Category:Character

character

A character is any person, persona, identity, or entity whose existence originates in a work of fiction. The process of creating and developing characters in a work of fiction is called characterization. (Source: Fictional_character at Wikipedia )

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Those who people the story, affect it and are affected by it. The best characters are complex, with good and bad points, triumphs and tragedies. They face moral choices. Over the course of the story, they evolve and their evolution mirrors the theme the writer is after. They care strongly and face obstacles, and because of these the reader cares strongly for them. Examples of excellence: Frank Herbert, The Dragon in the Sea, Sparrow, Ramsey, Bonnett; Robert Silverberg, The Man in the Maze, Muller, Boardman, Rawlins. (Original source: http://www.sfwa.org/2009/06/being-a-glossary-of-terms-useful-in-critiquing-science-fiction/ )

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Any representation of an individual being presented in a dramatic or narrative work through extended dramatic or verbal representation. The reader can interpret characters as endowed with moral and dispositional qualities expressed in what they say (dialogue) and what they do (action). E. M. Forster describes characters as "flat" (i.e., built around a single idea or quality and unchanging over the course of the narrative) or "round" (complex in temperament and motivation; drawn with subtlety; capable of growth and change during the course of the narrative). The main character of a work of a fiction is typically called the protagonist; the character against whom the protagonist struggles or contends (if there is one), is the antagonist. If a single secondary character aids the protagonist throughout the narrative, that character is the deuteragonist (the hero's "side-kick"). A character of tertiary importance is a tritagonist. These terms originate in classical Greek drama, in which a tenor would be assigned the role of protagonist, a baritone the role of deuteragonist, and a bass would play the tritagonist. Compare flat characters with stock characters. -- (Source: K. Wheeler's Literary Terms and Definitions ) (e)