In a new blog post, Janice Hardy discusses how writers can use story archetypes to get a head start on their work. Most people probably know the basic character archetypes: the hero, the wise man, the magician – the number and type of characters will vary depending on who compiled the list, but the gist is the same. Most fictional characters can be described using these archetypes.
But what is a story archetype? “Story archetypes are the common events or situations often seen in fiction,” Hardy explains. “Coming of age, rags to riches, the quest, getting retribution, earning redemption, battle of the underdog. They’re classic story types readers have come to recognize and even seek out.” Some story archetypes will lay out a basic story arc for your character, and others will help establish the theme and tone of your work. Hardy discusses how writers can use these archetypes and offers some helpful lists, from John Gardner’s two basic stories to Ronald Tobias’ Twenty Master Plots.
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