How to Write a Foil Character
Foil characters serve main characters. Foil characters are usually secondary characters and provide a contrast to a main character, the protagonist. Sometimes foils are friends with the main character (think Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn). You can have two or more foil characters. For example, in the Harry Potter books, Harry has two foils: Ron and Hermione. A foil character does not have to be, and often is not, the complete opposite of the protagonist. Sometimes foil characters are enemies of the main characters they highlight.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
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1
Read stories, books and plays, and note characters that have opposite attributes. Think about how the writers express the contrasts and what the contrasts are. Note how these contrasts better define the main character. Examples of literature you could read are "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" (contrast Tom and Huck) and "Romeo and Juliet" (contrast Mercutio and Romeo; Lord Capulet and Tybalt; Lady Capulet and the Nurse; and Juliet and Rosaline).
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Turn to your own story idea. List the attributes of the character the foil character is contrasting. The level of detail you go into is up to you and your personal preferences. At a minimum, you should know about the character's behavior and why he does what he does.
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3
List traits opposite of the non-foil character. You can focus on personality alone or go as far as personality, job and looks (for example, the two characters are opposite genders, or one character is white and the other is black, or one is blond and the other dark-haired).
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Develop your plot. Again, the level of detail you go into is completely up to you. At the least, though, know the story conflict and the resolution. Know what the protagonist is trying to accomplish. Decide if you want the foil to be a friend of the protagonist, an enemy or something in between. A foil can also be a member of the protagonist's family.
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Write a scene with the protagonist and the foil, and review it to make sure contrasts exist. For example, if the protagonist is a depressed young woman who self-medicates, the foil could be her best friend who is eternally cheerful. Ask yourself how the foil character developed or highlighted the main character in the scene. If the foil character did not, then rework the scene or rethink the foil.
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Write a table of attributes of the foil and main characters (as simple or as complex as you want it to be). Put it somewhere you can see it or refer to it as you write.
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Start your story. You could open with a scene including the protagonist and the foil, or save that for later. Keep in mind that the foil is a secondary character and is not in the story as often as the protagonist.
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Tips & Warnings
Foil characters can have some scenes in which they are the point-of-view character, but that is not necessary.
References
Resources
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