Archetypes - Blog Posts
6 Tips for Writing an Underdog Character
People love reading about an underdog. There’s something within all of us that relates to persevering against the odds, even when they’re crushing. Anything becomes possible—but how do you write that kind of character successfully?
Here are a few tips to get you started.
1. Create Their Disempowerment
Underdogs need to lose something or have one thing less than those they fight against. It might be something they hope to gain back or something they hope to gain at all.
Let’s use The Hunger Games as an example for this post. Katniss comes from District 12, but she’s already at a disadvantage when she volunteers as tribute. Restrictions on her district kept her from food security for most of her life. Without a lifetime of basic nutrition, her body is already at a disadvantage in the physically-demanding games.
District 12 is also one of the less appreciated districts in her country. She doesn’t think anyone will care about sponsoring her in the games, which makes survival much less likely.
But we still root for her! She volunteered to save her sister, which is heroic. There’s so much potential for more heroic growth that we keep turning the page, even though she’s not the most likely person to survive.
2. Make Your Protagonist Likable
Getting excited to see a character grow might be something you feel as a creative writer, but the average reader also needs an underdog protagonist to be likable in some way. Katniss will do anything for her family, including hunting where and when she isn’t supposed to. Many people would feel the need to do the same for their families.
She also feels deep compassion for people, which she covers up with her gruff demeanor. We’ve all felt like we got hurt because our hearts opened too wide for someone. We can relate to her building defenses into her personality, which might make her likable to more readers.
Katniss also has the core value of loyalty. People always seek loyalty in new connections. It’s how we trust new friends. It’s also how readers trust characters.
This site has a few more tips on crafting likable characters. Part of that happens while you’re creating the characters during your planning process, but you can also do it while you’re writing. As your underdog becomes more of a real person in your mind, you’ll know which primary character traits make them most likable to readers.
3. Plan Their Rock-Bottom Moment
Underdogs always reach a point where they feel they’re at their lowest. Even when they feel crushed or defeated, they choose to find strength and continue with their journey. It makes readers support them even more, but it’s also the defining moment of an underdog’s arc.
Your underdog’s rock-bottom moment will be the scene where they resist the temptation to give up, change their dream, or change who they are. It will be the choice that keeps them moving toward their end goal, instead of taking the easy road.
You could argue Katniss has a few rock-bottom moments. It might be when she hears her sister’s name called at the Reaping. It could be when Rue dies and she chooses to spearhead a revolution.
There could be multiple moments for your underdog too. It depends on the shape of your narrative arc and how many acts your story has.
4. Show Them Trying and Failing
It’s time for an important caveat—underdogs also fail. If they were perfect, they’d be god-like figures that readers couldn’t personally identify with.
Maybe your underdog achieves their ultimate goal, but they experience failure along the way. Their failure helps them grow or makes them pursue their goal with more conviction and determination.
Katniss begins her journey with a mindset of self-preservation. That makes her slightly selfish and automatically distrustful of people. She makes some choices readers would probably disagree with, but then she learns from them. By the end of the series, she’s as selfless as a human can get.
Characters don’t grow if they don’t make mistakes. Even underdogs should fail. However, that failure shouldn’t make them quit. It should either motivate them to keep going or give them a new perspective on how they can achieve their ultimate goal.
5. Train Them Along the Way
Underdogs start out as unlikely heroes because they don’t start with everything they need to succeed. That might be a societal problem, like coming from an economically disadvantaged family or a biased society. Maybe they don’t have the skills they need, like the ability to fight in hand-to-hand combat, outsmart their antagonist, or solve mysteries.
Usually, characters learn these things during their arcs. Your underdog will likely pick up what they need to succeed through the relationships they make and experiences they have.
Katniss already knows how to hunt when she volunteers for the games, but Haymitch mentors her to win over much-needed sponsors to survive. Peeta teaches her how to soften her heart and think outside the box. She wouldn’t have made it through the series without the people in her life. Other underdog characters can’t either.
6. Reward Them at the End
Underdogs work hard and transform themselves to achieve their goals. At the end of the story, they often gain a tangible reward, power, knowledge, a new title or a new community. Your underdog should get what they set out to achieve, plus a few extra things they didn’t expect.
Katniss wins the Hunger Games. She gets her primary objective: to continue living. She also protects her sister. In addition to surviving, she has her (albeit rocky) relationship with Peeta, a new mentor in Haymitch, a comfortable living in the Victor’s Village, and an audience of fans who are another layer of protection against President Snow’s desire to kill her.
The extra rewards propel her through the remainder of her storyline. They also set her up for more success with the new lifepath she sees for herself: aiding the revolution to end the games for good.
A new goal is sometimes a reward in itself. It depends on if you want to continue writing about your character or if you want a one-off story.
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I hope this helps gives you a new perspective on future protagonists! Adding one of these factors into your character’s growth could remove your writer’s block too. They set up a path forward for your protagonist and help shape their journey.
You can also use these resources to learn more about the underdog archetype:
Character Archetypes: The Disruptor and the Underdog
Writing the Underdog: Effort Matters Most
7 Tips to Writing Underdog Heroes
SPOILERS FOR PSYCHONAUTS 2 (CASSIE O’PEIA’s MIND):
This reminds me a lot of Cassie O’Peia from Psychonauts 2. Her mind is really interesting because in her mind we get to learn about Archetypes, which are different personality facets that people can/will use for different aspects or people in their life.
In Cassie’s case, she used whatever archetype she needed for her survival. She stole money and she was a snitch, but she needed to do that to get out of the poverty she was in and flee her country. She became a writer to help fund her escape, and her book was a universal bestseller.
And yet. In the battle against Maligula, she used her power, her words, her voices, her facets. And they weren’t enough. And she lost. And she resigned herself to the forest where she and her friends used to do research together. And she became a recluse.
She and the other psychic six were so mentally ruined after that battle that parts of them cracked and they were hollow shells of what they used to be.
Anyways, idk if this means anything to you, but you should totally check out Psychonauts if you haven’t already, it’s so cool.
[Factchecked by an autistic Psychonauts fan @clussygang so trust in my accuracy)
i cant reblog with a video apperantly :/ made this inspired by @thelemoncoffee 's post
nothing too special just a lil something i did it in a short ride
What are Archetypes?
Psychologically, whether we realize it or not, we make a connection between a picture/symbol and what we perceive. We may not always be aware of this, however. Even if we believe an archetype holds no meaning for us, something as simple as a square, will be identified within the unconscious mind as an archetype. Therefore, the square may be unconsciously connected to a house, a foundation, a…
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The Zodiac Killer: A Jungian and Typological Analysis #1
Introduction to The Zodiac Killer
The Zodiac Killer was a Californian serial killer who took the lives of a confirmed five victims and a speculated seven to thirty-seven victims from December 20th, 1968 to October 11th, 1969. To this day he remains unidentified.
Murder (December 20th, 1968 - Lake Herman Road): David Arthur Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen are both shot at 10:15pm.
Murder (July 4th, 1969 - Blue Rock Springs Park Grounds): Darlene Ferrin and Michael Mageau are both shot with a 9mm luger. Mageau survives and later recalls the suspect as a short, heavyset male with short brownish-blonde hair and a round face.
Event (August 1st, 1969): The killer, now operating under the name “The Zodiac”, sends three letters written in code to the Vallejo Times, San Francisco Chronicle and the San Francisco Examiner.
Murder (September 27, 1969 - Lake Berryessa): Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard are approached by The Zodiac who binds them with fishing line under the false pretense he was a recently escaped prison convict. Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard are then promptly stabbed a total of sixteen times before the perpetrator vanishes. Hartnell survives and later recalls the suspect as a heavyset man clad in a black, executioner style hood and cross-hair symbol drawn on his torso with greasy brown hair.
Murder (October 11th, 1969 - Geary Street): At 9:35 The Zodiac enters the cab of Paul Stine, directing him to drop him off at Cherry Street. At 9:55pm Paul Stine is shot and killed by Zodiac; at the same time the murder is witnessed by three teenagers. The teenagers and other witnesses later recall the suspect as a 35-45 year old male with reddish-brown crew-cut hair, a medium to heavy-build and who was wearing heavy rim glasses. This description is used as the basis for the police sketch.
Event (October 14th, 1969): Another letter is received by the Zodiac containing a portion of Paul Stine’s shirt and multiple threats.
Aftermath: More letters by The Zodiac were received by newspapers, most prominently the chronicle. Notable highlights of these letters include The Zodiac claiming to have taken the lives of up to 37 victims, a letter that supposedly had his name coded into it, a plan to use a technically plausible bomb, a letter claiming the murder of one Sgt. Radetich, a letter written entirely in cypher stating he believed his victims will work as his slaves in the afterlife, a custom made halloween card meant to be received by reporter Paul Avery and a letter that alluded to the idea he was the kidnapper of Kathleen Johns thus giving credence to the Lawrence Kane hypothesis. The Zodiac Killer has also been the main suspect in multiple other cases, such as Betsy Aardsma case where a college-aged girl was murdered by a stab wound to the torso.
Typological Analysis
Serial killers can usually be organized into six typologies each with their own unique incentive, ideas, thoughts and methods of killing. These types are the organized killer, the disorganized killer, the visionary killer, the mission-oriented killer, the hedonistic killer and the power-oriented killer.
Typology of the Zodiac Killer
The Zodiac Killer is an example of a mixture between two types, mainly a visionary and hedonistic (thrill variety) killer. The visionary killer is driven not usually by thrill or enjoyment but rather by a break from reality. In some cases, this type of killer shows the unique trait of remorse. On the other hand, the hedonistic thrill killer is driven by the thrill of murder, this type is similar to the power-oriented killer as they both commit murder out of enjoyment, however, the hedonistic killer does not derive gratification from dominating the victim.
An example of his visionary side was displayed in one of his many letters sent to the San Francisco Chronicle where he gloated that he wasn’t afraid of the gas chamber as his murders have already secured him enough slaves for paradise. From this we can assume his dominant incentive for killing was the belief that he needs a certain amount of servants for the afterlife. However, his hedonistic thrill seeker side is usually what is focused on when psychologists or people interested in the case first point out when discussing his psychology. For example, in The Vallejo Times letter he stated that killing was the most thrilling experience and was, “better than getting your rocks off with a girl”, though reasserted his belief in paradise afterward. An interesting thing to note is the Zodiac’s connection between sex and murder.
The organized vs. disorganized concept is another system of criminal typology that uses crime scene analysis. Using this system we can use conjecture to determine certain personality traits (organized killers might have a higher IQ, for example). I’ll use this rating system to figure out his orientation on the O/U scale:
-Restraints: 1
-Victim known: 0
-Stranger targeted: 1
-Poisoned: 0
-Chaotic scene: 1
-Controlled scene: 0
-Weapon planned: 1
-Weapon left: 0
-Body transported: 0
-Act focused: 0
From this ranking we can determine that the Zodiac Killer was directly in between a disorganized and organized killer. However, he matches 5/11 descriptor of a disorganized killer (minimal conversation, sloppy crime scene, minimal use of restraints, body left at crime scene, body left in open) and only 4/11 descriptors of the organized variety (planned offense, victim a stranger, aggressive acts prior to death, absent weapon).
For personality factors we can use the OCEAN model:
-Openness: High. Inquisitive and creative. Created his own suit, strapped a flashlight to his gun and sent coded letters.
-Consciousness: Low. Disorganized and spontaneous. Left victims alive, allowed his face to be seen multiple times and didn’t hide victims.
-Extraversion: Unknown. Likely low. Introversion is associated with disorganized killers.
-Agreeableness: Low. Uncooperative and hostile. Crime behavior and taunted police.
-Neuroticism: Mid to low. Moderately emotional and anxious. Was possibly anxious during the course of the Mageau attack, however was perceived as calm and monotone in other murders.
Speculation, Comparisons to Other Killers, Psychological Profiles
We know that the Zodiac Killer could be profiled into both the visionary and hedonistic category based off motivation. However, what could possibly be the cause for these behaviors and what could be gleamed from these classifications? A good method for this type of speculation is by comparing him to other serial killers with similarities in already established psychology. So here are some related speculations.
-It’s possible that the Zodiac Killer gleamed sexual gratification from murder. Yang Xinhai, another hedonistic killer, stated he felt sexual satisfaction after killing his victims. It’s possible his specific type of victim (teenage couples) gave him the most satisfaction.
-When considering the fact he didn’t assault the victims afterward, his teasing of the police and creation of different methods of murder it could be assumed the Zodiac Killer enjoyed not killing on its own but rather the game of murder. He could’ve been hedonistic in the sense he gleamed pleasure from committing a murder, perfecting it and then getting away with it while receiving ludicrous amounts of media attention.
-It’s possible the Zodiac Killer has some form of schizophrenia, psychosis or a Cluster A personality disorder. David “Son of Hope” Berkowitz was strikingly similar to the Zodiac. Berkowitz and the Zodiac both killed couples, both killed their victims while they were in their cars, both sent letters taunting the police, both used guns to murder their victims, both didn’t assault their victims after and both had aspects of the visionary type. Berkowitz was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. Berkowitz also gained sexual gratification from the murders, supporting the previous comparison.
-The Zodiac Killer likely took great pride in his public appearance. In his letter about the attack of Michael Mageau he said that he calmly left the scene as to not attract attention to himself, despite Mageau asserting he had left quickly in a panic. At the Lake Berryessa attack the Zodiac wore a specialized suit complete with a symbol on the torso. Sure this is strange on its own but the stranger part is that there’d be no need to wear the suit if he was planning on killing both victims, which indicates that he wore it because he wanted to tailor his image to his persona. The Zodiac even admitted this himself when he complained that he didn’t believe he got as much media attention as he deserved. All of this culminates with the Zodiac’s statement saying he didn’t look like the police sketch made of him, which could be his attempt to draw the public’s attention away from who he is under the façade of the notorious, mysterious and inventive Zodiac Killer.
-Another comparison could be made to Dennis “BTK’ Radar. Radar and the Zodiac both sent letters and penned their own name. Radar was diagnosed with narcissistic personality disorder, this could very well coincide with the Zodiac’s need for admiration and recognition.
-If he does fall in line with the “disorganized killer” typology it’s possible he did not travel far from his home to commit the crime, was secluded or asocial and generally worked in a field that didn’t require much talent.
-The female victims of the Zodiac Killer may look like a past girlfriend such as Ted Bundy or any woman associated with pain. 2/3 of his female victims were twenty-two years of age and Betty Lou Jensen and Darlene Ferrin have strikingly similar facial proportions (specifically the spacing between the nose, mouth and eyes and the size of those areas). This could also link to sexual satisfaction being taken from murder.
-He was more focused on killing women over men, evident from him failing to kill the male side of the couple in two murders. Possibly this the result of a damaged ego after rejection as if he’s trying to regain power over women. This could be a result of his introversion linked to unorganized killers. This could also possibly disprove the hedonistic killer theory in favor of the power-oriented killer theory.
From this we can assume three possible motivations:
-Paranoid or odd beliefs
-Sexual gratification
-Misogyny
Jungian Analysis
Carl Jung (born July 26th, 1871 - died June 6th, 1961) was an early Swiss psychoanalyst and apprentice of Freud. Many of the concepts he built upon and created are still in use today including the concepts of introversion/extraversion, archetypes, the subconscious, the unconscious and persona.
Use of Intuition
Intuition, explained simply, is the unconscious process which allows the user to see into or perceive conditions that are not obvious through logical thought. It presents its conclusions as whole or complete in the mind of the user. It's the ability for one to perceive and expect possible motions without logical deliberation. For example, one may get a bad feeling about an apple because it subconsciously reminds them of an apple pie they hated.
The Zodiac Killer represents the perfect picture of an extroverted intuitive killer. Instead of receding from the object to transpose his internalized view of abstracted images from the subconscious onto the environment around him, the Zodiac Killer’s intuition is in good relation to the object. He’s not oriented toward transposing his view of the abstracted image onto the object but rather interested in the object's pre-existing string of possibilities and abstracted images as if he was searching for chaos.
We could also see use of intuition in the very concept of The Zodiac Killer. The perpetrator of these crimes comprises his self of the multiple abstracted characteristics of what the symbol of the Zodiac Killer is. He tries to inhabit a single symbol of multiple characteristics including strength, mysteriousness, intelligence, creativity, etc. Though he may or may not inhabit any of these characteristics.
Archetypes
On the topic of personas or symbols of self, in this paragraph we’ll discuss his use of The Joker symbol. Throughout his violent escapades he takes on the form of someone rather unaffected by conventional morals, beliefs or attention to organization. He rather takes on the persona of someone humorous, who likes playing games and is free form all conventional forms of organization. It seems as if the main archetype he tries to inhabit is the Joker, even if subconsciously.
Outro
The last Zodiac Letter was received in 1974, the last murder was in 1969 and all likely suspects are now dead. Even after all that time the remaining notoriety of this case is staggering, and new suspects are still coming up today. Even more staggering yet, after all that the case is still likely to never be solved.
Sources:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/307819660_The_Traits_and_the_Thrill_of_Serial_Killers
https://www.zodiacciphers.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zodiac_Killer
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/son-of-sam-arrested
https://www.infjs.com/articles/jung-descriptions-of-each-dichotomy-i-e-n-s-f-t-j-p.37/
https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna8929452#:~:text=Serial%20killer%20personality,more%20severe%20psychopathic%20personality%20disorder.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Carl-Jung
https://www.marshall.edu/forensics/files/Baber_Seminar2014_ODcsp.pdf
https://zodiackillerfacts.com/ https://www.zodiackiller.com/AllenFile.html
(Notice: I am not a psychologist, but just interested in criminology and versed in Jungian theory)
~ A tree that connects worlds. A tree of life and death, where every new branch, every new leaf is a new offspring. Dead people hanging on trees. A child falls out of his hanging mother's corpse's womb. A tragic hero. An even more tragic life. In the forest, shadows are scheming in the dark. Where is light, there is always shadow. A lost child. Lost children are the ones who turns into monsters after a while. There are always monsters and heroes, rising and falling back and forth. An empire. There is always an empire. People ascend to the throne, they become self serving and corrupt, full of pride. Then they are overthrowned by people who become corrupt and the cycle never stops. There is always a sword, a helm, a crown. A soul bound to to the metal, carved with magic and blood. There are always chained ones. A pile of corpse. Indeed the most unique way to climb. A dragon. There is always a dragon for the hero to fight. But beware! In the process, some might turn into one...
/ There is always a Sacrifice /
The Shapes of Stories, Kurt Vonnegut’s theories about archetypal stories.
Goddess Archetypes
Jennifer and Roger Woolger, The Goddess Within: A Guide to the Eternal Myths that Shape Women’s Lives
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Hi, I have been in writer's mode since I have been out of school. I have so many ideas of books and possible book series but the thing is, everyone has different tastes. I want to share my ideas with people who have the same interests but also share it with people who just love reading. The thing that I am struggling with is finding my audience. Right now I am starting a book that has a lot of good things. In this book, there's going to be drama, thriller, humor, romance, mature themes, mature elements, mature topics, mature content, revenge, LGBTQ+, Poly relationships, Dark acadmieca, and more. I'm very excited for this book but I don't want to get the wrong group that doesn't like that type of stuff. Please help me. Also I'm doing this on my laptop, so please excuse my bad spelling,, hehe.
Best friends... or Lovers??
There was a...*looks at history book* vaguely German kingdom with Germanic Gods who are driven out by...*throws dice* a new religion that worships the son of the Sun God, Jeshua Crest The people were reigned by a Good King who had a most trusted advicer Y'veel (prounouned E-vHil) Schemerous Traytor. Somehow *cue dramatic gasps* the people were gradually more and more oppressed Until lo and behold, a promised hero came from the future. She was a splendid career woman with HEMA as a hobby and a PhD in pharmacology which helped her reform the medical practices in the land (which were totally backwards by the way) and defeat the armies sent by Y'veel Schemerous Traytor.
“Generically medieval”, by which we mean our peerage is French, our castles are German, our weapons are Italian, and everybody speaks English.