Novel character's "own-goal" in an exceptional score (7)
I believe the answer is:
scrooge
'novel character's own-goal in an exceptional score' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.
'own-goal in an exceptional score' is the wordplay.
'own goal' becomes 'OG' (football abbreviation).
'in' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'an exceptional' indicates anagramming the letters (an unusual or exceptional ordering of the letters).
'score' with letters rearranged gives 'scroe'.
'og' put inside 'scroe' is 'SCROOGE'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for scrooge that I've seen before include "Dickens' skinflint (7)" , "Skinflint Ebenezer" , "Ebenezer ......., miser created by Dickens" , "Ebenezer ....., famous miser" , "One mean with money" .)