Earlier this year I looked at 4 important elements in fiction writing. Here’s a quick review:
- What does the hero want? (This is the story goal.)
- Who or what is opposing the hero getting what she wants?
- What will the hero’s life look like if she does (or does not) get what she wants?
- Who is the guide who helps our hero get what she wants?
Today, I want to dive deeper into the hero’s story goal.
The Hero’s Story Goal
Your protagonist must have a goal, however simple or complicated it may be. The pursuit of this goal is what your story is all about, and your reader wants the hero to reach that goal!
- Win the Indie 500
- Find true love
- Stop the bad guy from destroying the world
- Survive the war
While in pursuit of that goal, your protagonist encounters problems/obstacles along the way. These problems, and overcoming them, provide the conflict the story needs.
There are 3 types of problems you can write into your story.
- External
- Internal
- Philosophical (e.g. underdog against big corporation)
Not all stories have all 3, but the best stories do.
Coming up with external problems is often the easiest of the three. At the beginning of the story the hero is often not aware of his internal problem/s. So the purpose of the external problem is to manifest the hero’s internal problem.
Donald Miller in his book Building a StoryBrand (which isn’t about writing fiction) states that
“In almost every story the hero struggles with the same question: Do I have what it takes?”
Am I…
- Smart enough
- Skilled enough
- Talented enough
- Lovable enough
- Strong enough…
To get what I want out of life?
Everyone has doubts about themselves.
If you’re an unpublished writer getting rejection after rejection from publishers, you might be asking yourself “will I every get published?”, but deep down it might be “I am a good enough writer to get published?” (You are the hero of your own life story!)
Your hero journeys along in her story battling one obstacle after another, many of which come via the antagonist. In the process, the hero must look inward for the strength needed to overcome.
Keep in mind your story guide is also going to help to the hero in all this. Eventually the hero discovers her internal issue and either overcomes it or doesn’t by the end of the story. And then also does or doesn’t reach her goal.
To discover this kind of depth to your character, you have to plumb the depth of the character’s backstory. What was her childhood like? Was she an orphan, abused, well-loved, or emotionally neglected as a child?
The answers will have a big impact on how she relates to others as an adult. (A note of warning: you will not include all that backstory in your book, but only that which is essential for the reader to know.)
As the writer, you know the elements in your hero’s story and thus will know what kinds of questions to ask yourself about why the character is the way she is now. Everything we are now is a culmination of all the years that came before. It is no different for your story character.
To guide you in this exercise and track the details of your characters, feel free to download my character profile template
What are the story goal and internal problem of your hero?
Leave your comments below.