Characters...they are the most popular story element and very important when it comes to creating a short story, novel, or play. After all, they are the actors that put on a show for readers when they crack open a book, allowing them to get a glimpse into their fictional lives and the imaginative worlds created by writers. As we writers know, there are many different types of characters in a fictional story, but some significant differences play a crucial part in distinguishing which characters get most of the spotlight.
I'll be discussing all kinds of characters for you to identify your own characters, but in this first part, I'll be starting with the most basic categories and going over 9 generic character types that help with showing the importance of characters, which characters evolve throughout your stories, and which ones remain the same. The following are the nine generic character types I'll be writing about in this post: major characters, supporting characters, stock characters, minor characters, foil characters, dynamic characters, static characters, round characters, and flat characters. But firstly, let's quickly go over what generic characters are.
WHAT ARE GENERIC CHARACTERS?
Generic characters are basic character types that identify the importance, transformation, and description of story characters. In other words, they are character types that distinguish the differences between characters. Okay, enough of that, let's get into what categories distinguishes characters from one another.
THE 3 CHARACTER CATEGORIES
There are three main categories that distinguish characters from one another, which include role, development, and description. Based on the role, development, and description, we can then organize the different types of generic characters based on these three categories or characteristics as shown in the three-column chart below.
ROLE | DEVELOPMENT | DESCRIPTION |
Major or Lead Characters | Dynamic Characters | Round Characters |
Supporting Characters | Static Characters | Flat Characters |
Stock Characters | | |
Minor Characters | | |
Foil Characters | | |
9 GENERIC CHARACTER TYPES
CATEGORY 1: ROLE
🟥1. MAJOR or LEAD CHARACTERS
Major or lead characters play larger roles in a story. These are usually the protagonists or heroes and the antagonists or villains, but they also can include supporting roles, which is the next type of characters I'll be discussing below. Some examples of major characters are Romeo and Juliet, Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, and Forrest Gump and Jenny Curran.
🟥2. SUPPORTING CHARACTERS
Supporting characters, also called secondary characters, are characters that help to aid the protagonists or main characters during their journey of character development. These types of characters can range from a number of different categories, such as sidekicks, best friends, mentors, love interests, co-workers, or other family members. One example of a supporting character is Flounder, who is Ariel's best friend in The Little Mermaid.
🟥3. STOCK CHARACTERS
Stock characters are stereotypical characters who are easily recognizable to readers or a viewing audience. They have certain traits expected of them for their common story roles. Some examples of stock characters are the teenage cast of the 1985 film, The Breakfast Club, as there's the Jock, the Rebel, the Princess, the Basket Case, and the Brainy kid, all of which are common roles in coming-of-age, young adult fiction books and movies.
🟥4. MINOR CHARACTERS
Minor characters play smaller roles in a story. As supporting characters, these can range from various types of story characters. Because they tend to have shorter scenes and lines, they can also be thought of as recurring characters which show up momentarily throughout a story, but especially for a TV series. One example of a minor character is Mae Mobley from the 2011 film, The Help, the little white girl Aibileen Clark cared for as a maid in the movie.
💡Tip #1: MINOR CHARACTERS CAN SOMETIMES BE NON-PRESENT. This means they're mentioned in the plot, but they never make a physical appearance in the story. This could be for different reasons, such as the character having already died prior to the start of the story or away in war or prison. One example of a non-present minor character is Leroy, Minny's abusive husband in The Help movie who is mentioned and overheard during an altercation with Minny over the phone, but never makes an actual appearance in the film.
🟥5. FOIL CHARACTERS
Foil characters contrasts with another character (typically the protagonist) to draw attention to the main character's qualities. These characters are usually antagonists, but they can also be supporting characters. One good example of a foil character is the Evil Queen Grimhilde. Even though she and Snow White are both considered beautiful, the Queen's evil, vindictive character brings out Snow White's innocence, kind heart, and loving nature. The Queen disguised herself as an old woman and purposefully convinced Snow White to eat a poisonous apple and so she (Queen Grimhilde) would fulfill her obsessive desire to become "the fairest one of all."
CATEGORY 2: DEVELOPMENT
🟦6. DYNAMIC CHARACTERS
Dynamic characters are the common name for characters that change and develop during a story. These characters have character arcs, starting from one state at the beginning and transforming into another state by the ending. The developmental change of these characters could be positive or negative arcs.
🟦7. STATIC CHARACTERS
Static or stasis characters don't change or evolve over the course of the story. Therefore, they have a flat character arc, which basically means there is no character development. Many detectives or sleuths are static characters because of them remaining relatively the same in plot-driven stories during every case investigation. Some examples are Jessica Fletcher from the TV drama show, Murder She Wrote and Agatha Christie's sleuths Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple.
CATEGORY 3: DESCRIPTION
🟨8. ROUND CHARACTERS
Round characters are three-dimensional characters with fleshed-out physical attributes and developed or distinguished personalities. Unlike flat characters, these characters usually have significant importance and make multiple appearances in a story. Some good examples of round characters are those in William Sirls Christian fiction novel, The Reason. I think he did an awesome job with bringing his characters to life in this story, and especially Charlie, a seven-foot mute giant who's the son of Pastor Jim and his wife Shirley and have never spoken a word. Even though he never says anything, he still comes alive through the pages from his big kind heart, actions, and mannerisms.
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🟨9. FLAT CHARACTERS
Flat characters are one-dimensional with little to no physical attributes and underdeveloped personalities. The mother and the baby in Flannery O'Connor's short story, "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" are perfect examples of these kind of flat characters. They're also characters that don't change throughout the story, such as Darla, the little, rambunctious redheaded girl with braces in the dentist office in the Pixar film, Finding Nemo. Other flat characters in this animated movie are Crush the turtle and Bruce, the shark that tries to eat Marlin and Dory.
💡Tip #2: FLAT CHARACTERS ARE ALSO CALLED STOCK CHARACTERS. Because these characters are one-dimensional, they are sometimes associated with stereotypical roles, such as "the bully," "the girl-next-door," or "the class clown."
COMBINING CHARACTER TYPES
Just as the duality of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by using the above character types, you can then combine them in different ways when creating your characters. For example, let's say you want a round, static character, or a flat, dynamic character. For the round, static character it would be a fleshed-out character who doesn't have a development arc, and the flat, dynamic character would be a character with little or no description, but that significantly evolves during the story. Maybe your flat character is also one of the major characters that plays big roles in the story, and the round character is a supporting or minor character. These are just some examples of what you could do by combining character types.
📣CLOSING REMARKS:
Characters allow readers to have a well-rounded reading experience in stories. Their differences and distinctions are what makes the stories of writers colorful and relatable in a manner that makes their interactions with one another and their fictional worlds come alive. So, the next time you're building your cast, spice it up with some of these generic character types and get creative with combining their different characteristics. If you liked this post, please, give a (heart ❤️️) and share your thoughts or comments below. 💬).
Happy Writing! 😊✍🏽💻
ALSO STAY TUNED FOR PART 2: 5 COMMON STORY CHARACTERS IN FICTION...
🤔Out of the four, which is your favorite type of generic character listed below?
Flat Characters
Static Characters
Stock Characters
Minor Characters
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