Giving characters a job to do

Fiction writers employ a variety of characters while weaving their tales and it is useful to understand the role they play.

Beyond the standard definitions of protagonist (the main character) and antagonist (the main character or force that opposes the protagonist) there are four basic character types (the Americans claim seven but that’s over-egging things in my view):

Dynamic/Round Character - a well-drawn, rounded character which changes during the course of a story or novel. Sometimes a dynamic character is called a developing character. Example: Ebenezer Scrooge, in A Christmas Carol by Dickens. Miser to generous man.

Foil - a character that is used to enhance another character through contrast. Cinderella’s grace and beauty as opposed to her nasty, self-centered stepsisters is one clear illustration.
Static (or flat or stock) Character – a character that remains primarily the same throughout a story or novel. ie the villain.

Confidante- someone in whom the central character confides, thus revealing the main character’s personality, thoughts, and intentions. The confidante does not need to be a person. Could be a place, an inner voice.
They do overlap in some way - a flat character could be a foil as well and you could not have a character that is both static and dynamic.
The terms are useful for understanding a character and his place within the story. But, in the end, it is not about how a character can be named and classified.

I do not believe writing should be hide-bound by theory. Nevertheless, as a writer, it’s all about understanding the job characters do. It is also about recognising characters who do not do a job.

Example: in a recent novel, I had a climactic scene in a hospital but it was too long and loose because I had two characters who did not have a job - they provided information already supplied by others, created an atmosphere already created. They were in the way - taking them out gave the scene real pace and drama.

 

John Dean