality of writing rather than the quality of the character's impact on the story (though it can also be that). Those are: Round vs. Flat Characters: Flat characters are as you might imagine: flat, meaning they have no character depth at all. (This isn't another word for a stock character. Stock characters can have a lot of depth, they just have a certain function in the story with certain expectations to fulfill.) Round characters are the ones that are full, the ones that feel real to us because they have great depth. Static vs. Dynamic Characters: Static characters are ones that do not change. They might have gobs of depth but do not have a character arc. They stay the same. Static characters are either poorly written, or they are those characters who do not change, do not grow or learn. Dynamic characters change during the course of the story in some way. They have a character arc. Characters should have an arc unless their ending is a sad one - or if their fortune is irrelevant. NOTE: It is possible for a Static Character to be Full and a Flat Character to be Dynamic. None 3 / 4 7 Rules for Writers, #5: The 15 Character Types that Affect Plot - 10-21-2014 by Chazda Albright - GreatStorybook.com - http://greatstorybook.com/dev of these terms are synonymous.