We tend to think of a story’s most important characters as being the protagonist, antagonist, sidekick, or even love interest.
However, an equally integral character, though a little lesser known, is the ‘impact character’ – a term first used by authors Melanie Anne Phillips and Chris Huntley in their book Dramatica: New Theory of Story.
What is an impact character?
The impact character – also known as the ‘influence character’ or ‘catalyst character’ – is something I never even heard about in high school English, and it may be news to you too.
But despite its relative obscurity, the impact character can be crucial to the arc of your novel. Without them, nothing would happen!
An impact character can come in many different forms, but their purpose is simple. They inspire, enable, or just make another character change.
This sets the plot in motion, sweeping the protagonist along until they rise to action.
This character can easily be confused with the antagonist (and I don’t want to befuddle you too early, but occasionally they are the same character). However, their function is slightly different.
While an antagonist causes external conflict for the protagonist, an impact character causes internal conflict for them.
The external conflict is created by the opposing goals of the protagonist and the antagonist. The internal conflict arises from the opposing worldviews of the impact character and your protagonist.
We meet the protagonist when they already have an understanding of the world that they live in. But, guess what: this belief is a Lie.
A perfect example of this is Morpheus revealing to Neo that his world, which felt so real to him, is actually the Matrix. And then the story begins!
Each time they do, it stirs up internal conflict within them as they are reminded of the Truth.
It is up to your discretion whether the impact character actively wants to change the protagonist’s worldview or not, and how much the protagonist resists this new information.
However, the Truth is what the protagonist needs to defeat the antagonist and any other external forces.
Over the course of the story, the protagonist must come to terms with this new reality if they are to achieve their goals, and have only completed their journey when they no longer believe the Lie.
So the impact character not only helps the protagonist to complete their mission, but fundamentally changes them along the way. Once you know this, they’re hard to miss – and hard to leave out of your story!
So, what might this impact character look like? Let’s look at some well-known examples, and ways to create impact characters for your own stories.
Examples of impact characters
You may already have identified some impact characters from previous stories you’ve read. Here are some of the many ways an impact character may show up, illustrated with popular examples.
The mentor
The most classic example of a mentor impact character is Obi Wan Kenobi in Star Wars.
The sidekick
The beloved Donkey from Shrek is a sidekick that really shakes up the protagonist’s world.
Throughout all the films, Donkey teaches Shrek patience and love for others, which allows him to fall in love with Fiona and defeat multiple villains.
Donkey destroys Shrek’s belief that he’s happier alone in his swamp, changing his life forever.
The love interest
This is your Mr Darcy character. He eventually shows Elizabeth that she has had the wrong idea about him all along, and that he in fact suits her as a romantic partner.
He also helps her realise that she has been wrongly believing in the goodness of nasty Wickham, who had been lying to her all along.
Sometimes, most noticeably in action books and films, the protagonist and love interest unite to defeat the antagonist together.
The antagonist
Antagonists that also serve as impact characters not only obstruct the protagonist from reaching their goals, but also show them they have been believing in the wrong things all along.
Veruca Salt in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory stirs up inner turmoil for Charlie Bucket when he sees her selfish and demanding attitude.
It is her behaviour (and that of the other spoilt, self-centred children) that interrupts his wondrous day at the Chocolate Factory.
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