What makes a great hero?

We are all ordinary. We are all boring. We are all spectacular.
We are all shy. We are all bold. We are all heroes.
It just depends on the day…Brad Meltzer

Epic heroes are created from a combination of things. What kind of the combination you use when you have to create the character for your story? 

The first step in making a character great is to imagine it in your own mind. 
When you do this, your subconscious will begin the process of constructing a character that’s larger than life. 
Now, when the hero is THERE, what techniques can be used to make him/or her great?

A. Molchanov’s pick:

• mystery
• purpose
• limitation/flaw/defect
• powers/abilities

Every hero should have a character flaw, something that may be ruining their life.

Paul Brown’s pick:

5 ‘bright’ qualities for each hero (as a minimum):

• Quality 1 – any
• Quality 2 – any
• Quality 3 – The Mask (the way he represent himself to the world)
• Quality 4 – Behind The Mask (what he’s hiding from all other heroes/the world)
• Quality 5 – weirdness

Why the mask, weirdness and the mystery? Because it is more psychologically trustworthy, and that means – more interesting. 

James Frey’s pick:

If your hero is a detective:

• courage
• professionalism
• special talent
• ingenuity
• intelligence
• he must have a ‘wound’/past 
• or he must be outside of the law

What do you think? Your ‘pick’? 🙂 Add anything you like! 

Next post – psycho-logical tale “Greed”