7 Types of Character to Use in Your Novel

7 Types of Character to Use in Your Novel

Anybody Can Write a Novel

Chapter 3 “Characters” – Section 1 “Character Types”

With Links to Supplementary Material

If we're thinking of a story as a theatrical play, you now have a great many things ready for your production to begin. You have your setting (comprised of the Story-type, Timeline, and Maps), and you have your Three-Act Outline. Now, all you need to get started writing your scenes is a cast of characters. Today, I'm going to talk about what kind of characters you will want for your story, as well as some traits in each that you may want to avoid. Note, that I will go into further detail with each of these type before we move on to the story.

Character Type 1: The Protagonist

This is the character that will drive your story, and is usually a type of Hero or Antihero, but could even be just a regular person who is determined to reach some goal. Note that the protagonist does not have to be the main character, as some stories are driven by the story's villain—but making your protagonist be your main character leads to a more dynamic story. After all, readers enjoy characters who do things, or at least try to do things, as opposed to characters who are just along for the ride.

Character Type 2: The Antagonist

This is the character who is trying to prevent the actions of the protagonist, and is often a Villain or Monster. However, there are stories where the person trying to prevent the protagonist from reaching their goal is a close friend or loved one, acting in what they perceive to be the Protagonist's best interest. Note that not every story requires an Antagonist, as the antagonistic force can be nature, society, or the protagonist's own mind.

Character Type 3: The Supporting Character

This will be the main demographic of character that populates your novel. Remember that even in stories that are about a group of people, the story's primary focus is usually on one protagonist—leaving the rest of them to play some sort of supporting role. Supporting Characters can be side-kicks, allies, acquaintances, mentors, or any other character that has a significant role to play. Each supporting character should be dynamic (which means changing and evolving throughout the course of the story), and should have their own personal story-arch, where they face their own antagonists and have a sort of miniature story that contributes to the over-arching plot.

Character Type 4: The Universe Filler Character

A Universe Filler Character is each and every one that makes the world seem more alive. These can include a passerby, victim, restaurant server, or any of the other characters that are necessary to fill in a world. The popular temptation for writers is to make their Universe Filling Characters little more than zombie-like props with no originality or depth (stock-characters, stereotypes). Remember that a story is only as good as its weakest part, and that every character, even the clerk at the check-out line, should have some originality about them in order to give your story a greater level of depth and realism.

Character Type 5: The Foil

While this character type can be an antagonist, a supporting character, or even a universe building character, it should be noted as a type all of its own. The Foil exists as a contrast to the protagonist, showing everything that the protagonist is not. This can be a cultist to a protagonist who is a priest, a rich father to contrast his destitute protagonist son, or any number of opposite roles—so long as they exist to cause the reader to notice the details of the protagonist's character.

Character Type 6: The Narrator

This is the character who is telling the story. You'll notice that most authors who write in the third-person do not have a very noticeable narrator (as opposed to those who write in first-person). Sometimes, this is because the narrator is a non-essential omniscient or limited omniscient force, like a god or spirit that is unessential to the story. These are marked for being mostly honest and unbiased as they tell of the events that take place. Then, you have very present narrators such as those who speak in the first-person, who are usually biased in favor of the protagonist (or are the protagonist), and can sometimes be unreliable to tell the whole truth.

Character Type 7: The Point-of-View (POV) Character

The POV character, usually the protagonist, is the character whose eyes we see the story through. The POV character will often change from chapter to chapter—especially when a story is told in the third-person with a very non-present narrator. Also note that there is not always a POV character, as in when the story is told from a completely omniscient point of view.

Remember that not every story has every type of character, and that characters often fall into multiple roles. It is simply a good idea to know what sort of characters and options that the writer has to drive the story and bring it to life. Also, there are many theories as to how to categorize different types of characters, as well as character types that I might have forgotten. Feel free to bring any of these to light in the comments, or to talk about Sub-types (like hero, villain, monster, and anti-hero) that I can talk about in later articles.

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