How To Create a Hero
When it comes to creating characters, you want readers to love your protagonist or, at the very least, empathize with him or her. Having an unattractive hero - as in psychologically unattractive - can be a surefire death warrant for a novel. Even having a protagonist with a shallow or undeveloped personality can be enough to make publishers think twice about accepting your magnum opus. So - what to do? Coming up with someone 'heroic' to carry your story is not always about creating a superhero with special powers. Indeed, even special powers alone won't cut it. No, you need a set of characteristics that say to your reader that your protagonist is special, if not identifiably 'unique'. In Hollywood, this problem is easily solved. Just get a famous star to play the role, someone physically attractive usually, an actor with screen presence... But how do you affect 'presence' in prose? Passion is the key. Y...