What are the different types of characters in a fictional story?
I want to be able to correctly categorise and identify different characters in a story, predominantly fiction. I have read a lot about different types of characters--flat, round, static, dynamic, protagonists, antagonists, hero, and so on--but I find it all so overwhelming.
Can there be more than one main character? can their be a protagonist and other main characters that the story focuses on? For example: Lisa is the protagonist, the story begins with her and will eventually end with her. But then we introduce two new characters who will largely impact her life, and they become the focus as well, we also see their growth in the story. Would those two new characters be considered the main characters as well?
And then we have all the other characters that don't play large roles in the story, but they are also important as well. For example, close friends, siblings, parents.
How do you categorise so many different characters?
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Yes if you watch stories like Star Wars of Game of Thrones, there is multiple main characters. Maybe most of the characters are important to the overall intrigue.
In a more classic way you could use a list of kind of people to structure your story :
- protagonist aka main(s) character. Can be a hero or an anti-hero
- deuteragonist (can be a sidekick or a main character as well)
- mentor
- nemesis / antagonist (the worst ennemy of the hero)
- love interest
- narrator (one character can tell your story)
- secondary and tertiary characters that will be less developped but still useful at some point.
Nothing force you to use this as it is, but it worked well for many novels.
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No one says you have to classify your characters, your characters are there to support the plot and overall story, how they do so is pedantic. Let's take Game of Thrones as an example, here we have a very large cast of characters.
We couldn't possibly have the same show without Daenyris, so she's absolutely a main character. At the same time, we couldn't possibly have the same show without John Snow, Sansa, Bran or even Rob, so they are all main characters as well. Jamie, Cersei, Tyrion, all integral to the story and all for sure main characters.
So how can we have such a large cast of main characters? The story isn't about any one of them, it's a story about Westeros. Because the scope of the story is really about the land and the iron throne we can have all these characters come in at various times throughout the show and all of their goals revolve around the land and the iron throne, everything is coherent. Some characters like say Podric have smaller roles to play but they are still important to the plot, let the pedants debate whether he is a main character, a supporting character or otherwise.
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Can there be more than one main character?
Absolutely!
can their be a protagonist and other main characters that the story focuses on?
Yep, and that sounds like what you are describing in your "Lisa" example - there's one key protagonist (Lisa) but the other main characters are also significant in the story, primarily because of how they exist in order to impact Lisa's story. That doesn't mean they can't have growth and arcs of their own.
And then we have all the other characters that don't play large roles in the story, but they are also important as well. For example, close friends, siblings, parents.
These sound very much to be supporting characters.
Overall I don't think you need to particularly worry about the labels you use to describe these characters when you are writing.
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