CHARACTER

Character = a person or animal in a story

Characters
Characters are the actors in a storys plot. They can

be people, animals, or whatever the writer chooses.

The protagonist is the main character.
Often referred to as the HERO!
The antagonist is the person in conflict
with the main character. Often
referred to as the VILLAIN!

Characters in Cinderella
The main characters are Cinderella, the

stepsisters, their mother, the fairy godmother,

and the prince.

Protagonist: Cinderella (hero)

Antagonist: the stepsisters, their mother (villains)

The protagonist is usually

The central character
A character the reader can identify with
Has a rounded personality
(we hear what they say, what others say about them, we

know what they think and how they feel)

A character with a dynamic personality

BUT Not All Protagonists are Heroes!

The protagonist is

the central character

of a story.
The protagonist can be

male or female, and is

written as being "good"
most of the time, but in
some instances can be
"bad."
The plot of the story is often
written in the protagonist's
point of view.

Megamind =
Protagonist but also
conisidered the
Villain!

Antagonist
The character that causes or leads the

conflict against the protagonist is called

the antagonist.
The antagonist is not always

human, but can be a group or

force as well.
(i.e. tornado, aliens, or a swarm of

insects)
The antagonist
is the mirror of the

protagonist.
Whatever the protagonist does that is

good, the antagonist will work to

counteract.
Usually the antagonist attempts to
disguise him/her/itself.
This usually creates the suspense in a story.

More types of Characters

Major

Minor

Major Character

The major (main)

character in a story is
like the star of a
movie and is central
to the action that
takes place.

Minor character
A minor character is
one who takes part in
the action but is not
the focus of attention.

Round / Flat Characters

Let's begin by thinking about round and

flat like a painting or drawing.

Flat

If you're an artist, you must decide how

much detail to put into a painting.

Do you want many lines and many colors, or just an

outline and only black and white?

As an author, you must decide how much

detail to include about each character.

Which characters are most important; how will giving

detail, or not giving detail, affect the story?

Round

Round (like 3D)

Characters that are described in-depth, with

many details, are well-rounded characters.

They can be thought of as 3D.

The main character in a story is almost

always round (but there are

exceptions).

Round Character
A round character is a
complex, fully
developed character.
If you're reading a story

and you feel like you know

a character extremely
well, then most likely the
character is round.

Flat Character
A flat character is a
one-dimensional
character, typically
not central to the
story
Characters that are not described well,
that you're not given much information
about, are

flat

characters.

Flat (like 2D)

Consider a drawing:
a three dimensional drawing gives

more detail than a two-dimensional

drawing.

If you draw a flat picture of a house, for

example, you can only see one side of

it.
You cannot see three of the four sides.

This is how a flat character is; you can

only see a few characteristics of the

character.

There are many things you cannot "see", or many

details you are not given by the author.

Round? Flat? How do I really know?

As a reader, judge whether

or not the character is

round or flat by trying to
write down characteristics
of the character.

Answer the question:

What do you know about the
character?
If your list is long, with many
characteristics, then the
character is round.
If your list is short, or there's
not many characteristics at all,
then the character is flat.

u
o

d
n

T
A
L
F

Static / Dynamic

Dynamic

The key word when dealing with

the difference between static

and dynamic characters is
"change."
The type of change, though, is

specific.

We are only concerned with

internal changes; changes which

occur within the character.
These would include a major change

in their personality, or a change in

their outlook on life.

Static

Static / Dynamic
Another important change that a character may undergo
is a change in values, or it could be an overall change in
the nature of the character.
Do not focus on changes that happen TO a character,
but rather, changes that happen WITHIN a character.
Think about it this way:
Does the event affect the character by changing the
character internally?

Static
In order for a character to be

considered a static
character, the character must
remain basically the same
throughout the entire story.
Like the static on your tv.

The character does not

undergo any internal

changes.
Think of static
characterization like plastic
surgery.
The character may change in

looks, but unless their

Dynamic
A dynamic character is a

character that undergoes an

internal change sometime
between the beginning and end of
the story.
The change in the character is
usually crucial to the story itself.
Say a main character goes
through a life-altering
experience
such as a race car driver getting into an

accident.
If the driver's personality changes and he is
no longer willing to take on the risk of driving
a race car, the character would be dynamic.

Static / Dynamic
In order to distinguish static characters from dynamic characters, write down a
description of the inner character at the beginning of the story, in other words,
what do you initially learn about the character's personality?
Answer these three questions:
How does the character feel about his/her/itself?
How does the character act towards others?
What is the characters goal?

Do the same thing and answer the same questions at the end of the story.
Usually, if you're dealing with a dynamic character, you will be able to notice a

difference between your personality descriptions as well as between the

answers to the three questions.
If there is no major difference, the character is static.

Character
Motivation
A motive is a reason that explains or partially
explains a characters thoughts, feelings,
actions, or speech. If the motives of a main
character are not clear, then the character will
not be believable.

Characters are often motivated by needs, such as

food and shelter. They are also motivated by
feelings, such as fear, love, and pride. Motives
may be obvious or hidden.