Character Classifications (Otterpup Update)

When classifying my characters, I combine one of 50 +adjectives and one of 50+ nouns to give a general characterization of an individual within a story. This is a system I have used for some time now, and while it doesn’t specify every character trait there are characters that follow certain “tropes” as it were. It’s something that helps give me a good basis, especially when in the process of developing a character.

The number of combinations is endless even though there are only 2 categories to choose from. However, that doesn’t mean that every combination makes sense, or would even be a good one to have for a specific character. There are certain combinations that can be seen as very compatible…..and some that may come off as very incompatible.

Beyond my table with descriptions for each classification, I also have a separate table regarding the compatibility I have defined between a single archetype and all 68 traits. Every adjective can fall into one of 5 categories when paired with a noun: Highly Compatible, Moderately Compatible, Somewhat Compatible, Not Compatible, or Unrelated.

If you took a certain noun (a.k.a a certain character archetype), there may be certain characteristics that are seen as very compatible with that type of individual, and other characteristics that are not often seen in such a character, information which can be placed into a chart:

Each noun has its own definition based on dictionary reference as well as my own interpretation, and the same goes for every adjective. So if some of these compatibilities seem a bit odd….that is probably why. My definitions of various traits and character types could be seen as positive, negative, even neutral, but the definitions and compatibilities associated with them are based on my own judgement and interpretations. some of these combinations or definitions you may not agree with!

And this is merely a simple explanation of some ways that I define, classify, and analyze the variety of characters in my stories. I’ve created hundreds of characters across many stories. Protagonists, antagonists, deuteragonists, and one-off characters alike. They are incredibly various, and can come with a slew of positive and negative characteristics. This compatibility chart may not reflect or describe every bit of that character since they can each be unique and complex but it is a start.

Some of my personal favorite characters from popular media fall into all kinds of combinations with varying degrees of compatibility and complexities:

• Eric Cartman from South Park → Egotistic Bully (there were way too many options with this one)
• Stan Marsh from South Park → Moral Realist
• Butters Stotch → Good-Natured Outcast
• Lance from Voltron: Legendary Defender → Dual Jokester, later Dual Friend
• Death the Kid from Soul Eater → Quirky Genius
• Fenneko from Aggretsuko → Outspoken Logistician
• Samwise Gamgee from Lord of the Rings → Brave Peacemaker, later Brave Idealist
• Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter → Quirky Dreamer
• Wolf from Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts → Stubborn Survivor
• Oliver Queen from Arrow → Lonely Anti-Hero, later Introverted Vigilante

There are plenty of interesting characters that bear archetypes and traits that I view as highly compatible with one another, and they can still make for some fantastic characters to write. Knowing your character up and down from their history to their appearance to their personality is important especially further in the development of stories. But knowing the basics is just as important. Every character could be seen as complex just like any other ordinary person, but these are fictional stories for a reason. It is still important for them to be classified because every character has their role in a story, whether small or large. Every character has a part to play in the grand scheme of things, the basics of which should be identified as early on as possible when developing and writing any kind of story.

Creating a personality may be difficult on occasion, but it doesn’t have to be! Sometimes, you just want to make sense of it. Other times, you just need to have fun with it. No matter what kind of path you may choose, there will always be an interesting road to take. Look it up too if you are finding trouble! There are always character archetypes to be searched on the web and help guide you to building a character from the ground up.