Easy-Breezy Guide to All the Types of Characters in Fiction

What are the different types of characters in fiction?

That's a big question. You see, we categorize characters in several different ways. There are terms to describe a character's significance in the story, the role they play, their personality, and even whether or not they change.

A tertiary character can be a foil or a static character or both, but they can never be a protagonist. A Magician can be an antagonist or protagonist, dynamic or static, but they can only be one of each. 

Sounds messy, right? But don't stress. It's all going to make sense in a minute. The best part is, when you know the different types of characters in fiction, you're better equipped to write them well. And well-written characters are the secret to writing page-turning novels.

You're about to learn:

• The most commonly discussed types of characters in fiction (plus famous examples of each)
• Character archetypes that resonate with readers
• Where you can learn how to write each type of character brilliantly

Let's start with a few terms you might recognize from English class.

Character Types in Fiction: The Major Characters

At the very least, every story needs a protagonist with a goal and someone (or something) standing in their way.

These characters—their fears, desires, and actions—determine the trajectory of your entire story. So they require pretty deep development. It's not enough to know your protagonist's personality. You also need to know what they've been through, what internal battles they're fighting, what they love and hate and fear and dream about... all of it.

If you use Dabble, Character Profiles are great for keeping track of all this information. You can upload images, create property lists, and organize profiles with headings or even attach notes. And if you don't use Dabble, you can see what I'm talking about by snagging a free 14-day trial at this link.

Now let's get into it.

Protagonist (Main Character)

Also referred to as the main or primary character, the protagonist stands at the center of your story. 

Your novel follows this character's arc. The central conflict of the story heightens their internal conflict. It forces them to confront their greatest fears and demands they either overcome or fall victim to their own flaws.

In most novels, even subplots that don't involve the protagonist are either influenced by the protagonist's actions or shine a light on the protagonist's journey.

In short, everything revolves around this central character.

Now, fun fact: you can have multiple protagonists. 

Maybe your novel involves parallel storylines. Or perhaps you're writing a romance from the perspective of both love interests. There are a lot of reasons you might have two or more main characters.

Just be aware that any character you consider a protagonist must be a fully realized being with a backstory, goals, fears, weaknesses, and all that fun stuff. These articles have great advice for shaping your protagonist:

• How to Write Compelling Characters From the Inside Out
• The Character Development Worksheet You've Been Looking For
• The Best Character Template Ever
• Taking the Wheel: What is a Character-Driven Story?

Protagonist Examples

• Katniss Everdeen (The Hunger Games) 
• Wilbur (Charlotte's Web) 
• Romeo and Juliet (Romeo and Juliet)

Antagonist

The antagonist is anyone who gets in the way of the protagonist's goals.

Now, an antagonist could be a villain—an evildoer who actively seeks to do harm. But you can also have:

• Sympathetic antagonists who oppose your protagonist for understandable reasons
• Competitive antagonists who don't have any nefarious motivations; they're just in competition with your protagonist and want to win
• Unknowing antagonists who don't intend to create obstacles for your protagonist but do exactly that

An overprotective parent can play the role of antagonist. So can the protagonist's best friend. As a matter of fact, the love interest is considered the primary antagonist in most romance novels. (I mean, they are the person preventing the protagonist from staying focused on their big-city career.)

And in case it doesn't go without saying, your story can have more than one antagonist. 

Even if your antagonist is deliberately dastardly, it's a good idea to give them at least some backstory and clear motivation. Here are some great articles for further guidance on writing a spellbinding antagonist:

• How to Write a Good Antagonist: Full Recipe
• How to Write a Sympathetic Antagonist Readers Will Cheer For
• Protagonist vs. Antagonist: Craft Conflict Through Character

Antagonist Examples

• Killmonger (Black Panther)
• Eleanor Young (Crazy Rich Asians)
• Iago (Othello)
• Iago (Aladdin)

Supporting Characters

Every character who isn't a protagonist is a supporting character, including the antagonist.

I know. That leaves a lot of characters. So to classify them with a little more clarity, we'll dig into the two subgroups of supporting characters. 

Secondary Characters

These are the characters who aren't protagonists but still feel pretty darn important.

A secondary character might be the protagonist's friend, parent, sidekick, romantic partner, mentor, antagonist, or fill just about any other role in the main character's life. They earn their secondary classification by showing up more than a couple of times and contributing significantly to the story.

And what counts as a “significant contribution?” They might create or heighten conflict, assist the protagonist on their journey, challenge the protagonist to grow… things like that.

Despite their supporting role, they also need to be fully developed characters with their own desires, fears, strengths, weaknesses, and flaws. A little backstory is good, too. 

Some supporting characters have their own character arcs. Others don't change at all over the course of the story. But the important thing is that they feel real to your reader.

For more tips on developing secondary characters, check out this article.

The Most Common Secondary Character Roles

There's no limit to the ways secondary characters can contribute to a plot, but there are a few specific roles you see them fill in most stories. In fact, you'll probably be able to think of several famous examples of each one the moment I mention them.

The most essential secondary character is, of course, the antagonist. Here are a few other common character roles:

Confidant

This is the bestie. The sidekick. The character who always has your protagonist's back and knows their true nature.

A well-written confidant does a lot to further the story and add depth to the conflict. They often possess strengths that make up for the protagonist's weaknesses. Through their own dialogue and observations, help reveal the many layers of your main character's identity and internal conflict. Sometimes they're even good for comic relief.

Confidant Examples

• Samwise Gamgee (The Lord of the Rings trilogy)
• Diana Barry (Anne of Green Gables)
• Donkey (Shrek)

Love Interest

The love interest is the character the protagonist has big feelings for. Sometimes the protagonist's pursuit of the love interest is the primary plot line, and sometimes it's a subplot, as the main character falls in love while pursuing their central goal.

The most engaging love interests are well-rounded with their own objectives and inner lives.

Love Interest Examples

• Daisy Buchanan (The Great Gatsby)
• Prince Eric (The Little Mermaid)
• Jane Su (One Last Stop)

Deuteragonist

Also known as a "secondary main character," a deuteragonist is a major character who's closely linked to the protagonist and is almost as important. They have their own arc and often have their own conflict, or at least their own view of the central conflict.

A story can have multiple deuteragonists, like Ron and Hermione in the Harry Potter series. A deuteragonist can also fill other character roles, like love interest, confidant, or antagonist.

Sometimes this character is so engaging, complex, and essential to moving the plot forward that people sometimes forget they're not the protagonist.

Deuteragonist Examples

• Queen Elsa (Frozen)
• Captain Jack Sparrow (Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl)
• Wyn Connor (Happy Place)

Mentor

Like the love interest character, this one's pretty self-explanatory, but I'll explain it anyway.

The mentor serves as a guide for the protagonist. They have a unique ability to relate to the main character and the wisdom to know when they must let their pupil navigate challenges alone. They're also really helpful for you, the writer, because their guidance helps move the story forward.

Mentors can take many forms, including parental figures, teachers, supervisors, and siblings. They often (but don’t always) use the Sage archetype.

Mentor Examples

• Haymitch Abernathy (The Hunger Games)
• Gordon Bombay (The Mighty Ducks)
• Marmee (Little Women)

Foil Characters

Foils are fun. A foil is a character who's the opposite of the protagonist in at least one noticeable way. That glaring difference highlights something significant about the main character or the novel's theme. Here's what I mean:

Say your protagonist is fiercely competitive and will do anything to win a big promotion at work. Their assistant is the opposite—eager to help others succeed and able to find fulfillment wherever they are in life.

This difference is already enough to consider the assistant a foil character. But you can have even more fun with it as the story progresses, using the foil character to emphasize the virtues or consequences of the protagonist's qualities. 

What if the assistant actually wins the promotion over the protagonist? Or what if the protagonist gets the promotion but still isn't as happy as the assistant who's “stuck” answering phones? What would that reveal about your protagonist? How might it further their arc?

All types of characters in fiction can serve as foils for your protagonist, including love interests and villains (especially villains, actually). You can learn more about foils here.

Foil Character Examples

• Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom (Harry Potter) – Both qualify as the “chosen one,” according to the prophecy, but public perception sides with Harry. Even with equally traumatic backstories, Harry's a celebrity while Neville is seen as weak and tragic.
• Gale and Peeta (The Hunger Games) – Both are potential love interests for Katniss and their differences highlight her own inner conflict. Gale represents survival-focused individualism, while Peeta represents optimism and a belief in the greater good.

Tertiary Characters

So those were all different types of secondary characters. Now we move on to the bit roles among the supporting cast.

Tertiary characters aren't as fleshed out as your secondary characters. They don't show up nearly as often, either. But they still matter.

Tertiary characters are those characters who make an appearance in only a scene or two or three. We don't learn much about them—maybe a few character traits and a fun factoid from their personal lives. 

So what purpose do they serve?

The most common functions for tertiary characters include:

• Comic relief
• Delivering information
• Highlighting a theme or conflict
• Creating a temporary obstacle
• Filling out the world

Here's some advice for creating great tertiary characters.

Tertiary Character Examples

• The Grady Twins (The Shining)
• Nearly Headless Nick (Harry Potter)
• The Sea Turtles (Finding Nemo)

Types of Character Development

At this point, you're basically an expert on how to label characters according to the roles they play in a story. The next step is defining them according to their character development.

When we talk about character development, we're talking about the way you develop your characters, present them to your reader, and—in some cases—show their evolution over the course of the story. Strong character development is the number one key to writing unforgettable stories that resonate with readers.

If this is an area where you could use some support, these worksheets will help. Or, if you're a DabbleU Academy member, you can access several in-depth workshops and courses on multiple aspects of character development, from mastering dialogue to crafting powerful arcs.

Right now, though, I'm just here to give you the vocabulary you need to discuss the complexity of each character's development. So let's get to it.

Round Character

A round character is well-developed and complex. They possess nuanced perspectives and great emotional depth. They have vast inner lives and wrestle with contradictions in their values or desires. They are, in other words, written to be super realistic, and that's why they also tend to be the most relatable to readers.

Round characters are more common in adult fiction. Generally, the younger the audience, the flatter the characters.

Within the realm of adult and YA fiction, protagonists and deuteragonists are usually round, though there are exceptions to every rule. Antagonists are most engaging when they're round, but you'll see plenty of flat ones out there, too.

This article has a lot more to say about round characters, if you want to get into it.

Round Character Examples

• Starr Carter (The Hate U Give)
• Scout Finch (To Kill a Mockingbird)
• Rebecca Welton (Ted Lasso)

Flat Character

As you likely guessed, a flat character is the opposite of a round character. These fictional folks are defined by their very limited personality traits, and there's not much character development beyond those few qualities.

You usually find such flatness among tertiary characters and some secondary characters who are mostly there for comic relief or to serve as foils. To be clear, it's not necessarily a bad thing for a character to be flat. Too many round characters will crowd your novel, and it takes all kinds, as they say.

Learn more about flat characters here.

Flat Character Examples

• Mr. Collins (Pride and Prejudice)
• The Wicked Witch of the West (The Wizard of Oz)
• That mouse everyone keeps giving cookies to

Dynamic Character

We just covered several types of characters in fiction who are all defined by the role they play in the story. For these next two types, the character's purpose doesn't matter. We're only talking about whether or not they change.

Dynamic characters evolve over the course of a story. 

They begin with a certain philosophy, identity, skill set, desire, or fear. Then, through a series of events, they're forced beyond their comfort zone or challenged to develop new skills. 

By the end, they want something they didn't want before. Or they see the world in a different light. Or they're better at archery. Whatever makes sense for your story.

Protagonists are usually dynamic characters, though some have flat arcs. (That means they're static. More on that in a minute.) Antagonists can also be dynamic, as can all the other secondary characters.

When it comes to developing dynamic characters, the trick is knowing how involved their arc needs to be. 

The more prominent a character is, the more room you have for depth and nuance in their arc. What you don't want to do is spend a lot of storytelling real estate hashing out the complex inner growth of a minor character.

You also don't want to bother with an arc that doesn't serve the larger story in some way. What do your dynamic supporting characters do for your novel? Does their change highlight a theme? Contribute to the conflict?

Here's a handy template for creating character arcs for all types of characters. 

Dynamic Character Examples

• Eleanor Shellstrop (The Good Place)
• Starr Carter (The Hate U Give)
• The Beast (Beauty and the Beast)

Static Characters

Static characters—you guessed it!—don't change. Maybe they're stubborn by nature. Maybe your story wouldn't benefit from their personal growth. Whatever the reason, these folks are the same from beginning to end.

As I mentioned before, your protagonist could fit into this character type. Just make sure it makes sense for your genre. If you write mysteries, you can probably get away with a static protagonist. If the hero(ine) of your romance novel doesn't evolve, your readers will probably revolt.

Static Character Examples

• Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes)
• Ursula (The Little Mermaid)
• Atticus Finch (To Kill a Mockingbird)

Character Archetypes: Advanced Studies

Now that we've covered the basics, let's get into the really fun stuff: character archetypes. These are types of characters in fiction that are designed to reflect recognizable human experiences and certain qualities. 

As you glance at the list that follows, you might be inclined to think you're looking at a list of stock characters or stereotypes. But it's not like that. Archetypes are essentially character templates that help you craft unique, complex characters that convey emotional authenticity.

See, archetypes focus on common fears, desires, strengths, flaws, and choices. They offer explanations for how certain types of people might perceive the world and navigate relationships. 

And these explanations are universally familiar, which is what makes them such powerful tools for crafting characters. Just try to read through the list below without thinking, “Oh my gosh, that's so Sharon.”

You can learn more about archetypes in this article. For now, here's a quick look at 14 common archetypal characters.

The Hero(ine)

You already know this archetype well. The Hero(ine) can take many forms, from reluctant working-class heroes to the superhuman heroes of ancient epics. This archetype is honorable, persistent, courageous, and stands up for the weak. They can also be prone to arrogance.

Examples: Black Panther (Black Panther), Mulan (Mulan), Odysseus (The Odyssey), Wonder Woman (Wonder Woman)

The Magician

The Magician has skills. Those skills could be literal magic, but any ability that gives them more power counts. The Magician lives for power. They've got it, they love it, and they want more. This character is perceptive, disciplined, and selfish.

Examples: Regina George (Mean Girls), Doctor Strange (Marvel), Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes) 

The Lover

Love is all that matters for this archetype. It might be romantic love, but it doesn't have to be. This character is prone to sacrificing everything for the object of their devotion. They're big-hearted and compassionate, but they're also at risk of losing themselves as they build their world around someone else.

Examples: Edward Cullen (Twilight), Princess Anna (Frozen), Samwise Gamgee (Lord of the Rings)

The Jester

As you'd probably guess, the Jester is the funny one. They also tend to be pretty insightful, using their humor to spotlight everything from corruption to the protagonist's flaws. The Jester is mischievous, impulsive, and—let's be honest—a little obnoxious at times.

Examples: Mercutio (Romeo and Juliet), Eleanor Shellstrop (The Good Place), Peik Lin (Crazy Rich Asians)

The Explorer

If your character is certain there must be something more than this provincial life, you've got an Explorer on your hands. This archetype longs for adventure and feels confined by the life they're living. They're courageous, curious, and unwilling to conform. They can also be a little selfish.

Examples: Moana (Moana), Captain Kirk (Star Trek), Arya Stark (Game of Thrones)

The Sage

Powerful, knowledgeable, and patient, the Sage is deeply committed to passing their wisdom onto their pupil. They're genuinely caring and rational, though they can also be arrogant, and some of the most famous Sages (*cough*Dumbledore*cough*) are aggravatingly passive. 

Examples: Uncle Iroh (Avatar: The Last Airbender), Professor McGonagall (Harry Potter), Hannibal Lecter (The Silence of the Lambs)

The Innocent

Also known as “the Child,” this archetype is naive, trusting, sincere, and—as a result—super vulnerable. Many Innocents either grow wiser or descend into evil when a terrible experience reveals the darker side of life. But some maintain their childlike wonder from beginning to end.

Examples: Andy Dwyer (Parks and Recreation), Buddy the Elf (Elf), Diana Barry (Anne of Green Gables)

The Creator

A Creator's gotta create. And by “gotta,” I mean they're obsessed with their big, brilliant project. Nothing else is as important as bringing their vision to fruition—not relationships, not world peace, and definitely not family dinners. 

Examples: Victor Frankenstein (Frankenstein), Tony Stark (Iron Man), Karen Eiffel (Stranger Than Fiction)

The Ruler

The Ruler holds all the control. They might be responsible for a nation, a gang, or their own little family—either way, there's no question about who's in charge. This archetype tends to have a commanding presence and be protective of their power. Whether they're benevolent or greed-driven is up to you.

Examples: Miranda Priestly (The Devil Wears Prada), Peter Pan (Peter Pan), Darth Vader (Star Wars)

The Caregiver

This is that character who's constantly looking out for others with little thought for their own well-being. If they have their own dreams, no one knows about them. The Caregiver is compassionate, selfless, and reliable. They're often a guardian, older sibling, teacher, or partner.

Examples: Beth March (Little Women), Marlin (Finding Nemo), Lisa Carter (The Hate U Give)

The Common Person

Also known by the less inclusive term “the Everyman,” this archetype is all about relatability. The Common Person is kind, hard-working, virtuous, and seemingly unremarkable. They're also unprepared for the extraordinary challenges that are about to come their way but still rise to meet them.

Examples: Bilbo Baggins (The Hobbit), Babe (Babe), Alice (Alice in Wonderland)

The Outlaw

This might be one of the most cathartic types of characters in fiction. The Outlaw has a low tolerance for injustice, they question all societal norms, and you can count on them to lead the rebellion. They're charismatic and virtuous, though the decks are often stacked against them, and they can be a little obsessive.

Examples: Starr Carter (The Hate U Give), Katniss Everdeen (The Hunger Games), Han Solo (Star Wars)  

The Orphan

The Orphan is one of the most popular archetypes for both protagonists and villains. This character can be a literal orphan, or they can be someone whose life is defined by abandonment or solitude. The Orphan is resilient and independent, though they might also be embittered or weakened by their lack of both physical and emotional resources.  

Examples: Petra Solano (Jane the Virgin), Killmonger (Black Panther), Elsa (Frozen)

The Seducer

This is a master manipulator. While the classic example of a Seducer would be a character who uses their smokin' hot bod to get what they want, this archetype can use any means available to them. They're amoral, clever, independent, and ultimately unfulfilled.

Examples: Gilderoy Lockhart (Harry Potter), Petruchio (The Taming of the Shrew), Amy Dunne (Gone Girl)

Now What Do You Do With All This Information?

Mercy, we covered a lot. Now that you know how to define all the types of characters in fiction, how do you put this information to work in your novel?

My hope is that your biggest takeaway is that every character can and should serve a purpose in your story, even if they only show up once. Whether it's a primary character, a funny sidekick, or even a symbolic character who exists to remind the protagonist of the life they could have had, everyone who populates your story should have a job to do.

Now, it can be challenging to keep track of this sprawling community of fictional beings, so I must say one more time that Dabble is great for staying organized. Not only do you get those fabulous Character Profiles I was talking about, but you can also sort your characters into casts and use the Plot Grid to track the arcs of your dynamic characters as you plot the scenes of your story.

Click here to try all of Dabble's features free for 14 days—no credit card required.