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  10 Steps To Hero

  How To Craft A Kickass Protagonist

  Sacha Black

  10 Steps To Hero – How To Craft A Kickass Protagonist

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  Copyright © 2019 Sacha Black

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  The right of Sacha Black to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

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  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, copied in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise transmitted, without permission of the copyright owner. Except for a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.

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  First Published January 2019, by Atlas Black Publishing

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  Cover design: Andrew Brown, Design for Writers

  www.sachablack.co.uk

  All rights reserved

  Contents

  Read Me First

  1. Read Me Second AKA The Rules

  2. STEP 1 – Define The Debonair

  3. STEP 2 – The Web of Connectivity - Creating Heroes with Depth

  4. STEP 3 – Perfection Perfected

  5. STEP 4 – The Function of Archetypes

  6. STEP 5 – Cutting To The Core

  7. STEP 6 – Arcing On A Journey

  8. STEP 7 – Crafting Conflict

  9. STEP 8 – Clichés vs Tropes

  10. STEP 9 - Start with bang, bang, kapow

  11. STEP 10 – Sprinkling the Unicorn Dust - AKA the Hero Lens

  12. Conclusion

  13. Thank you

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Also by Sacha Black

  Also by Sacha Black

  Further Reading

  Notes

  For all the writers who need a little dust on their halo.

  Read Me First

  I started 13 Steps To Evil - How To Craft A Superbad Villain by saying: ‘heroes are interesting. But mostly they’re predictable.’ I wrote that book because I wanted to throw a Hiroshima-sized nuke into character creation, up the tension, build the villainous ante and slather stories with enough conflict and nail-biting action readers would rather eat their own kidney than put your books down. And it worked. Thousands of you bought and read 13 Steps To Evil and developed your villains into sinister badasses.

  But that also created a problem.

  Your villains stole the limelight and your heroes were neglected, left in the dark — or maybe I should say light — to stare longingly at their glowingly heroic complexions as they decided which princess to save next. It’s safe to say that, more often than not, heroes are dull and predictable. But they shouldn’t be. And that’s why I had to swallow my villainous love and write this book.

  It’s time to get down and dirty with your protagonist, dust off your star-spangled chivalry pants and prepare for hero beating (into shape, of course; not defeat. This is a book about heroes. And I promise to stop the villain worship in a minute… probably).

  This book will help you take your heroes from cardboard cut outs to dashing debonairs with glints in their eyes, dusty haloes and killer character arcs. Together, we’re going to make sure the hero-charm doesn’t flatten your story. We don’t want heroes with sagging muscles like a has-been Olympic star, thank you very much. Instead, your hero will swoon his way into your readers’ hearts and grip them page after page after page. Sound like the kind of awesome story with kickass characters you’re after? Then I can help.

  If you’re reading this, my guess is you fit into one of the following categories:

  Your hero is flat, boring or not quite cutting it on the charisma scale

  You’re a cape-wearing villain at heart and couldn’t possibly write a charismatic, handsome hero

  You already wrote a hero, but they were clichéd and sporting an ego bigger than your word count

  You just want to write better characters

  A few points to note about reading this book:

  I’ve (where possible) avoided any duplication of content from 13 Steps To Evil. Where you will inevitably see repetition is in the definition of a word or term. After all, things can only mean what they mean, and heroes and villains are essentially both ‘book characters’. Therefore, there is some minor overlap.

  I have used the words ‘hero’ and ‘protagonist’ interchangeably throughout this book to avoid repetitive word use. However, they do mean slightly different things in literary terms, and I’ll explain the difference in STEP 1 - Define the Debonair. For clarity – use whichever word fits your character and your story.

  I’ve used a wide range of well-known books and films as examples throughout this book. I’ve stuck to well-known ones to minimize spoilers. But, inevitably, to illustrate an example fully I’ve had to explain some plots. You can avoid all spoilers by skipping over the examples.

  But don’t skip them. They’re helpful, obviously.

  If you’re faint of heart, dislike bad words or dark humor, be aware you might experience some botty tingling throughout the duration of this book. It’s not terminal; you will make it to the other side. Trust me; I’m a villain doctor.

  That might be a lie.

  Still with me?

  Then let’s get our hero on.

  1

  Read Me Second AKA The Rules

  Nobody likes rules, least of all me. The day after I was told I wasn’t dressed corporately enough, I went to work wearing Converse trainers and leggings. I’ve stuck with Converse to this day.

  Rules were made for breaking.

  When it comes to book creation, there are rules and there are rules. They’re not the same. The issue with a lot of writing craft books is that they’re written as if they’re tablet and testament: you must have such and such a character arc, thou shalt have this plot beat or twist and that shapely archetype.

  No.

  No, you must not.

  Sure, I might throw out some ‘must dos’ and ‘dare ye nots or be slain by the book police’ but mostly they’re for lyrical effect. You and me bro, we’re wading through the same da-fuck-am-I-doing-storyitis.

  It’s brutal, but it’s also liberating. I’m not about to slap handcuffs on you and demand you follow every step in this book. Apply what works, leave what doesn’t. It’s your story.

  But there some things you should follow to save yourself from looking like an overly implanted boob: Grammar. Aka the technical writing elements - the bricks and mortar of storytelling. You wouldn’t build a skyscraper without foundations, and you wouldn’t create a sentence without a capital letter and a full stop. That said, even the hardest of grammar rules can be broken if you know what you’re doing. I don’t. So I leave those decisions up to professional editors and proofers.

  But what about the bendy, contortionist type rules? The red herring or extra subplot, or perhaps the removal of a sacred trope. I like to think of those as the skyscraper’s interior decoration. Sure, to me, a candy-floss-pink bathroom with matching Barbi-colored bath and shower unit might look like a gaudy nightmare vomited from a six-year-old’s daydream. But hey, the six-year-old loves it. And that’s the point.

  There’s a hero for everyone. Don’t chase trends. The only person who can write your story is you. If you want to include a cliché, be my guest. If you don’t fancy adding tension to that chapter, that’s fine too. It’s your story. Don’t force it to fit this skyscraper. Nobody puts baby in the corner, and I don’t suggest you shove your story or hero into one either. A reader will see right through the corporate lip service you’re paying story structure, and it won’t do your novel any good. Think of the steps in this book as tools and sugg
estions. Use what works. The rest? Chuck them in the fuck-it bin and move on. You got heroes to craft.

  2

  STEP 1 – Define The Debonair

  “The word hero is Greek, from a root that means ‘to protect and serve’” Christopher Vogler, The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers, p.29.

  What is a hero?

  I mentioned in the introduction that I’d use ‘hero’ and ‘protagonist’ interchangeably to save your eyes and stave off monotony. But let’s get the terms clear from the outset so you can use the one that fits your story best.

  While the majority of novels use the same character for the protagonist as the hero, not all do. Strictly speaking, the difference between the two is as follows:

  Protagonists are the subject of the story – it’s who the book is about.

  A ‘hero’ in the purest form, is someone of extraordinary ability (although not necessarily magic powers) who does good things.

  For example, Batman is a non-magical ‘classic’ hero. He’s a normal guy who goes to extraordinary lengths to save the innocent and beat the shit out of the not-so-innocent. He also happens to be the protagonist. But your hero doesn’t have to be a cape-wearing superhero pin up. He could just as easily be the teenage lout who decides to ‘better himself’ by saving his neighbor’s suicidal dog from jumping in front of a train. Or he could be the drug mogul who sees the light and decides he can’t be fulfilled unless he brings the cartel down. Whomever you choose, your hero is the one whose decisions propel the story forward.

  On the flip side, the character Hannibal Lecter is most definitely not a hero (what with his cannibalistic tendencies and all). But while Lecter is as far from heroic as you can get, he is an example of a ‘non-hero’ protagonist. Silence of The Lambs is about Hannibal Lecter despite the fact he isn’t the hero. That accolade goes to newbie FBI agent Clarice Starling, who is the series’ hero.

  Yeah, but what is a hero/protagonist?

  The eagle eyed among you will notice that I didn’t actually tell you what a hero is; I just defined terms. But heroes and protagonists are more than just flimsy dictionary definitions. Removing the semantic debate between the words hero and protagonist for a moment, the function of the main character is more than just a plot device.

  They (meaning whichever term is most relevant to your story) are the connection between the reader and the author. At a deeper level, they are a reflection of the author and the reader. A hero is simultaneously unique and universally relatable. Their traits make them as individual as you or I, but their primal motives (the emotions catapulting them through the story) are the same emotions and instinctive reactions we all feel: love, survival, justice, revenge.

  In most (although not all) cases, the protagonist is the one who learns and grows and changes the most. They also take the biggest risks against the darkest evils and, despite those risks, they make the greatest sacrifices.

  A note on villains and antagonists

  While we’re defining differences, I ought to say there’s also a difference between a villain and an antagonist. I’ll throw both terms around like I’m doing the Macarena. But so you’re clear and can apply the right one to your novel:

  An antagonist is a character or thing that opposes the protagonist (or hero). An antagonist does not have to be a villain.

  A villain is an antagonist because they oppose the hero. But a villain also indicates some level of evil while an antagonist does not.

  Of course, there are exceptions. Typically you’ll find antagonists in personal memoirs, literary fiction and romance whereas you’ll find villains in epic fantasy, crime and thrillers.

  Why heroes are important… And it’s not just because they’re the main character

  Heroes are important, but not just because they’re the main character. They represent so much more than just the ‘face’ of your novel.

  Let’s quash the villain love a little deeper and talk about why an entire book all about heroes is so necessary.

  Your villain is to your conflict what your hero is to your story. By that, I mean that, your villain IS your conflict in the same way your hero IS your story.

  In its simplest form, story is about change. Think about any novel, film or play you’ve seen. I guarantee that all of them will start in one place and end in a very different one. And yes, there is always a smart ass who can come up with an example of the 0.01% of books that break that rule. But hush now and let me ignore you.

  Your hero (if you get him right) is the character readers fall in love with (even if he’s unlikeable). He’s the character that hooks your fans onto your storyline and reels them in until they can’t help but throw themselves at his feet like screaming angst-ridden fangirling teeny boppers.

  Your hero is your story, but there’s more…

  Gestalt - the whole is more than the sum of its parts

  In the early 20th century, the Berlin School of Experimental Psychology posited a new philosophy of mind — Gestalt psychology. It was the idea that the mind, in order to make sense of the chaotic overload of sensory information the world provides, created a ‘global whole’, a kind of holistic reality that is more than the parts it’s made up of.

  The illusion above is an example of how our brains take the separate shapes and colors and infer a new reality. The candle stick in the center isn’t actually there. Our brains just think it is.

  Why am I waffling on about psychology and holistic perception? Because that’s what your hero is. An embodiment of all the parts that make up your story: change, theme, character, arc, action, resolution and so on. Your readers assimilate those story facets into something more, something real and something tangible. You know that feeling when you finish a long running TV show or book series, and you’re bereft? Like someone just died? That’s the gestalt of story, and it’s what you need your hero to do.

  Why writers mess up their heroes

  Writing a book is easy. Writing a good book is hard. There’s a lot to get right from characters and plot to pacing and tension. I’m not saying that to scare you, just to highlight that — like with anything of quality — it takes more than slapping out some words, chucking in a battle scene and sprinkling a handful of damsel saving over your story to impress a reader.

  The most common cockups for a hero are:

  A lack of objectivity

  No depth

  No growth

  Failure to connect

  Let me elaborate:

  1. A lack of objectivity

  I’m going to make a wild accusation and state that writers are hero-worshippers. Be honest. You’ve all had moments where you want to shower more unconditional love on your hero than the toddler-shaped fruits of your loins. I know I have.

  But loving a character that much usually results in a lack of objectivity in the same way we get blind to our manuscripts. We’re all guilty of needing an editor to remind us that the three-page description of the brothel buying market in the middle of your Viking battle is somewhat unnecessary.

  It’s not that we don’t want to see the errors or gross indulgences in our heroes; it’s that we can’t. We’re balls deep in hero worship and wading out to Objectivityland is hard. Nobody wants to take the hard road because, well, it’s hard! If you’re reading this, you know the easy road leads to a case of hero-gout and reader comas. News alert: we’re taking the hard road. *Evil cackle*

  2. No depth

  Writers fall prey to showering positive traits on their hero because he saves the day. How could my dapper knight *flicks blond quiff* in all his polished armor glory *puffs chest* possibly have negative traits?

  Because he’s human? Okay, maybe not technically human, what with the ink and paper and lack of physical bodily form. But you know what I mean.

  The point is you want your reader to feel like your hero is human. You want them to feel like they could walk down the local high street and meet them in their coffee shop and catch up like old friends. Which means they n
eed to appear human, and your reader needs to know them like an old friend.

  However, humans are not perfect. Not even close. Look at our history of war and famine and genocide. Despite that, deep down, most of us still have some level of meliorism. We want to see the good in others and more than anything humans cling to hope like I cling to caffeine on a Monday morning: hard, frequently and like my life depends on it.

  Lack of depth, or one-dimensional heroes are caused by a variety of things including but not limited to:

  An overwhelmingly positive personality – Think of being accosted by an excessively high-pitched, annoyingly perky cheerleader at 6:30 am when you’re insufficiently caffeinated, unfed and ill-slept. You’ll be pretty close to why that kind of hero is a bad idea.

  Never making a mistake – Literally nobody likes the guy who’s always right. It’s annoying, patronizing and makes you feel inadequate.