The Herald Archetype
The Herald archetype is a seemingly minor character, however they play a major role. Heralds can be anything from main characters who serve the herald function at a certain point in the story, to that news anchor who explains what is going on when the hero just happens to turn on the TV or radio to the exact channel broadcasting critical information at the exact right time (funny how that always works in movies, whenever I turn on my TV it takes a few minutes to get the DVR on and the cable warmed up before I get anything, and it’s usually just a rerun of Everybody Loves Raymond or Scubs, rather than breaking news that exactly pertains to me).
The herald is the person who tells the hero important information, makes an announcement about a major invent, or relays a critical new insight to the hero. They are messengers, like the newspaper boys of old who would shout “Extra! Extra! Read all about it!” (I would like to note that I don’t really know if newspaper boys ever did this, I’m just going by what I’ve seen in movies, those same movies that so inaccurately portray TV news broadcasts, so I’ll wait for someone older than me to confirm or deny that those little news boys ever existed.) They get the ball rolling by telling the hero that something needs to be done, starting the hero off on their adventure, and informing them along the way.
Other archetypes can serve as heralds. A mentor can explain the rules or how the nemesis works to the hero as they are being trained, or be the one to let the hero know what is going on and that a quest is required-like Gandalf in The Fellowship of the Rings. A nemesis can impart vital information to the hero, such as “Luke, I am your father!” A threshold guardian often serves as a herald by telling the hero something about the new world they are trying to enter. There can be multiple heralds and heralds who are just heralds and temporary, minor characters.
Heralds are vital to most stories because they help not only the hero, but the audience get critical information that helps them understand the story and what is going on off-camera, what the rules of the game are, what another character’s motives, plans, or past may include. The way that the herald reveals information is critical, and it is important to keep in mind the dialogue rules I discussed in my post on Necessary Dialogue-Critical Information, when writing dialogue for a herald character. They can’t spend too much time talking, they can’t know more than a normal person could possibly know without explaining why (“I know how your nemesis takes his tea because I worked as his personal butler for 20 years.” or “When I broke into Evil Corp’s secret lab last night I found this vital document in the trash on its way out to be shredded.”) They need to sound natural, knowledgeable, and give only what is necessary so that they don’t bog down the story with excess dialogue. As important as a herald and their dialogue can be for getting the story started and telling the hero what he or she needs to know, you’re still writing a motion picture, and as much as possible should be conveyed visually.
