Objective Characters are found in the Overall Story throughline and are sometimes called Overall Story Characters. We call them "objective" characters because we look at them analytically and identify them by their functions in the Overall Story throughline. As authors, we use the Objective Characters to explore the appropriate and inappropriate ways to resolve the Overall Story problem. We make Objective Characters interesting to our audiences with clever storytelling.

A convenient way to describe Objective Characters is to divide them into two groups: Archetypal Characters and Complex Characters. Archetypes are commonly used objective characters, simple in function and easily recognizable by most audiences. Complex characters use the same character functions as Archetypes, but distribute the functions in more varied patterns. Both Archetypal Characters and Complex Characters are useful in developing your Overall Story throughline.

Archetypes often appear in children's stories and stories in which characters in the Overall Story have limited development. They are simplistic, often too simplistic for most novels, plays, and screenplays. But, their simplicity gives us a useful place to start exploring Objective Characters.