Character Type: Rookie
“The Rookie is a neophyte at their own self-understanding and needs to be helped along to get in touch with their Authentic Self, and along the way move from Rookie to Veteran.”
Those of you who have followed my blog for some time or taken courses with me through Screenwriting Master Class know how fascinated I am with character archetypes, specifically how there are five — Protagonist, Nemesis, Attractor, Mentor, Trickster — which recur in movies over and over and over.
Some might see archetypes as a sort of reductionist approach to writing when in my experience, it is precisely the opposite.
By working with these five Primary Character Archetypes, we can identify the core narrative function of every key character, then use that knowledge as a guide as we build them out in a limitless number of ways.
One approach is to use an extensive array of Character Types available to us. So this month, I am running a series in which we will explore 20 Character Types, and consider how writers can use them to create unique, compelling figures in our stories.
Today: Rookie.
The newbie. Wet behind the ears. Had some training, but now it’s the first day on the job. Most prominent among Rookie character types are sports figures such as Rookie of the Year (1993), The Rookie (2002), and Ebby Calvin “Nuke” Laloosh in the 1988 comedy Bull Durham.
From a writing standpoint, one of the major benefits of a Rookie is they are an outsider, unfamiliar with the rules and codes of behavior now that they’ve hit the ‘major leagues’. In this respect, a Rookie character can function as the eyes and ears of the script reader, also new to the subculture. What the Rookie learns, we learn along with them which can intensify a connection we make with the character.
A good example of this are Rookie cops, that particular subculture one steeped in all sorts of arcane practices and secret rules of conduct such as with movies like The Rookie (1990), The Silence of the Lambs (1991), and Training Day (2001).
Rookies can exist in all vocations and subcultures: Politics (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington), Law (The Firm), Journalism (The Help), even Karate:
If the underdog dynamic is a particularly effective one in raising the stakes of a story and engendering sympathy for a Protagonist figure, then there is perhaps no better character type to slot into that role than a Rookie. For example, what business does Will Turner, a simple blacksmith, have taking on bloodthirsty pirates in The Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl.
But, of course, Will Turner has pirate’s blood and that is a key to a Rookie: They have training which can enable them to stumble into the New World, but it is their instinct to Become Who They Are which enables them to succeed.
Whatever the specifics of the Rookie’s journey, their path is replete with challenges, not only discerning the lay of the land into which they plunge, but also coming to grips with what bubbles up from their own inner psyche. For almost always, the Rookie is a neophyte at their own self-understanding and need to be helped along to get in touch with their Authentic Self, and along the way move from Rookie to Veteran.
What brainstorming can you do with a Rookie character type?
My mind immediately goes to Buddy stories. Veteran and a Newbie. Either one could be a Protagonist. The other could be… a Trickster… Mentor… or Attractor. Perhaps the grizzled veteran needs to get in touch with his/her lapsed idealism. Perhaps the Rookie needs to learn the tricks of the trade. Maybe the Rookie has a powerful emotional center that causes the Protagonist to reawaken their Heart and open him/herself to the world.
On the other hand, what would a Rookie Nemesis look like? Their lack of experience could make them an even more dangerous figure because they don’t know the customs or rules.
What can you do with a Rookie character?
For other Character Types, go here.
