![]() Armed with a particular set of skills and the sheer force of their will, the hero will conquer the enemy and carry the day. Here are 12 common character archetypes in fiction: 1. In a later section of this post, we’ll also look at ways to subvert archetypes while also staying true to them. If you'd like to make sure that your character isn't a stock character, we recommend downloading and filling out this character profile template. Neo in The Matrix would be just another ‘chosen one’ cliche were he not a hacker who discovers that he’s been plugged into a virtual world his entire life. Some of the most compelling and enduring stories will adhere to archetypes while introducing enough of a twist to make a character seem fresh. ![]() A muscle-bound, sword-wielding warrior out to avenge his slain family might be interesting until you’ve seen a dozen Conan the Barbarian rip-offs. Human beings aren’t that unique when you think about it: we are all governed by a finite set of wants and fears.Īrchetypes only become stock characters when the specifics get repetitive and predictable. Archetypal characters and stories will boil down the human experience to a relatively small number of patterns, which is perfectly fine. We’re not saying that these archetypes are embedded into human DNA: they are simply the character forms that have resonated most over the generations.Īre archetypes the same as cliché or stock characters? They are a teaching tool, a way to warn each other of dangers and the simplest method of examining human behavior and better understanding one another. If we are to believe Jung and Joseph Campbell’s theory of the Hero’s Journey, stories and myths are an intrinsic part of human development and evolution. He believed that these recurring figures are part of the mythmaking fabric that is common to all humans. Carl Jung, one of the forefathers of psychoanalysis, suggested that they are part of the human collective unconscious. ![]() In storytelling, an archetype is a character who represents a specific set of universal, recognizable behaviors. Everywriter source how to#In this post, we’ll explain to you what character archetypes are, reveal some of the most popular ones - and show you how to prevent your archetype characters from becoming clichés. But despite their seemingly high-minded background in psychoanalysis, understanding character archetypes can help writers of all stripes gain a better understanding of storytelling. ![]() And when they move onto the topic of Jungian theory, you can see yourself tuning out of the conversation altogether. ‘Character archetypes’ are something you imagine bohemian writers talking about at length - perhaps while smoking a cigarette and stroking their pointy beards. ![]()
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