Q&A: hero
Dear Ms. Tang, I've read a lot of your articles on writing, trying to shape my idea into a better novel. I've found that one tip I'm finding a hard time following is this... As soon as you can in the story, commit the character to their goal for the book. There shouldn't be any easy way out or turning back. Once the character decides on a course of action, he can't stall, run, or quit--there should be something logical, believable and powerful preventing him. The character should irrevocably decide to fight whatever danger threatens him. I don't have an apathetic/unmotivated main character, but I do consider his most identifying personality trait to be the opposite of such heroes as Frodo Baggins, Luke Skywalker, etc. as he does not yearn for adventure. He is full of self-doubt and lacks confidence, despite being the one destined to save everyone else and having the most potential/power to do so. My idea was to make his biggest enemy himself, needing to overcom