Take Off Your Pants!

The very best yardstick for determining a main character is the presence of a serious flaw. Does this character have an inner problem that’s impacting his life or the lives of the people he loves? Then he’s in need of a hero’s journey: let’s give him an outline!

Showing the reader a clear view of flaw or theme right up front, in the first few pages of your book, sets a strong subconscious hook.

The ally is the one who has the power to force the main character onto his correct path.

soemthing

Who wants the same external goal, but can reveal an opposite or cautionary aspect to the protagonist and to the reader? Whose different approach to attaining the same goal will serve as an “alternate reality” to your main character and to the reader?

The kind of theme I’m talking about is simply a unifying concept. What outlook on the world, or on human behavior, are you trying to explore?

So spend some time thinking about your book. What’s the setting going to be like? How old is your ideal audience? What flaw have you chosen for your character, and what does your interest in such a flaw say about your outlook on the world? What point are you trying to make by exploring this particular flaw? How does this character’s journey reflect

The inciting event is almost always closely tied to your character’s external goal.

In the overall story, your character has his external goal. In this chapter, he has a more immediate, less motivating, but still important goal. He believes (and maybe he’s right) that by achieving his in-chapter goal, he’ll get one step closer to achieving his external goal. In each scene within each chapter, he has an even more immediate, but sti