Shape your characters according to their role in the story

Movies, novels, stories, theater, and any other genre of fiction have two things in common: on the one hand, that they tell a story, and on the other, that these stories are led by characters.

These characters can be humans, aliens, animals, objects that are personified ... It does not matter. The fact is that they are the ones that give life to the stories and all of them fulfill a specific function in the narrative.

Below you will find a list of the most common characters that we can find in a work of fiction, along with their main characteristics:

Protagonist

It is the main character of the plot, to whom things happen, the one who drives the action from the beginning to the end of the book or the movie, for example. All stories have at least one main character and, in general, he acts driven by a goal or goal.

The protagonist can be the hero of the story with whom the reader identifies or admires, but it can also be an antihero or a villain. There are no limits to build our main character (later I will post an entry with some tricks to get the reader hooked on our characters), the only rule is that the main events of the narrative are closely linked to him or her (or them if it is a work of multiple protagonists).

Protagonist's assistant

Although a priori it may seem the same as the previous one (the squire is a sub-type of the protagonist's assistant), the assistant does not always have as much weight as the squire and its function is to offer help to the protagonist to achieve his objectives in the game, the story, nothing more (the squire, on the other hand, offers him protection and fidelity beyond the main plot).

This help can be voluntary or involuntary (it helps you without realizing it, for example), and altruistic or selfish.

Antagonist

On the opposite side of the deck, we find the main character whose objectives are diametrically opposed to those of the protagonist: the antagonist or villain of the story. This does not mean that the antagonist has to be bad by force, not at all. What happens is that these characters have different objectives and each of them will fight with all their might to achieve them. With this clash of objectives arises the main conflict in history.

As the protagonist, the antagonist character is one of the main ones and there has to be one in all the stories, either as a character itself or as a more abstract force. Now, if you allow me a couple of tips about the antagonist character: always try to be more powerful than the protagonist, who seems to have the upper hand. This makes the conflict more interesting and the protagonist's fight has more merit.

Also, whenever possible, keep the opposing force focused on one person. If it is multiple antagonists (a congregation, for example), it is better to have a leader or a representative of that force so that the reader can identify you with someone.

The same happens if the protagonist fights against something more ethereal, like the bureaucracy or the system. For example, if the protagonist is a man who tries to prove his innocence and the State is the force that opposes him, you can represent him in the figure of a lawyer who fights against him.

Helper of the antagonist

Like the protagonist, the antagonist can also have his helpers. That is characters who serve the antagonist to achieve his goal, as opposed to the goal of the protagonist. They have not required characters, of course, but they can be very useful when building a plot.

Obstacle

These characters are similar to the antagonist's assistants but with some variations: to begin with, more than characters are wild cards, figures that appear briefly in the story to hinder the character in his quest to reach the goal.

In addition, the obstacle characters are not related to the antagonist (they do not know him or work to help him), but rather behave at their own risk as small obstacles in the path of the protagonist.

For example, the protagonist has to present some documents in time so that the antagonist does not get away with it, but when he goes to court, he meets an official who does nothing but hinders him. This official has nothing to do with the antagonist but stands between the protagonist and his target, so she would be an obstacle character.

Impact

The impact character is a supporting character (not required) with a brief but decisive appearance on the scene. It is about a character who, at a specific moment in history, gives the protagonist the push he needs to move on; or it offers you a key that you will use later (at the climax, for example) to solve something, to find the value you need, and so on.

Guardian

He is neither a mandatory nor the main character, but he appears in many literary works. It is about that being that guards something (generally something important, related to the objective of the protagonist in the story) and behaves as an obstacle to overcome to reach the goal.

Mentor

Another non-mandatory but very powerful character for a story. It is Yoda in Star Wars, or Abbe Faria in The Count of Monte Cristo. A character who guides and transforms the protagonist (the hero) so that he is more prepared in the final battle in which he will have to fight for his objectives.

Sometimes the mentor can be, at the same time, an impact character to whom the protagonist turns for advice.

Skeptical

The skeptical character is one who does not believe in the objectives of the protagonist and is convinced of his failure. It is the opposite of the squire, although it does not hinder the protagonist either; it just demoralizes him with his attitude.

Other supporting characters

Of course, those in the previous relationship are not all the characters that we can find in a story. There can always be others because, as I have already said on more than one occasion, the only limits that exist when creating are those that we set ourselves.

Sometimes we could even create characters that are a mix of various items from the list above to create new roles and add depth to the story. But at least it is a fairly comprehensive list to get started. With this roster of characters, you are sure to be able to build a good cast for any story.

Happy writing!