Hello, and welcome again to J.J. Knight's Guide to Writing. Today, we will be talking about characters. Characters are one of the most important aspect of the story. They are tools to move the story along. Just like tools, there are many different types of characters. Here is a list and what they do:
Flat Character
A flat character are minor characters that contribute nothing to the story. They do not grow, they don't contribute. They are just there.
Static Characters
Static Characters are those who never change in the story. They don't really learn anything, they don't gain any knowledge, they are just the same from beginning to end.
Round Characters
These are your main characters. They are the focus and contribute a lot to the story. They may not be the main character, but they do help or hinder a lot.
Dynamic Characters
These characters change a lot through out the story. Unlike Static, they learn from their mistakes, obtain a great deal of knowledge and change because of it, or something else that causes them to change.
Protagonist
This is the main character, usually the good guy or the character with the biggest goal.
Antagonist
Also a main character. This character is the 'enemy' of the main character and attempts to prevent the protagonist from achieving their goal.
Now that you know what types of characters there are, now you must begin developing your character. A common theme most people try to do here is make their characters orphans, as if its the saddest thing in the world. While tragedy is good, happy characters are just as good. Another thing people must do is give their characters weaknesses to prevent 'Mary Sues' or 'Gary Stus', or making their characters more powerful. The strongest character doesn't always win. It is usually through actions and intelligence does a character achieve his or her goal.
Here is a character bio from my book for an example of what a well rounded character should look like.
Name: Alexander Rooke
Sex: Male
Born: April 1st, 1973
Birthplace: Austin, Texas
Nationality: American
Race: Little of this, little of that.
Family: Adam Rooke (Brother, Twin), and Andrea Rooke (Daughter)
Body Type: Slim
Height: 6"2'
Weight: 190 lbs
Hair Color: Dark brown
Eye Color: Brown
Skin Color: Tan
Attire: U.S. Army Jacket, white shirt, jeans, combat boots.
Weapons: .45 mm (Black with Silencer and Green Laser sighting attachment), .45 mm (Silver with Silencer and Green Laser sighting attachment)
Personality: Alpha Male
Strengths: Military experience, sharpshooter, intelligent.
Weaknesses: Hypersexual, arrogant, hot temper.
Bio:
Alexander was born in Austin, Texas along with his identical twin brother, Adam Rooke. Shortly after their birth, the mother left the family, leaving the father to take care of his two sons. The brothers grew close as they were all they had, as their father ignored them as they were able to fend for themselves. At the age of 14, Alexander had brought a gun to school to show his friends. Although it wasn't loaded, he was expelled from school.
At the age of 16, he knocked up his current girlfriend, Amy. Nine months later, Andrea Rooke was born. The birth of his daughter made Alexander a changed man. Andrea became the center of his life. At the age of 18, Alexander, along with Adam, joined the Army in order to support his family.
Alexander had trouble adjusting to military life, often ignoring or arguing with commanding officers. The Army would have booted him out, if not for his abilities for sharp shooting. The Army decided to promote Alexander to give him more responsibilities, which Alexander excelled at and became a better soldier. Adam was also promoted to the same rank.
In their first mission, Alexander and Adam were sent to Somalia and fought in the Battle of Mogadishu. During the battle, Alexander and Adam fought along side their fellow soldiers. When the Americans tried to pull out, Alexander and Adam were left behind and ran after the trucks with the Somalians firing at them. Alexander was shot in the ribs during the chase.
Alexander and Adam walked over two miles to reach the base. Angered that they were left behind, Adam decked the commanding officer for leaving them behind to die, and was discharged. Alexander was sent to a military base in Germany to heal. Upon his arrival, he received a call about his wife and her lover leaving his daughter in filthy conditions after beating her.
Angered by his wife's betrayal, Alexander demanded to be discharged and sent home. Not wanting the scandal to break out, Alexander was honorably discharged and sent home with a bronze metal, and awarded full custody of his daughter.
That however, was still not enough. While caring for his daughter in the hospital, Alexander received a call from Arthur Erikson, leader of the Zugzwang. Arthur gave Alexander the location of his cheating wife and her lover. Filled with rage, Alexander went home and grabbed his two .45 mm handguns (one black and one silver), and went to the location. Alexander found and murdered his wife and her cheating lover. Upon exiting, Alexander ran into Arthur himself. Arthur offered Alexander a job as his own professional hitman. If he refused, he would have Adam and his daughter murdered immediately.
With no choice, Alexander joined the Zugzwang under the deal that Adam would not be approached and asked to join as well. Since then, Alexander has murdered targets assigned to him by the Zugzwang, using his signature .45 mm weapons (black for chest shots and silver for head shots, exactly how he murdered his wife and cheating lover). Alexander purchased his own ranch, where he, Andrea, and his brother, Adam, live. Adam owns a sex shop called The Adams Apple and is apparently homosexual (though doesn't admit it). Andrea expresses interest in being a paramedic.
The rest I will not reveal due to spoilers.
This is an example of how a character is developed. Whether they are tragic or happy characters, each character created should be well thought out and given time to develop. I hope this article has been some help.
