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Write Your Hero: How to Create Fan-Favorite Protagonists, from Heroines to Anti-Heroes and More
Your Hero is the Soul of Your Novel
Whether they’re a young and bright-eyed visionary or a disillusioned outsider, your novel’s protagonist is the central pillar around which every part of your story is built. From your plot to your cast, theme, and even your reader’s experience, this character will form your novel’s foundation.
Because of this, crafting a well-written hero is a critical step for writing a novel, as well as a challenging one. Your protagonist will need a backstory, identity, and character arc, alongside meaningful goals, desires, and conflicts to face. All of these elements and more will combine to form your hero’s unique journey—meaning you’ll need to understand all of them to truly bring your protagonist to life.
Luckily, that’s where Write Your Hero can help!
Learn the five key traits of every successful protagonist,
Master the dual journeys that will define your hero’s story,
Craft compelling challenges and inner conflicts for your protagonist to face,
Build a vibrant world around your new hero,
And bring it all together in a final profile of your protagonist.
By the time we’re done, you’ll have everything you need to write a fan-favorite hero of your own!
Whether they’re a young and bright-eyed visionary or a disillusioned outsider, your novel’s protagonist is the central pillar around which every part of your story is built. From your plot to your cast, theme, and even your reader’s experience, this character will form your novel’s foundation.
Because of this, crafting a well-written hero is a critical step for writing a novel, as well as a challenging one. Your protagonist will need a backstory, identity, and character arc, alongside meaningful goals, desires, and conflicts to face. All of these elements and more will combine to form your hero’s unique journey—meaning you’ll need to understand all of them to truly bring your protagonist to life.
Luckily, that’s where Write Your Hero can help!
Learn the five key traits of every successful protagonist,
Master the dual journeys that will define your hero’s story,
Craft compelling challenges and inner conflicts for your protagonist to face,
Build a vibrant world around your new hero,
And bring it all together in a final profile of your protagonist.
By the time we’re done, you’ll have everything you need to write a fan-favorite hero of your own!
- GenresWriting
304 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 9, 2021
64 people are currently reading
58 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 6, 2022
This is a great book for anyone who wants to create the best possible characters for their stories.
April 27, 2022
Write Your Hero: How to Create Fan-Favorite Protagonists, from Heroines to Anti-Heroes and More by Lewis Jorstad
This is a really handy guide for fiction writers at any stage of their career. The author explains many concepts from first principles without going into excruciating detail (such as a thumbnail sketch of the Three Act Plot Structure) and provides some handy references at the end if you do want to get more detail. I particularly like the way he used a very diverse range of movies (movie plots are quicker to summarize than novel plots) to illustrate his examples, from Schindler’s List and Casablanca to Moana, the Star Wars prequel trilogy and Studio Ghibli’s Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind.
If you don’t already understand that a well-written hero (called the hero for simplicity but more clearly defined as the protagonist) is the difference between a memorable story beloved by readers and one that’s instantly forgettable, you will by the end of this book, and you’ll understand those hard-to-define traits that make a hero unforgettable.
Jorstad carefully breaks down what a hero is and how to build a great one in a series of short chapters, each one ending with a few questions, and in my opinion, if you read this with a notebook and answer each question as you go through, by the end of the book you’ll have not only a character guide, but also a character-driven blurb, a synopsis and a full plot for your novel, with an understanding of exactly who your protagonist(s) are, what they want, what lessons they are going to learn and why exactly they are the only person who can bring a satisfactory resolution to the story.
Helpfully, at the end of the book Jorstad puts all these questions into a summary chapter. I’m actually planning to put them into a spreadsheet and then I can complete one column per character - as I do think that in romance you often have more than one protagonist and therefore you need to plot it out twice.
In summary: whether you’ve got a completed draft and you know there’s SOMETHING not quite there about your protagonist(s) or you just have the germ of an idea you haven’t started writing yet, I think using the guidelines here will really help you create a memorable character driving the plot of your story. This is a well-written, excellent guide, and I’d highly recommend it to any fiction writer at any stage of their journey.
This is a really handy guide for fiction writers at any stage of their career. The author explains many concepts from first principles without going into excruciating detail (such as a thumbnail sketch of the Three Act Plot Structure) and provides some handy references at the end if you do want to get more detail. I particularly like the way he used a very diverse range of movies (movie plots are quicker to summarize than novel plots) to illustrate his examples, from Schindler’s List and Casablanca to Moana, the Star Wars prequel trilogy and Studio Ghibli’s Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind.
If you don’t already understand that a well-written hero (called the hero for simplicity but more clearly defined as the protagonist) is the difference between a memorable story beloved by readers and one that’s instantly forgettable, you will by the end of this book, and you’ll understand those hard-to-define traits that make a hero unforgettable.
Jorstad carefully breaks down what a hero is and how to build a great one in a series of short chapters, each one ending with a few questions, and in my opinion, if you read this with a notebook and answer each question as you go through, by the end of the book you’ll have not only a character guide, but also a character-driven blurb, a synopsis and a full plot for your novel, with an understanding of exactly who your protagonist(s) are, what they want, what lessons they are going to learn and why exactly they are the only person who can bring a satisfactory resolution to the story.
Helpfully, at the end of the book Jorstad puts all these questions into a summary chapter. I’m actually planning to put them into a spreadsheet and then I can complete one column per character - as I do think that in romance you often have more than one protagonist and therefore you need to plot it out twice.
In summary: whether you’ve got a completed draft and you know there’s SOMETHING not quite there about your protagonist(s) or you just have the germ of an idea you haven’t started writing yet, I think using the guidelines here will really help you create a memorable character driving the plot of your story. This is a well-written, excellent guide, and I’d highly recommend it to any fiction writer at any stage of their journey.
November 17, 2021
Lewis Jorstad of the Ten-Day Novelist series has begun a new set of guides- The Writer's Craft, of which this one is the first. Being a huge fan of the first series, I was glad to see this one continues with his established format, where he introduces the goals of the book, lays everything down in the most meticulous brick-by-brick sequencing, and summarizes the key questions and exercises in the back for easy reference. I found the questions to be miles beyond most character creation lists and, for me at least, was pleased to see the references more expansive than more millennial-focused examples in previous books. I expect to refer to this often.
I received this book as an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
I received this book as an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
October 16, 2024
This was the best reference book I’ve ever read. Lewis Jorstad gave so many helpful tips and writing exercises on how to write such memorable and likable characters! It really opened my eyes to possibilities for exploring my new and existing characters. I’ve been in a writing slump for a long time, and now I’m eager to write again! Thank you, Lewis, for writing an encouraging reference book! You inspired me!
November 17, 2021
The book takes you by the hand from the get-go. It is clear in its structure and what to expect from it. Every chapter ends with an overview of the information learned and questions to work on your own story. If you do these exercises as come across them in the text instead of just reading it, you will increase the usefulness of the information enormously. This approach to learning is what I love about Lewis's books.
Sometimes the theoretical part may seem long though it is necessary to get the point across.
The different aspects of the psyche as described help a lot to make your characters more lifelike. This sounds daunting, but Lewis Jorstad talks to you from the depths of the pages like you're old friends, making the information easy to apprehend. There are a few too many exclamation marks but hey that's how friends talk. I had a bit of trouble with the sheer bulk of the book, it is a lot to take in. The clear chapter titles helped that one can choose what to work on at any given time. This makes the book perfect for research and working in blocks on different parts of the hero you are creating. E.g. the different approaches to identity were a huge eye-opener and solved a plot hole in my story.
I received this book as an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. Then again I would have bought it anyway because I loved the other book series by Lewis.
I would recommend this for anyone no matter your level of experience. Novices will love the book, whereas experienced writers can use parts of it to work on the weaker parts of their hero and other characters.
Sometimes the theoretical part may seem long though it is necessary to get the point across.
The different aspects of the psyche as described help a lot to make your characters more lifelike. This sounds daunting, but Lewis Jorstad talks to you from the depths of the pages like you're old friends, making the information easy to apprehend. There are a few too many exclamation marks but hey that's how friends talk. I had a bit of trouble with the sheer bulk of the book, it is a lot to take in. The clear chapter titles helped that one can choose what to work on at any given time. This makes the book perfect for research and working in blocks on different parts of the hero you are creating. E.g. the different approaches to identity were a huge eye-opener and solved a plot hole in my story.
I received this book as an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. Then again I would have bought it anyway because I loved the other book series by Lewis.
I would recommend this for anyone no matter your level of experience. Novices will love the book, whereas experienced writers can use parts of it to work on the weaker parts of their hero and other characters.
January 30, 2022
4. 5 Stars! Having read other books by this author, I was expecting good things...but even that didn't prepare me for the amazing things I learned while reading this one. There's SO much great information about building a hero for your story, whether that's books, movies, or any other type of creative endeavor needing a detailed, real character. My favorite part was the questions at the end of each chapter which zero in on the principles of the chapter and give you thought-provoking ways to immediately apply what you've just learned as you build your character.
The only drawback, and it's a small one, was that the chapters seemed a bit on the long side, with a few places where the material was a little repetitive. But that's such a small thing and the benefits of this book FAR outweigh it. The questions at the end of each chapter alone are worth the price of this book. Buy it! You won't regret it! It's an essential addition to any writer's craft library.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The only drawback, and it's a small one, was that the chapters seemed a bit on the long side, with a few places where the material was a little repetitive. But that's such a small thing and the benefits of this book FAR outweigh it. The questions at the end of each chapter alone are worth the price of this book. Buy it! You won't regret it! It's an essential addition to any writer's craft library.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
November 12, 2021
Will this book help you write a novel? Absolutely! Not only will it help you to develop your characters in a deeper and richer way, but it will help you with your outline and plot and it is an excellent example of how a narrator talks you through his subject - pulls you in - it is reader friendly, vividly written and exudes encouragement. It is an example of good writing as well as a lesson in writing. It is clearly usable. Your major writing takeaway - Heroes are important! - therefore you will want to follow his advise on how to illustrate that in your book. It is also so chock full of information you may need to and want to read it several times. He gives questions, outlines and all kinds of aids for writing your novel. I was also impressed by the in-depth psychological insight which is his foundation for character development. Yes, get it ASAP!
Pamela Walden Taylor, Spiritual Director, Writer, and Therapist
Pamela Walden Taylor, Spiritual Director, Writer, and Therapist
May 31, 2022
As always, Lewis does an excellent job here of distilling the topic at hand into easily-digestible chunks ordered in a sensible manner. His information is always supported with examples that you're likely already familiar with or can easily catch up to help ensure understanding, and each section is paired with questions or templates to help you apply what you've learned to your own work, carrying over the workbook-like feel from his Ten Day Novelist series. All in all, this is an excellent handbook for any disorganized, aspiring author — in the past, I've found fleshing out characters to be simultaneously a daunting enterprise and mind-numbingly boring, but the framework provided by Write Your Hero helped me focus and break things down into more manageable pieces. I'm looking forward to all the ways that this book will help strengthen my writing, and I'm certain I'll be returning to it over and over again in the future.
November 16, 2021
This book helped bring my character to life as well as the journey they take. The author leads you step-by-step on how to create a character, showing you what they must do or not do. Examples are given and thought-provoking questions are asked to develop your own hero and story. The author leads you through character development as well as plot and story that must surround that character. Although a little wordy in some places for me, this book is excellent for making a flat character more real and engaging in a story. Templates and summarizations at the end helped me go through my characters and make them alive.
November 21, 2021
Write Your Hero is an engaging, thorough and above all else useful book on writing craft. It is well thought through and laid out. You'll find plenty of examples, summaries and questions to action. These all help to understand the concepts and put them into action. Your hero, heroine, antihero or villain will be better off for reading this book.
I received an advanced review copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review.
I received an advanced review copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review.
November 16, 2021
The author provides a comprehensive and enjoyable guide complete with examples and exercises to help writers at any level flush out well developed characters. This is a great resource for a writer to have in their collection.
I received this book as an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
I received this book as an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
July 15, 2023
Great for beginners, although a little repetitive at times. A good way to get into writing and creating a story with meaningful characters.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews