CharacterIntermediate
Stock Character
A conventional character type recognised by role and pattern.
Principle
A stock character trades individuality for speed of recognition.
Takeaways
- Stock types can serve comedy, genre, and social satire.
- They become weak when the story needs inner life they do not have.
- Refreshing a stock role requires pressure, specificity, or inversion.
Overview
A stock character is a familiar type whose traits and function are quickly legible: miser, braggart, ingenue, confidant, hardboiled detective. The type can be efficient or lazy depending on use.
Examples
- A pompous official appears briefly to embody institutional vanity.
- A genre mentor begins as stock but gains force through a private contradiction.