Types of characters Character traits Character Motives Dialogue Characterization Types of characters Character traits Character Motives Dialogue

Types of characters Major (also called Protagonist) Minor (supporting characters) Round (complex) Flat (one dimensional)

Major character Most important to the story They change in some way during the story

Minor characters: Not very important to the story but they help move the story along. Stay the same from the beginning to the end. These characters support the major characters

Character Traits Parts of a character’s personality brave, loyal, smart, kind, honest NOT EMOTIONS

Character Traits The way a character Speaks Thinks Acts Qualities that cause characters to act the way they normally do

Character Motive These are strong emotions Strong feeling Strong need Strong want Strong desire These are strong emotions

Round and Flat Characters Round characters Are characters with lots of traits Are complex characters Flat characters Are limited characters usually with only one trait

Static vs. Dynamic Static Dynamic Stays the same throughout the story Doesn’t grow and learn Usually a minor character Dynamic Changes throughout the story Learns and grows through experiences within the story Usually a major character

Protagonist Main character in a story or novel

Antagonist The enemy or opponent of the protagonist

Six methods of characterization Showing through dialogue Telling through another character’s description Showing through the character’s actions Telling through direct description The character’s inner thoughts and feelings Physical appearance/ how they look and dress

Actions Are based on who the character is Are based on how the character thinks

Dialogue Inner Dialogue What a character says aloud How he or she says it Inner Dialogue A character’s thoughts

How do we know about the character? By his actions What other characters think and say about a character By his motives By his personality traits By the author’s direct comments By his beliefs