📚Types of Characters.

How to create an imaginary universe #1: Types of Characters.

So you want to write a book?.

Where do you start?.

The first thing you need to think about is the characters.

The characters are the most important aspect of any story because they bring the story to life. The characters tell the story and create interest for the reader.

For your first writing project you might not want to start with too many characters as it may get confusing.

So for a beginner you may want to start with the following characters.

Protagonist: This is the main character. This is the person your story revolves around.

Antagonist: This is the villain of your story. An Antagonist is the person who causes your protagonist all the drama.

In most stories, The Protagonist and the Antagonist are the main characters of the story. And all the other characters are there to enhance the main characters and move the plot along.

Now that you have the main characters taken care of, you can think about adding more minor characters.

Secondary character: A secondary character is the one who joins your hero for their journey.

Tertiary: We know less about tertiary characters than protagonists or secondary characters, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t still care about them or want to know more.

Love interest: It’s the person your protagonist is destined to fall in love with. Even if only temporary.

Mentor: The mentor is the person that guides your protagonist through their journey.

If you’re already experienced at writing and want to add more to your book by adding more complex characters take a look at these:

Confidante: someone in whom the central character confides in, thus revealing the main character’s personality, thoughts, and intentions. The confidante does not need to be a person.

Dynamic character: A character which changes during the course of a story or novel. The change in outlook or character is permanent. Sometimes a dynamic character is called a developing character.

Flat character: a character who reveals only one, maybe two, personality traits in a story or novel, and the trait(s) do not change.

Foil: a character that is used to enhance another character through contrast. Cinderella’s grace and beauty as opposed to her nasty, self-centered stepsisters is one clear illustration of a foil many may recall from childhood.

Round character: a well developed character who demonstrates varied and sometimes contradictory traits. Round characters are usually dynamic (change in some way throughout the story).

Static character: a character that remains primarily the same throughout the story or novel. Events in the story do not alter a static character’s outlook, personality, motivation, perception, habits ect.

Stock character: a special kind of flat character who is instantly recognizable to most readers. Possible examples include the “ruthless businessman”, “shushing old librarian” or “dumb jock”. They are not the focus nor developed in the story.

I really hope you found this blog helpful. Keep a lookout for part two, where I will go into detail about how to develop characters.
Feel free to email me at: stuckinmyimaginaryuniverse@gmail.com, if you have any questions or if you want me to read over any work.
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Resources:
I got the characters definitions from:
http://www.fictionfactor.com/guests/common.html

https://www.writerscookbook.com/character-types-story/