Victoria Lynn Schmidt - A Writers Guide to Characterization: Archetypes, Heroic Journeys, and Other Elements of Dynamic Character Development

ARCHETYPES, HEROIC JOURNEYS,
AND OTHER ELEMENTS OF DYNAMIC
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

VICTORIA LYNN SCHMIDT

To my familyStephen, Sandra, Angela, Kimberly and Barbarathanks for sharing your archetypes with me and for all of your encouragement.

PART 1:
ARCHETYPES & HOW THEY INTERACT

CHAPTER 1
Female Heroes and Villains

CHAPTER 2
Female Interactions

CHAPTER 3
Male Heroes & Villains

CHAPTER 4
Male Interactions

CHAPTER 5
Romantic Relationships

PART 2:
ANIMAL ARCHETYPES

CHAPTER 6
Animals as Archetypes

CHAPTER 7
The Bear: Patience & Connection

CHAPTER 8
The Buffalo: Gratitude & Trust

CHAPTER 9
The Cougar: Assertiveness & Mastery

CHAPTER 10
The Coyote: Curiosity & Resourcefulness

CHAPTER 11
The Deer: Innocence & Awareness

CHAPTER 12
The Dolphin: Transcendence, Harmony & Purpose

CHAPTER 13
The Fox: Cleverness & Resourcefulness

CHAPTER 14
The Horse: Freedom & Victory

CHAPTER 15
The Whale: Normalcy & Self-Acceptance

CHAPTER 16
The Wolf: Individuality & The Group Dynamic

CHAPTER 17
The Eagle: Deep Relationships & Patriotism

CHAPTER 18
The Hummingbird: Finding Inner Peace

CHAPTER 19
The Tiger: Mysticism & Kingship

CHAPTER 20
The Snake: Transformation, Death & Rebirth

CHAPTER 21
The Butterfly: Joyful Transformation

The moment you think you understand a great work of art, its dead for you. O SCAR W ILDE

T he main goal of this book is to show you how to add that special element to your writing that will make it stand out from the rest, and maybe even inspire readers to call it a classic. Most of you know how to plot and how to create a basic character. You may have written a book or two, but to be great at your craft you need tools and techniques that will conjure deeper meaning from your work. I hope this book helps you do that.

Why should you strive for more meaning in your work? Meaning, which is sometimes called message or theme, is what readers and audiences really want from a piece of writing, though they may not consciously acknowledge it. When readers sit down to give you their precious time, they are hoping to be uplifted, to learn, to grow, as well as to be entertained. Many of you have the entertainment part down, but now you need to go a bit deeper.

Meaning and message can be a very subjective thing. Your goal is not to impart the correct meaning/message/subtext/theme but to inspire your reader or audience to think deeply enough to contemplate it. You want to engage readers on that deeper level. Its up to them to see things in their own way, through the lens of their personal experience and desires.

Meanings are not determined by situations, but we determine ourselves by meanings we give our situations.

ALFRED ADLER

The first section of A Writers Guide to Characterization covers many new ideas that I borrowed from Jungian thought and applied to the task of creating great characters. These ideas include the following:

More Jungian typology to add a bit more layering to the archetypes

Female archetypal interactions

A questionnaire to help you select a female archetype

Male archetypal interactions

A questionnaire to help you select a male archetype

Male and female archetypal interactions

Through the years I have met so many wonderful authors in the romance-writing genre, and I realized that none of these writers develop the romantic journeys in their books. So I set out to dissect the stories and to present the three main love plotlines one can follow in any genre of writing. Love concerns all people, and I believe writers can benefit by exploring it in the context of their art. So this book includes a section that delves into The Three Romantic Journeys.

I personally have studied many holistic areas of self-help and growth, and I have a deep affection for animals. Thanks to my studies, I found a whole new area of archetypes that I know will be of profound use to writers: that of the animal archetype. The lessons here will show you how your characters, viewed as animal archetypes, can create meaning and themes in your work. This book includes fifteen animal archetypal lessons.

A NOTE ON GENDER: I strive to alternate between the pronouns he and she for balance in the book. My use of a specific pronoun does not mean the information applies only to the gender mentioned. Both genders can cross over into any type.

The least of things with meaning, is worth more in life than the greatest of things without it. Carl Jung

While Jung is known primarily for his work on archetypes, he also developed a personality typology that sheds light on how humans approach life. This typology focuses on two types: Introverts and Extroverts. Within these two types each individual also uses one (or more) of four functions as a primary way of dealing with information and circumstances that come his or her way. The four functions are: sensing, thinking, intuiting, and feeling.

What follows is an overview of the four functions and how each one applies to writing and to individual archetypes.

Introversion or extroversion will act as the core of your character and determine how that character relates to the outside world and how other characters see him in this relating.

The functions will show you how your character is experiencing or taking in the information and circumstances of the plot as he faces them. They also help you make decisions on dialogue, clothing, mannerisms, style, and inner monologue, and thereby give you a solid framework from which to build well-rounded characters that are consistent. The functions offer another level to consider when using archetypes, though you can use them without archetypes if you want to.

Archetypes give you the deepest level of characterization, and these elements help you further focus and externalize archetypal qualities. In the best case, archetype comes first.

Introverts prefer the internal world of thoughts, feelings, fantasies, and dreams. Extroverts prefer the external world of things and people and activities.

FOR WRITERS: This means that a character that is extroverted will enjoy being around people and being outdoors. She will probably enjoy being in the spotlight more than an introvert will and she will be much more willing to speak in public. This type of personality is suited to a character such as an actor, dancer, leader, or politician.