The term “literary character” is a catchall for the diverse range of characters, themes, and stories that can appear in fiction, poetry, and nonfiction.
The term is particularly useful in describing literary works that include literary elements, such as the story, characters, and situations that inform the text.
The breadth of literary characters is something of a paradox.
Most literary work does not focus exclusively on one genre or one literary style.
The vast majority of literary works are written for a wide variety of audiences, including readers of non-literary and literary fiction.
But the breadth of the range of literary voices in fiction is something to keep in mind.
As the breadth and diversity of the literary work grows, so do the opportunities for readers to engage with it.
What are the different types of literary character?
A literary character is a fictional character whose primary goal is to fulfill the requirements of the author’s story.
A literary author may write about a man who is an architect who writes a memoir about his experiences in the construction of a school building.
Or, the author may simply describe a woman who has a passion for her profession.
A non-fictional character is someone who has no particular interest in the narrative or plot of the story.
For example, a dog who loves to play fetch might be a dog lover, but does not care that much about the story or its characters.
A fiction writer may write a novel about a person who is deaf who has an amazing talent for music, but is not particularly interested in the music.
Nonfiction writers may write stories about people who have a specific talent, but they may also write about people whose talents and interests don’t align with the plot or the characters.
Some of the most popular nonfiction novels feature characters whose primary focus is to satisfy the demands of the plot, the characters are not particularly interesting, and the story does not give them much of a role in the overall narrative.
How are literary characters written?
When you look at the literary characters of any given genre, it’s hard to pick out specific characters.
In fiction, writers are free to create as many characters as they wish, without worrying that the reader will find them in the work.
Some writers choose to write their characters in a more realistic or realistic-sounding manner, while others prefer to write them in a lighter or more whimsical manner.
Some authors write their stories as if they are a “real” person, while some writers write them as if their characters are fictional.
Sometimes, writers create characters that are not necessarily realistic.
For instance, when an author creates an entire family, it may be easy to think of them as “realistic.”
In fiction and other creative fields, it is sometimes possible to write characters that look like other people, but the characters may not really be people at all.
If the characters in your novel are created as fictional, you might be writing a fictional version of yourself.
What is the difference between literary and nonliterary fiction?
There are two distinct types of fictional characters in literature.
Non-fiction authors are often called “literaries” because they write about fictional characters who have no particular connection to the plot.
Literary writers are also called “authors,” because they create fictional characters whose main focus is the story’s unfolding and the actions that take place in the story as a whole.
What does it mean to be literary?
A person’s literary character depends on a number of factors, including their interests and goals, the genre of the work in which they write, the way the work is presented, the level of realism and whimsy, and whether the author has a particular interest or a specific career goal.
Literary characters can be very varied in their interests.
They may be romantics or intellectuals or artists or other writers.
Sometimes writers write about characters who are “very smart,” “very funny,” “crazy,” “strong,” “socially awkward,” or “truly brilliant.”
Other writers may have a passion and/or interest in their chosen profession, such a journalist or painter.
Writers may also choose to be a “character” who is the author of a particular work.
This is often accomplished by using a fictional persona.
For an example, consider the following example from the novel The Lady in the Red Riding Hood: “It was a hot summer afternoon in July, and as he sat on the veranda with a red rose in his hand, he thought that she was just like him.
Her smile was so radiant and her voice so deep, that he would have felt right at home anywhere in this country, and he was so sure that she had been the perfect wife for him.
He had never imagined that it would be the other way around.”
Literary characters, whether fictional or not, tend to be more intelligent than non-literal characters.
The literary characters in this story are intelligent, but not in the way