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Printed from https://writing.com/main/newsletters/action/archives/id/11989-Classic-Story-Character-Types.html
Short Stories: May 31, 2023 Issue [#11989]




 This week: Classic Story Character Types
  Edited by: NaNoNette Author IconMail Icon
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Table of Contents

1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions

About This Newsletter

“Oh, he did look like a deity – the perfect balance of danger and charm, he was at the same time fascinating and inaccessible, distant because of his demonstrated flawlessness, and possessing such strength of character that he was dismaying and at the same time utterly attractive in an enticing and forbidden way.” ― Simona Panova, Nightmarish Sacrifice


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Letter from the editor

Classic Story Character Types


Carl Jung: "All the most powerful ideas in history go back to archetypes."

In literature, archetypes are used to create characters that represent a typical example of person. In some cases, the archetype can also be used as a model for an object. Stories that we now call "classics" have formed a number of archetypes for us. Or readers and critics have distilled the characters from those classics into archetypal categories. The archetype shows a character who presents a deep cultural motif through an idea or theme that is created consciously or unconsciously. An easily recognizable archetype is the leader who is an active driver of the story, leads the charge, and is the main decision maker above the other characters.

Forest Whitaker: "Stereotypes do exist, but we have to walk through them."

At face value, stereotypes and archetypes could appear to be similar, but they are completely different.
A stereotype is a concept that is deliberately fabricated to press a group of people into a generalized idea or theme. It is overly simplified and mostly derogatory. An example from fantasy could be orks who are always depicted as gnarly brutes with a horde mentality and who smell bad.

Lisa Simpson: "They call her 'The Cat Lady.' People say she's crazy just because she has a few dozen cats."

The stock character is always a person. A stock character makes a good witness or other character who is needed for a scene, but does not carry the plot. This character is predictable and easily recognizable across many narratives. One typical stock character is the cat lady that lives at the corner. She keeps herself surrounded by dozens of purring protectors. Although we never get really up close to her, we feel that we know her. She can enter and exit the narrative at any moment without needing and introduction nor a send-off.

Stephen Fry: “It is a cliché that most clichés are true, but then like most clichés, that cliché is untrue.”

The cliché can be represented by a type of character, but it is more often a phrase or idea that has lost its original meaning from overuse. One that you have probably come across is "All that glitters isn't gold." The cliché should not be entirely discounted as it does express a widespread or common way of thinking within a culture. The phrase "cliché but true" can be used by fiction writers to establish something in their world that might be new to the reader, but old and worn out to the characters within the story.

Is there a stereotypical cliché that you like to use in your stories?


Editor's Picks

 
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Common Themes in Literature Open in new Window. (E)
Themes and archetypes common to literature.
#2031933 by Jimmy E. Durham, RN-BC Author IconMail Icon

STATIC
The Identity Crisis Open in new Window. (13+)
A man walked into a bar ...
#481116 by deemac Author IconMail Icon

 tools of confusion Open in new Window. (ASR)
flash fiction: assembling furniture, sometimes stereotypes are true
#1213026 by Dawn Embers Author IconMail Icon

 What's Behind Me? Open in new Window. (13+)
A spoof on the cliché.
#1903355 by BIG BAD WOLF is Howling Author IconMail Icon

 
STATIC
Literary Character Archetypes Open in new Window. (E)
Here are the archetypes of the characters typically populating the plots of literature.
#2031951 by Jimmy E. Durham, RN-BC Author IconMail Icon

STATIC
Through A Glass Darkly Open in new Window. (ASR)
How Vampires and Werewolves as Fictional Archetypes Mirror the Duality of Human Nature
#1740759 by Starr Phenix Author IconMail Icon

FORUM
The Writer's Cramp Open in new Window. (13+)
Write the best poem or story in 24 hours or less and win 10K GPS!
#333655 by Sophurky Author IconMail Icon

 
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Stubborn Old Boy Open in new Window. (13+)
You never know what Grandpa is up to. FIRST PLACE, What A Character!
#2296281 by THANKFUL SONALI Library Class! Author IconMail Icon

 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#2296248 by Not Available.

 Interview Open in new Window. (13+)
A woman goes to a job interview but does she actually want the role?
#2296116 by Vampyr14 Author IconMail Icon

 
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Ask & Answer

Replies to my last Short Stories newsletter "Spring Into Writing" Open in new Window. that asked Does spring awakening make you feel like writing more or less?

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