Writing a Hero

Does the ACT 2 of your novel feel saggy?  Maybe you’ve run out of great ideas to liven the plot?  In this episode of Extreme Book Makeover, we’re going to talk about ACTS of HEROISM to add some twists and turns to your story.

(If you haven’t already read it, you might want to check out this post on Peripheral Plotting.)

Remember – the key to a great character is to develop his story (and all the story pieces) off the page, so he walks onto the page fully formed.  (That includes your character’s Lie, Wound, the Greatest Fears and Dream, as well as the Stakes of the story)

Now, let’s employ the concept of ACTS of HEROISM. Acts of Heroism are those character-change actions that take your character from an everyday Joe to a hero.

It’s not the grand gestures, the great sacrifices . . . Acts of Heroism are the choices your character makes that push him beyond himself beyond his comfort zone and changes him.

These choices will not only make your reader love him just a little bit more – but also cause new problems for your hero.

(Next week, we’ll talk about HOW to push your character forward with a technique called the PUSH-PULL Motivation.) 

I want to use two of my favorite movies—Eagle Eye and Cellular – to illustrate.

Eagle Eye is the story of an everyday guy faced with the accusation that he’s a terrorist. He has to figure out how to stay alive—with someone else controlling his life, and of course, prove his innocence. It’s a breathtaking movie. Jerry Shaw is not very heroic at the beginning. He’s actually kind of a shyster, which we see when he cons his friend out of cash at a poker game. However, he turns into a full-out hero by the end of the book, actually being willing to sacrifice his life for his country.

In Cellular, another thriller, an everyday young man with issues of laziness and Irresponsibility is pulled into a kidnapping/hostage situation when he receives a random call on his cell phone from a woman being held captive. Step by step he’s pulled into danger as he tries to rescue this woman, each choice causing him to be more heroic until finally he puts his life on the line to save someone he doesn’t even know.

How do these two everyday Joes turn into heroes?

Acts of Heroism

These are not just any heroic acts, but the type that move your character from Primal Instincts to Noble Sacrifice.

What are Primal Instincts?

Power, love, survival…basic instincts of every human being.

Less primal are things like revenge, greed, and comfort.

Most characters begin their journeys fueled by primal instincts. We all act out of a basic emotion—however, some are more noble than the next. As your hero moves along the spectrum, he’ll have opportunities to choose increasingly more noble options, and each option will make him more heroic.

For example, consider Jerry Shaw in Eagle Eye. Jerry’s first instinct is self-protection as he runs from the government trying to arrest him. However, he soon meet a woman whose son is being threatened. It doesn’t take long for the woman, and her son to motivate him into heroic actions.  Once he understands the big picture, the motivation changes to an even higher ideal – patriotism.

By the end of the movie, this former poker-playing shyster is willing to die for his country. As Jerry (and your hero) proceeds on his journey, each choice he makes is more noble, more heroic until finally he makes a Noble Sacrifice to save the day.

And who doesn’t love a character who makes a Noble Sacrifice?

As you plot your story, make sure that each heroic act is more noble than the last, and your plot will become wider.

Book Therapist question:

What choice can your hero make that is more noble than the previous one?

**BTW – your hero can also make a less noble choice, but if he does, give him a chance later to make that same choice again – and this time choose heroism.

Now, add in Peripheral Plotting.

As you bring in other elements of the periphery, you’ll have the opportunity to affect different facets of your characters values and beliefs, and create greater all-around character change.

A story that digs deep into a character, makes him more heroic in every area of his life, and brings in surprises and yet believable periphery events is a story that will keep the reader turning pages.

Go! Write something brilliant!