Writers: 12 Archetypes

[The Hammer]

12 Character Archetypes Every Writer Should Already Know

So my neighborhood writers, are these accurate storytelling archetypes? Are there any you would like to add to this list? Perhaps even be daring enough to remove one (or more!).

I think there should be a Hero archetype, that is seperate from the Warrior Archetype. As a warrior and a hero are not always identical. A warrior may be willing to fight a die for something but they are brawns over brain, a hero has a devotion to a just cause and a willingness to fight and die for that cause, whether as a warrior or not.

 

[epronovost]

Weep at how archetypes and storytelling devices have become detailed and numerous.

TV Tropes

 

[anna.]

I like the first response to the list - very astute.

Lucrezia says:
Some numbers. There are 12 archetypes, for a total of 37 examples. Of these examples, only 10 are women (about 28%). Only 6 of the 12 archetypes have at least a female example (50%), with a concentration on child, caregiver (surprise), seductress (even more surprise) and rebel (that was actually unexpected). On the other side, there is only 1 archetype without a male example, out of 12. Of course the more "authoritative" archetypes - warrior, mentor, creator, magician - are a boy only preserve. I do not mean this as a critique to the author of the post, more as general observation about how skewed literature or movies, even pretty contemporary ones, can be.