Scott Myers
Feb 21, 2023

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Xiao, I always make the point: archetypes are malleable. Characters can evolve from one type to another over the course of a story. Characters may don the "mask" of any archetype in any scene or any relationship. Characters may share multiple archetypes. Like human beings who are complex creatures, so, too, archetypes.

That said, if we really drill down to the core narrative function of any character, chances are they best fit into the role of one archetype. That becomes a lens through we, as writers, can see them, then explore their complexity within that framework.

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