Does Your Hero Have These 4 Pieces? They Should.
You’ve probably been bombarded with ways to make your hero better – sliders, backstories, saving cats… but all of those things aren’t helpful if they don’t help your story. Your hero should fit perfectly with everything else in your story. Now, if only there was an easy way to build a perfect hero… (said in a leading tone, setting up the rest of this article)
The Four Protag Pieces
Yes, it’s true. There are four pieces you can use to make your protag (short for protagonist) fit perfectly into your story. And no, these aren’t just pulled out of nowhere. These are four carefully selected pieces that are perfectly balanced.
Two internal. Two external.
Two physical. Two psychological.
And separated into two pairs, each one linked with two critical parts of your story.
So what are they? And why are they so important?
Let’s jump in.
Want. Need. Goal. Epiphany.
Here’s a quick overview of the pieces:
Want: an intangible desire your protag longs for, like fame, fortune, or justice
Need: a quality your protag needs to learn, like compassion or self-acceptance, that is opposite their Flaw
Goal: the physical, tangible task your protag aims to complete
Epiphany: the moment your protag realizes their Flaw has been holding them back and embraces their Need
Seems simple enough, right? Now, let’s understand why these four pieces are so powerful.
Want + Need
The Want and the Need are both pieces rooted inside your protag. The first is something your protag thinks will make them happy, and the other is the thing that will actually make them happy.
These represent the battle inside the protag to find fulfilment. One is through external means, and the other is through internal means (and this external/internal idea will come up a lot).
Goal + Epiphany
Meanwhile, the Goal and Epiphany are both pieces rooted outside your protag. The first is the physical thing your protag is chasing to fulfil their Want. The second is a realization that is bestowed upon them to fulfil their Need.
These represent the battle outside the protag to find fulfilment. Like before, one is through external means, and the other is through internal means.
Want + Goal
The Want and the Goal are both external pieces rooted in the physical world. They are both things your protag wants to achieve, since the reason they’ll go after their Goal is because they believe it will bring them their Want, aka happiness.
These represent the idea that fulfilment comes from without. They are also linked closely with your story’s A Story, aka the Plot/External Story.
Need + Epiphany
Lastly, the Need and the Epiphany are both internal pieces rooted in the psychological world. They are the things your protag needs to achieve in order to find fulfilment, despite what they believe.
These represent the idea that fulfilment comes from within. They are also closely linked with your story’s B Story, Theme, and Character Arc.
Linking Your Story Together
Notice the beauty of these four pieces. Two of them are inside your protag, and two are outside. Two are rooted in the physical world, and two are rooted in the psychological world.
More importantly, they clearly link your protag to the two essential streams of your story – the A Story and the B Story. And in doing so, they also unite these two streams through your protag.
In other words, not only do these four pieces unify your protag, but they unify your story as well.
Now that’s power.
Diving Deeper
Going into depth on each of these four pieces would make this article a little too long. However, if you’re looking to learn more, there’s a free course called “Hypercharge Your Hero” by some friends over at Plotwell that you can check out. There’s a lesson on all four of these pieces, plus one on the antag, that should familiarize you with these concepts a little more.
Here’s a link to the first lesson of the course:
