How To Write A Good Book - a guide

CHARACTER TYPES

They say it takes all kinds to make the world go round — and the same is true of stories. Whether you're writing fantasy, romance, or action-adventure, you're going to need certain types of characters to keep the plot moving and your readers intrigued!

Before we explore these types, however, you should know that there are two main ways to classify them: by role, and by quality.

Role

Character role refers to the part that one plays in the story. As you probably know, the most important role in any story is the protagonist (which we'll discuss below). This means all other roles stem from their relationship to the protagonist. Basically, these types define how characters interact and affect one another.

Types based on role include:

ProtagonistAntagonistDeuteragonistTertiaryConfidanteLove interestFoil

Some of these roles can overlap. A deuteragonist might be the MC's confidante. The antagonist might be their foil. Or the antagonist might eventually become the protagonist's love interest! (Any fans of the enemies-to-lovers trope up in here?)

Now Let's touch on the second major category of character types.

Quality

Character quality has to do with what kind of character someone is. This doesn't refer to their temperament, such as being nice or mean, but rather their nature within the story, such as being dynamic or static.

These types tend to define narrative purpose in a story. For example, a dynamic figure creates a compelling arc for readers to follow, and a symbolic one represents some underlying theme or moral.

Types based on quality include:

Dynamic/changingStatic/unchangingStockSymbolicRound

These may also overlap, though less so than the roles. Now let's dive into the various types of characters listed here.

Character Types by Role1. Protagonist

The protagonist is likely a pretty familiar concept for most of us: this is the main character, the big cheese, the star of the show. Most of the action centers around them, and they're the one we're meant to care about the most.

In stories written with a first-person point of view, the protagonist is usually the narrator, but not always. The narrator can also be someone close to the MC (like Nick in The Great Gatsby), or e someone completely removed (though this is relatively rare).

Every single story has to have a protagonist, no matter what. Simply put, no protagonist = no plot. Remember, all other roles are defined in relation to the protagonist — so if you're currently planning a story, this should be the very first character you flesh out.

Protagonist examples: Harry Potter, Frodo Baggins, Katniss Everdeen, John McClane, Dorothy Gale, Hercule Poirot, Indiana Jones, Walter White 

2. Antagonist

If you're an antagonist, you antagonize — its what you do. Specifically, you undermine, thwart, battle, or otherwise oppose one character: the protagonist.

Most of the time, the protagonist is good and the antagonist is evil, and such is the source of their conflict. This isn't always the case — especially if the protagonist is an anti-hero who lacks typical heroic attributes, or the antagonist is an anti-villain who has noble characteristics. Still, 95% of the time, the protag is the hero and the "antag" is the villain.