Among his many theories, Carl Jung includes “archetypes”. An archetype may be defined as “a universally understood symbol or term or pattern of behaviour”. If you read Robert McKee’s Story, you will find that the key to writing a great novel lies in “building archetypal elements into the story.” So what exactly are these “archetypal elements”? And how exactly can they help creative writers?
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Author:
SC Skillman
I'm a writer of psychological, paranormal and mystery fiction for young adults and new adults, and have also published a self-help book for aspiring writers, all about how to write a novel, and about writers, their lives and works. Out soon: another non-fiction book called Spirit of Warwickshire, and the first in my Dylan Raftery gothic series for young adults, Director's Cut. Find all my published books here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/S.-C.-Skillman/e/B004CY5GKE
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Well said! Jung influences my writing. As a matter of fact, one of the reasons I majored in Psychology was to help in creating more convincing characters.
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I too love this archetype. I’ll be blogging about Sherlock Holmes fairly soon. In all these stories, I think it is this key relationship that gives the story its power.
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Fascinating. I’m a big fan of type 1 and had never really noticed until I read this. Samantha
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