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A problem (or flaw that needs fixing) A want (or goal that the hero is pursuing) A need (or life lesson to be learned)
Hero
Your hero’s problem(s) should be affecting their entire world: their work, their home life, and their relationships.
Hero problems
Whoa, what a mess this person’s life is!
Giving your hero a goal and having them proactively pursue that goal is the fastest way to get your reader to root for your hero and latch onto your story.
The most effective character goals or wants are concrete and tangible. The reader
Almost every want or goal has an equal and opposite force holding the hero back from achieving it. This force is often presented as a “conflict”
We call that real problem the shard of glass. It’s a psychological wound that has been festering beneath the surface of your hero for a long time. The skin has grown over it, leaving behind an unsightly scar that causes your hero to act the way they act and make the mistakes that they do (flaws!). You, as the author and creator of this world, have to decide how that shard of glass got there. Why is your hero so flawed? What happened to them to make them the way they are? And most important, what will really fix your hero’s life? What does your hero actually need?
Journey of your hero
What plays out on the surface—what the hero wants—is only half the story. The true soul of a novel lies in the hero’s need, which can also be called the internal goal, the life lesson, or the spiritual lesson. And by “spiritual,” I’m not necessarily talking about religion. Although your spiritual lesson certainly can relate to religion (as evidenced in countless popular novels like The Shack by William P. Young or The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini), it certainly doesn’t have to.
Internal story
Forgiveness: of self or of others Love: includes self-love, family love, romantic love Acceptance: of self, of circumstances, of reality Faith: in oneself, in others, in the world, in God Fear: overcoming it, conquering it, finding courage Trust: in oneself, in others, in the unknown Survival: including the will to
10 lessons
He is the perfect hero for that plot because he has so far to go. He is the character who will get the most out of this particular story line.
Well, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. It’s about transformation! It’s about taking an imperfect hero and making them a little less imperfect.
Transformation
Which means they had the answer to their problems the whole time; they just refused to listen!
People rarely change because someone tells them to change. People change only when they can see their flaws for themselves. When they’ve been through some sort
What kind of person are they? What kind of character tics do they have? What do they want? It’s very important that your hero have
It’s the moment that comes somewhere in the Setup beat that shows the reader that change is imperative;
These are all harbingers of change. The Catalyst will crash land in your hero’s life and create so much destruction,
The Catalyst should be BIG. Don’t wimp out on me with a weak little Catalyst. I
Your reader’s response to your Catalyst should be Whoa! I didn’t see that coming! How are they ever going to recover
Can my hero easily return to their normal life and continue doing what they were doing after this happens? If your answer is yes, your Catalyst isn’t big enough.
Like What do I do? Should I go? Should I stay? How will I survive? What happens next?
You’re saying to the reader, “Hey! Look! My hero thinks their life is over because they didn’t get this thing that they thought would fix everything.” But
Midpoint changes the direction of your story, making it (yet again!) harder for the hero to go back to who they were before. Does
We take our heroes to hell and back, we make them work for every last victory, we force them to search deep within themselves to find the answers, and only then do we give them the ending they now rightly deserve.
Catalyst Break Into 2 Midpoint Break Into 3 All Is Lost
However, before you tackle any of the beats, figure out the three components of your story-worthy hero—a problem (or what makes your hero a flawed hero), a want or goal, and a need. Only
