Welcome back, friends! Since we’re back from the holiday break we’ve got several things going on.

Steph’s got a new series up and running that focuses on finishing your novel, while Jill has picked right up where she left off with the Go Teen Writers Book Club. As for me, I’ve taken a dive into our mailbag and found a fantastic question to kick off our 2019 Mailbag.

Anna asks:

Can you give me any tips on writing stereotypical characters? Is it okay to have them in my books? Here are some examples of what I mean . . .

The gruff, yet kindhearted, mentor.

The female character who is awesome at shooting a bow (and also owns a leather jacket).

The mysterious man sitting in a dark corner of a tavern (like Aragorn from the Lord of the Rings).

The list goes on 😉

This is a fun question because it requires us to talk about character archetypes and character cliches. Are they the same thing? And is there something inherently wrong with using them?

Character Archetypes

First, what is a character archetype? The answer is in the name. Archetypes are types of characters. And we’re able to categorize certain characters into types because of similarities they share. Again and again, characters that feel distinctly familiar to us show up in the stories we love. Think: the hero, the villain, the mentor, etc. I was going to type out a complete list, but Jill’s already done that here.

These basic types of characters can be found in both oral and written stories from nations the world over, dating all the way back to antiquity. There’s a rabbit hole of research and speculation you can fall down if you’d like to consider more fully just why the human race tells stories about similar types of characters. But, thankfully, that’s not my job today. My job is to talk about how it benefits a storyteller to know that archetypes exist.

Character archetypes aren’t good or bad. They simply are. Without fully understanding why, readers will try to figure out who the hero is in your story. They’ll want to know who plays the villain. They’ll hope the young, inexperienced protagonist somehow finds a mentor.

And whether we’re hardwired to recognize these types of characters or whether it’s something more complicated than that, it’s helpful for the writer to know what’s expected.

So, to answer your question, Anna, it is absolutely okay to use archetypes in your book. My guess is that even if you tried to avoid them, you couldn’t.

What may be less than ideal is to allow those archetypes to become cliches.

Character Cliches

What turns an archetype into a cliche? There’s definitely going to be some subjectivity here, but whenever I’m asked this question, I think of what JK Rowling said about Hermione. I wish I could find the actual interview where she explained her thoughts in full, but the gist is this:

When they were casting Hermione for the first Harry Potter movie, JK Rowling didn’t want them turning her beloved character into a cliche. Hermione is the smart one, the bookworm, the expert. But it was important to Rowling that they didn’t just slap a pair of glasses on some kid and call it good. Hermione didn’t wear glasses after all, and Rowling took issue with the cliched idea that to make someone appear smart, all you have to do is perch a pair of spectacles on their nose.

She’d poured a lot of care into the construction of her characters and how they were portrayed mattered to her. I recommend you give your characters the same respect.

Acknowledging that archetypes exist is good. Doing a little research to understand what readers often expect of these archetypes is smart. But finding ways to switch up your portrayal of these common roles is highly recommended.

Anna, in your question you asked specifically about a “female character who is awesome at shooting a bow (and also owns a leather jacket).” Obviously Katniss Everdeen comes to mind. And there’s nothing inherently wrong with creating a character like Katniss, but you want to know something funny?

My eleven year old is quite the little archer. You’d never know it to look at her. She prefers frilly dresses to leather jackets, and she’s the girl who wears glasses, because unlike Hermione, she’s near-sighted. But man, can she sling arrows.

You don’t have to take your character in that direction, of course, but subverting expectations and switching things up can take a boring, cliched archetype and turn it fresh and new.

Another example: I have a mentor character in the fantasy book I’ll be releasing this fall, but instead of appearing much older, he looks similar in age to my main character. In that way, he breaks the Obi Wan / Gandalf mold. Also, this mentor I’ve created is not overly kind. In fact, sometimes it’s hard to tell if he’s helping or hurting my protagonist. In that way, I’ve taken the reader’s expectation of a mentor and tossed it out the window. My story needed a mentor, but I’m doing it my own way.

I suggest you do the same. Take those archetypes and bend them to fit your needs. Your story will be better for it.

Tell me, friends, do you spot archetypes easily in the stories you read or in the movies you watch? Can you think of any one character who is a fresh take on a standard archetype?

Shannon Dittemore is an author and speaker. Her books include the Angel Eyes trilogy, a supernatural foray into the realm of angels and demons, as well as the fantastical adventure novel Winter, White and Wicked. Its sequel, Rebel, Brave and Brutal is due out January 10, 2023.

Shannon’s stories feature strong female leads grappling with fear and faith as they venture into the wilds of the unknown. She’s often wondered if she’s writing her own quest for bravery again and again.

It’s a choice she values highly. Bravery. And she’s never more inspired than when young people ball up their fist and punch fear in the face.

To that end, Shannon takes great joy in working with young writers, both in person and online at Go Teen Writers, an instructional blog recognized by Writer’s Digest four years running as a “101 Best Websites for Writers” selection.

For more about Shannon and her books, please visit her website, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.