Character Cheat Sheet: An Overview

6 Characters Every Novel Should Include

Developing any character for your novel is an essential step along the way, not to be avoided or glazed over. It takes real, authentic characters to move your readers. But as a writer, the question remains: what characters do you need?

Character Types and Examples

There are six major character types. Each has its own value and should be given the respect it deserves. I’ll even give you an example for each to help create a concrete image in your mind in regards to each character type.

Remember, characters can reach far beyond the confines of their own books, into the hearts of readers. Some have even stood the test of time while others have strongly impacted an entire generation. Let’s take a look, shall we?

1. The Protagonist Character

As book readers/lovers, we have several wonderful protagonists that work. But what makes them stand out?

THEY TAKE ACTION!

That’s right. A decent protagonist must take action. It’s not enough for the story to happen TO the protagonist, but the story should unfold BECAUSE of the character and his/her actions.

For example, the lovely Elizabeth Bennet isn’t your ordinary woman for her time — she’s witty and uncompromising but above all she refuses to marry for any other reason aside from love even though the entire world/society says otherwise. So we start with a strong personality and foundation but it’s not enough. Elizabeth creates part of the story herself because of how she acts and reacts to those around her. She refuses two marriage proposals, misinterprets the intentions of two different men (Mr. Wickham and Mr. Darcy), then scandalizes herself to Lady Katherine. All of these are actions and reactions which in turn create conflict, foreshadowing, and intrgiue.

2. The Antagonist Character

Ooooh, now we’ve done it. First, let’s clarify the antagonist, a character that can easily be misinterpreted. The antagonist is someone who opposes the protagonist, however, this doesn’t necessarily make them evil. For example, let’s look at Severus Snape.

So the brilliant thing about Snape’s character is how he’s portrayed as a type of antagonist for almost the entire series of HARRY POTTER. For Harry (the protagonist), Snape directly opposes so many of his desires. Not only do the two not get along, but Snape often accuses Harry of disobedience or stupidity usually resulting in some type of punishment or ill-mannered speech. Even when supposedly “aiding” Harry, the process is full of bullying and disdain. For a long time, Harry and the reader are under the impression Snape might actually be the hated enemy we’ve always suspected.

However, though Snape can be considered an antagonist because of his character’s opposition to our protagonist, we learn in the end that he was far more complex, working behind the scenes to help Harry, not hurt him (though he still didn’t particularly care for him). J.K. Rowling creates an intriguing antagonist that has stirred so much conversation and love from the reader. He will ALWAYS be revered.

It’s worth noting that not every antagonist is redeemable. In fact, most oppose the protagonist the entire time without any grand reveal in the end. Just be careful when creating your antagonist as it doesn’t necessarily correlate to evil. All you have to remember is “anti” — the antagonist is anti protagonist. It could be as simple as a boss refusing to promote a subordinator, etc. This all leads me to the next character type…

3. The Villian Character

Alright, now the villain can be the main antagonist but it can also be an entirely separate character. The villain is evil and usually completely irredeemable. However, it’s super important to humanize this villain in some form or fashion. Many readers find the villains to be the most fascinating character of any work so we don’t want to disappoint them by creating a type of perfectionism inside evil incarnate.

Voldemort is, of course, a deep villain. The background created around him explains so much as to how he came to be so horrible. And J.K. Rowling does a fantastic job layering these details across an entire series. It’s important not to create an info dump about your villain but instead weave the humanizing details throughout — let the reader dive in the psyche of the character, peeling back layers to reveal a complex human being.

As a side note, one of my absolute favorite villains is Mason from the RED QUEEN series. If you haven’t, check that out. Talk about a wonderful example of character complexity and the internal battle between good and evil.

4. The Sidekick Character

So enough with the HP references already. Let’s talk about one of the absolute best sidekicks of all time…Samwise Gamgee.

That scene where Sam nearly drowns to follow his friend Frodo on the quest gets me every single time. Why? Because it is the ultimate reveal of friendship and faith. All good sidekicks require loyalty, whether that’s based on friendship or something else. But they don’t always have to get along. Even Sam and Frodo had a few fights and even a temporary separation, marking the complexity of the role. The sidekick shouldn’t be a “give me” friend. It should be someone who is loyal but who also challenges the protagonist in a way that creates authentic conflict for your book.

After all, most friendships aren’t conflict free. And the deeper the friendship, the more real the friendship, the more likely the friends are to argue, disagree, fight, complain, leave, demand, etc. Don’t leave that out for your sidekick in your book.

5. The Mentor Character

This is probably one of my favorite character types of all time. I enjoy a good mentor because, usually, it speaks wisdom into my own life as a reader. Just be careful not to preach to your audience. Whatever wisdom the mentor gives should be authentic to the story, though it can also line up nicely with your theme.

I could list the obvious mentor types like Gandalf or Dumbledore — notice the white beard, old man theme. But the one I like the most is probably one you wouldn’t expect — Haymitch Abernathy.

That’s right, I said Haymitch! While in some ways he was a terrible mentor, all sarcasm and hopelessness, we also see him grow into this mentor who truly cares for his mentees, especially Katniss. Though the characters challenge each other, Haymitch still offers wisdom to Katniss along her journey and he’s there for her in some of the most challenging times. He pushes her as she pushes him. It’s quite wonderful to watch their relationship unfold over the series from dislike to true mentorship and respect.

6. The Love Interest Character

Some of you are ready to throw this post out the window all because I mentioned the sappy teen romance TWILIGHT. But hold onto your judgement for a bit, will you?

I feel this book is given a bad wrap. Time has passed and the criticisms begin to pour in but once upon a time, this was basically a book phenomenon. People lined up for miles for the new release. The movies sold out for weeks. Regardless of whether your team Edward or team Jacob or team no one, there is something we can learn from this wildly successful book.

So one reason this book worked so well was because of the crafting of the love interest. Now, I’m not for perfection and I think Edward had it a little too easy, but the powerful connection between the protagonist and the love interest drove audiences wild. Some love interests start off with instant love ( a less and less desired concept) while others grow from enemies to lovers (an increasing trope). Either way, the connection presented between the characters must be strong, compelling, and above all, sizzling.

But again, don’t make it easy on your characters or the readers will get bored. With every character, there’s an opportunity for conflict. Don’t let the lovers get together too soon but draw it out with arguments or hoops to jump through. I mean even Romeo and Juliet, the greatest love story ever, never actually hooked up successfully. And their love has stood the test of time.

Summed Up

So we’ve addressed the six main character types and looked at an example for each. I implore you to insert at least two or three of these into your novel. Remember though, every novel requires a protagonist and an antagonist. The rest is up to you. Each novel dictates its own character needs.

It’s also possible to intermingle the concepts. For example, an antagonist can be a love interest. A mentor can also be a sidekick. ETC…

Regardless of what you do with your characters, create them as if they were real flesh and bone people, flaws and all. No one wants to read about perfection. We want to see ourselves reflected in novels and what better way to do that than to use authentic characters.

Tips to Remember:

1. Every character needs a flaw, preferably more than one
2. Mix and match character tropes to create something unique
3. Use characters to breed authentic conflict
4. Characters drive the plot, or can if you’ll let them which are more and more desired by audiences (Click HERE for plotting based on character)
5. People may not remember your story arc, but they’ll remember your characters

Last but not least, comment below with the one character who’s impacted you most along your reader or writer journey.

Maybe you haven’t thought about it…Well, as a writer, studying other characters can be your greatest asset. I recommend using characters as a jumping-off point for your own.

Until next time, happy writing!

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