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Narratology & storytelling

Foil character

A character whose contrasting qualities bring another character's traits into sharper focus.

A foil brings out another character's qualities through contrast. One person's caution may reveal a companion's impulsiveness, while a cynic can make someone else's trust more apparent. A foil may be a friend rather than an enemy.

The contrast works best when both people retain motives of their own. A character created solely to disagree can feel mechanical. Let a shared situation reveal the advantages and limitations of both approaches.

Example

With the same witness, one detective improvises while her partner checks every date.

In the workshop

Give both characters the same problem to respond to.

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