What makes a story truly memorable? Is it the twists and turns of a gripping plot, the vivid backdrops, or the compelling characters that captivate us?
Whilst all of these core elements contribute, characters are undeniably the heart and soul of a great story. They drive the action, evoke our emotions and ultimately determine the impact a story has on its audience.
This article will delve deep into the diverse world of character types to explore how they’re categorised and how they contribute to the richness and depth of storytelling at its finest.
- What Are the Characters in a Story?
- The Different Types Of Characters In Stories
- The Different Roles Of Characters In Stories
- The Different Development Of Characters In Stories
- The 12 Character Archetypes Found In Stories
- Stories Need Characters
- Get Sketches & Storytelling Delivered to Your Inbox.
What Are the Characters in a Story?
Characters are the living elements of your story. They are the individuals who experience the events of the plot with their thoughts, feelings, actions and reactions shaping the story’s direction.
It’s your characters that drive your plot forward and lead to its climax and resolution, regardless of which type of plot pattern you use to create your story.
Well-defined, believable characters are crucial for effective storytelling to add depth and keep your audience engaged. If your audience can’t resonate and empathise with your characters, they won’t root for them and you’ll lose their support.
- Internal vs. External: Characters are multifaceted beings with both internal (thoughts, emotions, motivations) and external (appearance, actions, relationships) dimensions.
- Character Arcs: A crucial aspect of character development is the “character arc,” which describes how a character evolves or changes throughout the story. Some characters undergo significant transformations, while others remain relatively static.
The Different Types Of Characters In Stories.
There are three widely accepted methods of categorising the different types of characters in stories:
- By their role
- By their development
- By their archetype
Whatever type of story you’re looking to tell, whether fiction or non-fiction and regardless of genre, you’ll find these different character types helpful in doing so…
The Different Roles Of Characters In Stories.
A character’s role is the part a character plays in a story and significantly influences their function and impact on the overall narrative.
The most important character role is that of the protagonist (main character) and all other roles are defined by their relationship to the protagonist.
When categorising characters by the role they play in a story, we end up with a tidy list of seven distinct character roles:
Protagonist.
The main character. The one the audience primarily follows and empathises with.
Star Wars: Luke Skywalker
The Hobbit: Bilbo Baggins
Raiders of the Lost Ark: Indiana Jones
The Hunger Games: Katniss Everdeen
Antagonist.
The character who opposes the protagonist, creating conflict to drive the narrative forward.
Star Wars: Darth Vader
The Hobbit: Smaug
Raiders of the Lost Ark: Doctor René Emile Belloq
The Hunger Games: President Coriolanus Snow
Deuteragonist.
A significant supporting character who assists the protagonist, often a close friend or ally.
Star Wars: Han Solo
The Hobbit: Gandalf
Raiders of the Lost Ark: Sallah Mohammed Faisel el-Kahir
The Hunger Games: Peeta Mellark
Tertiary Character.
Minor characters who play supporting roles but have limited impact on the main plot.
Star Wars: Chewbacca
The Hobbit: Any of the Dwarves except Thorin
Raiders of the Lost Ark: Imam
The Hunger Games: Primrose
Confidante.
A character the protagonist confides in, offering emotional support and advice.
Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi
The Hobbit: Gandalf
Raiders of the Lost Ark: Sallah Mohammed Faisel el-Kahir
The Hunger Games: Haymitch Abernathy
Love Interest.
A romantic interest for the protagonist, often adding a layer of emotional complexity.
Star Wars: Princess Leia
The Hobbit: Taurie… just kidding!
Raiders of the Lost Ark: Marion Ravenwood
The Hunger Games: Peeta Mellark
Foil/Contrast Character.
A character who highlights the protagonist’s strengths and weaknesses through contrasting traits.
Star Wars: Han Solo
The Hobbit: Thorin Oakenshield
Raiders of the Lost Ark: Doctor René Emile Belloq
The Hunger Games: Peeta Mellark
The Different Development Of Characters In Stories.
Beyond their roles, characters can also be categorised based on their development throughout the story. Character quality development is deeper than just observing if a character is good or bad, it’s a methodical focus on their nature within the story and how they change or refuse to change.
The different character development types include:
Dynamic/Changing.
Dynamic characters change throughout the story, most often for the better but this can also be applied to villains that start as good and degenerate into evil. A protagonist should always be a dynamic character.
The change of a dynamic character should never feel forced, it should be a subtle and natural evolution that happens as the story unfolds.
Star Wars: Luke Skywalker
The Hobbit: Bilbo Baggins
Raiders of the Lost Ark: Indiana Jones
The Hunger Games: Katniss Everdeen
Static/Unchanging.
Static characters are those that don’t change. These characters are often unlikeable and this development type is well suited to an antagonist or tertiary character.
It’s important not to fill a story with static characters as this development type can be used to great effect when used well, but can also come across as an easy option for the lazy storyteller.
Star Wars: Darth Vader (Disclaimer, I’m only talking about A New Hope)
The Hobbit: Gandalf (Unpopular opinion? Prove me wrong…)
Raiders of the Lost Ark: Sallah Mohammed Faisel el-Kahir
The Hunger Games: President Coriolanus Snow
Stock.
Stock characters are typically archetypal, the sort of characters your audience feels familiar with seeing, having seen them in many stories.
Despite being drawn from archetypes, these characters needn’t be flat, it can bring them to life in an engaging way if you flesh them out and don’t rely solely on stock personalities.
Star Wars: C-3PO (Human-Cyborg Relations…)
The Hobbit: Beorn
Raiders of the Lost Ark: Dr Marcus Brody
The Hunger Games: Carine Everdeen (No Googling…)
Symbolic.
Symbolic characters can bring depth to a story, representing a concept larger and more important than themselves, feeding into the overall message of your story.
You should be conservative with this character type as you don’t want to vomit symbolism all over your audience, they won’t thank you for it – a light-handed approach to symbolic characters works best.
Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi
The Hobbit: Smaug
Raiders of the Lost Ark: Satipo
The Hunger Games: President Coriolanus Snow (I know, I know, I wanted to say Boo Ridley but we’re only talking book one…)
Round.
Round characters are similar to dynamic characters, undergoing change throughout their arc that the audience is usually made aware of from the moment of introduction.
They’re usually flawed in some way and have realistic complex emotions and motivations that make the character interesting and exciting. This encourages the audience to commit to following their arc which can lead in surprising directions and take a turn for better or worse at any moment.
Star Wars: Han Solo
The Hobbit: Thorin Oakenshield
Raiders of the Lost Ark: Indiana Jones
The Hunger Games: Katniss Everdeen
The 12 Character Archetypes Found In Stories.
Swiss psychologist Carl Jung defined 12 character archetypes that have been used by storytellers time and again. Other schools of thought have adapted and adjusted some of the archetypes, such as Joseph Campbell with his work on ‘The Hero’s Journey’.
Here are the 12 Jungian character archetypes that can be used to bolster the characters in your stories and fill the role of any of your characters – protagonists, antagonists, deutoragonists, etc.
The Hero.
The Hero role is filled by a character who rises to meet a challenge, overcome the obstacles in their path and save the day.
- Strengths: Courage, perseverance, honour
- Weaknesses: Overconfidence, hubris
- Biggest fears: Failure, weakness, vulnerability
- Other names: Warrior, superhero, rescuer
- Example: Luke Skywalker
The Lover.
The Lover role is filled by a character whose decisions and actions are determined and guided by their heart.
- Strengths: Humanism, passion, conviction
- Weaknesses: Naivete, irrationality
- Biggest fears: Being unwanted, unloved, and alone
- Other names: Partner, friend, intimate
- Example: Peeta Mellark
The Jester.
The Jester role is filled by a character whose sole purpose is to provide comic relief and be intentionally funny.
- Strengths: The ability to be funny, disarming, and insightful
- Weaknesses: The capacity to be obnoxious and superficial
- Biggest fears: Being bored or boring
- Other names: Fool, trickster, joker
- Example: Tom, Bert, and William (The Trolls in The Hobbit)
The Everyman.
The Everyman role is filled by a character who feels familiar, relatable, and recognisable from everyday life.
- Strengths: Grounded, salt-of-the-earth, relatable
- Weaknesses: Ill-prepared, lacking special powers
- Biggest fears: Being left out, standing out from the crowd
- Other names: The regular person, the person next door
- Example: Bilbo Baggins
The Caregiver.
The Caregiver role is filled by a supportive character who tends to make sacrifices on behalf of others.
- Strengths: Honourable, selfless, loyal
- Weaknesses: Lacking ambition and leadership
- Biggest fears: Selfishness, ingratitude
- Other names: Altruist, parent, helper
- Example: Katniss Everdeen
The Ruler.
The Ruler role is filled by a character that has legal or emotional power over others.
- Strengths: Omnipotence, status, resources
- Weaknesses: Aloofness, disliked, unaware
- Biggest fears: Chaos, mutiny, being overthrown
- Other names: King, boss, leader
- Example: Thorin Oakenshield
The Creator.
The Creator role is filled by a character who is usually a visionary who enjoys creating or inventing things.
- Strengths: Creativity, willpower, conviction
- Weaknesses: Overconfidence, hubris
- Biggest fears: Failure, mediocrity
- Other names: Inventor, dreamer, writer
- Example: Doc Emmett Brown ( couldn’t resist sneaking this legend into the examples…)
The Innocent.
The Innocent is a role filled by a character who is morally pure and has only good intentions; in most cases, this role is filled by a child or childlike character.
- Strengths: Morality, kindness, sincerity
- Weaknesses: Vulnerable, naive, unskilled
- Biggest fears: Doing wrong, being punished
- Other names: Naive, child, dreamer
- Example: Primrose Everdeen
The Sage.
The Sage role is filled by a character who is wise and seemingly knows everything, the best source of knowledge and guidance for other characters.
- Strengths: Wisdom, experience, insight
- Weaknesses: Overcautious, hesitant
- Biggest fears: Ignorance, being misled or tricked
- Other names: Mentor, wizard, detective
- Example: Obi-Wan Kenobi
The Explorer.
The Explorer role is filled by a character who’s naturally driven to follow their curiosity and push past any boundaries in the name of discovery.
- Strengths: Curious, driven, self-improvement
- Weaknesses: Restless, unreliable, never satisfied
- Biggest fears: Getting trapped, conformity
- Other names: Wanderer, pilgrim, searcher
- Example: Indiana Jones
The Outlaw.
The Outlaw is a role filled by a character who’s rebellious by nature and refuses to conform to societal norms.
- Strengths: Independent thinking, scepticism
- Weaknesses: Self-absorbed, criminality
- Biggest fears: Being powerless, conformity
- Other names: Rebel, revolutionary, misfit
- Example: Han Solo
The Magician.
The Magician role is filled by a character who’s managed to gain mastery of the elements and the ways of the universe, bending them to their will to achieve their goals.
- Strengths: Omniscience, omnipotence, discipline
- Weaknesses: Corruptability, arrogance
- Biggest fears: Unintended negative consequences
- Other names: Visionary, shaman, wizard
- Example: Gandalf
Stories Need Characters for Emotional Investment.
Without characters, who will the audience be rooting for? How can you evoke emotions and empathy for your audience and get them involved with the story?
Characters are the life of a story and you need them to drive your plot forward to its eventual climax and resolution.
Great stories have many components, building blocks that you can’t tell a good story without and even if one of them is missing, your story will fail to capture your audience. Characters are just one of those ingredients. See my guide – The Essential Elements of Storytelling – to explore the others.
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