45 Master Characters. Mythic Models for Creating Original Characters

301 Pages·2001·1.13 MB·English

by  Victoria Lynn Schmidt

45
Master
CHARACTERS
MYTHIC MODELS FOR CREATING
ORIGINAL CHARACTERS
VICTORIA LYNN SCHMIDT
DEDICATION
To my family—Stephen, Sandra, Angela, Kimberly and Barbara—
thanks
for sharing your archetypes with me and for all of your
encouragement.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Victoria Lynn Schmidt (www.VictoriaLynnSchmidt.com) is the
author of Advanced Writing Techniques, Book in a Month, Story
Structure Architect and 45 Master Characters. She graduated from the
film program at UCLA, holds a master’s degree in writing from
Loyola Marymount University, and holds a doctorate in psychology.
She is recognized internationally as a journey & archetype guru for
the creative writer and is now becoming known as the voice for the
adventurous soul, offering journey maps for all areas of life. When
her writing schedule allows it, she teaches at several universities.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
Part I: GETTING STARTED
CHAPTER 1
What Are Archetypes, and Why Should Writers Use Them?
CHAPTER 2
How to Use the Archetypes
Part II: CREATING FEMALE HEROES AND VILLAINS
CHAPTER 3
Aphrodite: The Seductive Muse and the Femme Fatale
CHAPTER 4
Artemis: The Amazon and the Gorgon
CHAPTER 5
Athena: The Father’s Daughter and the Backstabber
CHAPTER 6
Demeter: The Nurturer and the Overcontrolling Mother
CHAPTER 7
Hera: The Matriarch and the Scorned Woman
CHAPTER 8
Hestia: The Mystic and the Betrayer
CHAPTER 9
Isis: The Female Messiah and the Destroyer
CHAPTER 10
Persephone: The Maiden and the Troubled Teen
Part III: CREATING MALE HEROES AND VILLAINS
CHAPTER 11
Apollo: The Businessman and the Traitor
CHAPTER 12
Ares: The Protector and the Gladiator
CHAPTER 13
Hades: The Recluse and the Warlock
CHAPTER 14
Hermes: The Fool and the Derelict
CHAPTER 15
Dionysus: The Woman’s Man and the Seducer
CHAPTER 16
Osiris: The Male Messiah and the Punisher
CHAPTER 17
Poseidon: The Artist and the Abuser
CHAPTER 18
Zeus: The King and the Dictator
Part IV: CREATING SUPPORTING CHARACTERS
CHAPTER 19
Introduction to Supporting Characters
CHAPTER 20
Friends
The Magi
The Mentor
The Best Friend
The Lover
CHAPTER 21
Rivals
The Joker
The Jester
The Nemesis
The Investigator
The Pessimist
The Psychic
CHAPTER 22
Symbols
The Shadow
The Lost Soul
The Double
Part V: THE FEMININE AND MASCULINE JOURNEYS
CHAPTER 23
Introduction to Archetypal Journeys
CHAPTER 24
Plotting the Feminine Journey
Act I: Containment
Act II: Transformation
Act III: Emergence
CHAPTER 25
Plotting the Masculine Journey
Act I: Challenge
Act II: Obstacles
Act III: Transformation
Appendix
The Feminine Journey Worksheet
The Masculine Journey Worksheet
Journey Differences
Societal/Gender Differences
Index
INTRODUCTION
hen I wrote this book ten years ago, I never dreamed it would
W
be on shelves this long, available worldwide, and translated
into several languages. I’m honored that so many have found it, and
my other books in this series, so useful.
You never know how your work might touch others. You just
have to speak from the heart with the intention of helping people
and things fall into place. Too often writers write what they want to
write about instead of thinking about what their readers need. I
discuss this in detail in my book Advanced Writing Techniques, but
suffice it to say, this is a major stumbling block for most writers out
there. If you want your work to stand the test of time give as much
as possible to your readers, teach them, help them, guide them
—‘Yes’ even when it comes to fiction writing.
th
This new edition has with it a 46 character that you can
download from the Writer’s Digest site
www.writersdigest.com/character-archetype-46. For several years
now, some major players have come into our collective psyche, that
of the Game Changer and Manipulator. These characters are
inspired by the Messiah archetype and offer a new view on those
who help, as the Messiah does, but they do so with regular human
motivations, abilities, and dysfunction.
You can see these new characters are very timely and very much
on reader’s minds. Using them, and the archetypes presented here,
in your stories in some way, helps your readers make sense of their
world, and helps them address, explore, and deal with current
situations in life. Something most readers seem to long for when
picking up a book.
So welcome to the new edition of 45 Master Characters. I hope you
are inspired to build well-rounded characters that readers
everywhere can relate to and learn from.
PART I
GETTING STARTED