From Protagonist to Hero

Let's add some personality and admirable qualities to your character.

But we usually don't like a protagonist that is downbeat, depressed, bitter, and stuck.  Have you ever know someone who couldn't beat off self-pity?  How long can you go reading with that much negativity?  Not much, I'm guessing.  This is why lifting your hero above the circumstances-indeed, above himself-is so important.  How do you do that? It starts in the opening pages.  This is where your readers will look to see if they like the character, and if they can identify with them.  Do we feel sympathy?  Or is tension already created on the first page, leaving our reader wanting to read more.

Quietly evoking that kind of identification with a protagonist is one of the secrets of breakout fiction. How do you hint the heroism of our protagonist in the opening pages of your current manuscript?  What about this character will we find admirable and attractive?  How will you make us care? 

-- Who are your personal Heros?

-- What makes this person a hero or heroine to you?

-- What was the moment in time in which you realized that he/she was your hero/heroine?

-- Assign that quality to your protagonist.  Find a way for he or she actively to show that quality, even in the smallest way, in the first scene. 

-- Prior to the climatic sequence, find six points at which your protagonist can show these qualities.