How can you apply archetypal character arcs in a practical way to your own stories? Here are five considerations for choosing archetypes.

The final Flat archetype of the Mentor is one of the most significant within human storytelling.

The Flat archetype of the Elder provides crucial guidance for enacting important change in surrounding characters.

The Flat archetype of the Ruler represents the potential period in a person’s life in which he or she is in a position of leadership.

We don’t often think of the Flat archetype of the Parent with the same enthusiasm as we do the Hero. And yet they are intrinsically linked.

A deeply nuanced archetype that evolves with us for most of our lives, the Flat archetype of the Lover is inherent and integral.

The archetype of the Child is necessarily an archetype of deep vulnerability and surprisingly powerful impact upon other characters.

Flat archetypes are often seen teaching other characters some of the same lessons they just learned in their own previously completed arcs.

Will the character triumph–or succumb in the end to the powerful temptations of either of the Mage’s shadow archetypes, the Miser or the Sorcerer?