Character Type & Trope Thesaurus: Storyteller

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: Part historian, entertainer, and conscience, this character has a knack for storytelling through oration, song, poetry, the written word, or other creative means. Their stories often challenge societal norms and raise important questions for listeners.

FICTIONAL EXAMPLES: Scheherazade (One Thousand and One Nights), Karen Blixen (Out of Africa), Jaskier (The Witcher), Clopin Trouillefou (Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame)

COMMON STRENGTHS: Creative, Curious, Empathetic, Enthusiastic, Focused, Imaginative, Inspirational, Intelligent, Passionate, Pensive, Perceptive, Persuasive, Philosophical, Playful, Spontaneous, Whimsical, Wise, Witty

COMMON WEAKNESSES: Catty, Confrontational, Gossipy, Manipulative, Melodramatic, Mischievous, Temperamental, Vain, Verbose

ASSOCIATED ACTIONS, BEHAVIORS, AND TENDENCIES
Being gifted at distilling complicated ideas down to a message people can understand
Being comfortable addressing a crowd
Liking the sound of their own voice
Using their gift to shine a light on injustice and right wrongs
Enjoying being the center of attention
Dominating conversations
Honing their storytelling skills
Having poor time management
Often being distracted or lost in thought
Difficulty keeping secrets

SITUATIONS THAT WILL CHALLENGE THEM
Being told something they’re not allowed to repeat
Their work being stolen
Living in a place where there is no freedom of speech
Being thrown in prison for sharing certain information

TWIST THIS TROPE WITH A CHARACTER WHO…
Is afraid of public speaking or drawing attention to themselves
Has a successful day job, with storytelling as a side gig
Has an atypical trait: Abrasive, Evil, Timid, Stingy, Vindictive, Dishonest, etc.

CLICHÉS TO BE AWARE OF
The starving artist storyteller
A storyteller who is able to churn out brilliant and perfect work with little revision
The storyteller as a minor character with no arc, whose only role is to reveal truth to the hero or audience

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Other Type and Trope Thesaurus entries can be found here.

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