In 1959, Carl Jung first popularized the idea of archetypes—”universal images that have existed since the remotest times.” He posited that every person is a blend of these 12 basic personalities. Ever since then, authors have been applying this idea to fictional characters, combining the different archetypes to come up with interesting new versions. The result is a sizable pool of character tropes that we see from one story to another.
Archetypes and tropes are popular storytelling elements because of their familiarity. Upon seeing them, readers know immediately who they’re dealing with and what role the nerd, dark lord, femme fatale, or monster hunter will play. As authors, we need to recognize the commonalities for each trope so we can write them in a recognizable way and create a rudimentary sketch for any character we want to create.
But when it comes to characters, no one wants just a sketch; we want a vibrant and striking cast full of color, depth, and contrast. Diving deeper into character creation is especially important when starting with tropes because the blessing of their familiarity is also a curse; without differentiation, the characters begin to look the same from story to story.
But no more. The Character Type and Trope Thesaurus allows you to outline the foundational elements of each trope while also exploring how to individualize them. In this way, you’ll be able to use historically tried-and-true character types to create a cast for your story that is anything but traditional.
DESCRIPTION: Nice guys and girls are decent, kind, morally upright, and are generally liked by everyone. They’re similar in personality to the Girl or Boy Next Door, but while the latter is often a love interest for the protagonist, nice people make great friends and allies.
FICTIONAL EXAMPLES: Samwise Gamgee (The Lord of the Rings), Beth (Little Women), Cassian (A Court of Thorns and Roses), Neville Longbottom (the Harry Potter series), Goose (Top Gun)
COMMON STRENGTHS: Affectionate, Cautious, Courageous, Easygoing, Empathetic, Friendly, Generous, Honest, Honorable, Humble, Innocent, Just, Kind, Loyal, Nurturing, Patient, Responsible, Sensible, Supportive, Trusting, Wise
COMMON WEAKNESSES: Childish, Cowardly, Foolish, Gullible, Indecisive, Inhibited, Insecure, Needy, Oversensitive, Subservient, Timid, Weak-Willed, Worrywart
ASSOCIATED ACTIONS, BEHAVIORS, AND TENDENCIES
Being a good listener
Thinking more about others than about themselves
Being protective of friends and family
Authenticity
Checking on people regularly
Being a great ally and friend
Remembering birthdays and personal events
Not always practicing good self-care (because they’re caring for others)
Being an easy mark for someone with selfish motivations
Being viewed as boring
SITUATIONS THAT WILL CHALLENGE THEM
Being betrayed by someone close to them
Being wrongly accused of unkindness, cruelty, or hypocrisy
An emergency occurring when the character is needed elsewhere
TWIST THIS TROPE WITH A CHARACTER WHO…
Is flawed and wrestles with personal demons
Has a short fuse
Is the protagonist instead of a supporting character
Has an atypical trait: Catty, Flirtatious, Jealous, Nosy, Rowdy, Scatterbrained, etc.
CLICHÉS TO BE AWARE OF
The one-dimensional nice guy with no flaws or nuance to their character
The nice girl who’s so busy helping others she doesn’t have a life of her own
Other Type and Trope Thesaurus entries can be found here.
Need More Descriptive Help?
While this thesaurus is still being developed, the rest of our descriptive collection (16 unique thesauri and growing) is accessible through the One Stop for Writers THESAURUS database.
If you like, swing by and check out the video walkthrough for this site, and then give our Free Trial a spin.
Becca Puglisi is an international speaker, writing coach, and bestselling author of The Emotion Thesaurus and its sequels. Her books are available in five languages, are sourced by US universities, and are used by novelists, screenwriters, editors, and psychologists around the world. She is passionate about learning and sharing her knowledge with others through her Writers Helping Writers blog and via One Stop For Writers—a powerhouse online library created to help writers elevate their storytelling.