Your Hero: Top

Ten Rules
(Expanded)
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The most important character in your screenplay is your

protagonist: your hero. Without her, there is no story. But
when creating that unforgettable protagonist, you must know
the entire iceberg, so follow these Ten Key Rules (now with
expanded explanations), and you'll sculpt a hero that breaks
the mold.
1. You must create an interesting protagonist, one that your
audience will want to watch, hope, and fear for.
Heroes We Hope and Fear For
When creating your hero, audience connection is key. Your
hero needs to be an interesting somebody who wants
something badly and is having trouble getting it, AND
also a somebody that the audience cares about
somebody they hope will obtain the main objective but
fear the goal will be thwarted by external forces or by
the hero him/herself.
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2. We dont have to feel sympathetic toward him/her
(although it is a great help), but we must at the very
least feelempathy.
Sympathy vs. Empathy
Creating a hero that we feel sympathetic toward is a HUGE
help. Its almost impossible not to care if we feel sorry
 for someone elses misfortune, not to mention that
sympathy often equates to likability and a likeable
hero is easy to hope and pray for. However, sympathy
is not the essential ingredient. Empathy is the key. Not
every hero is likeable or should be; there are many
heroes (or antiheroes) that we dislike, but we stay with
them because were able to understand why they do as
they do. In the film Monster (2003), for example, Aileen
Wuornos (Charlize Theron) is a serial killer. Clearly, we
should not like what she does nor condone her cold-
blooded killings, but because we can empathize with
the realities of her cruel childhood plagued by profound
abuse, we hope she will be able to survive none the
less.
3. We love to see characters acting bravely, so it is not only
what the character is trying to accomplish that makes
us cheer for him or her, but its the lengths he/she is
willing to go to get it. Make sure the lengths are far. We
want a journey.
Acting Bravely
We fear protagonists will succumb to their weaknesses, but
we hope that they will act bravely under extraordinary
circumstances. There are few things more enjoyable for
the audience than to see the ordinary protagonist
thrust into an extraordinary situation and overcome
insurmountable odds by simply just being brave.
4. Know your main character. His/her dreams, wants, and
desires must be there on page one. Ask how we identify
with, relate to, or are fascinated with him/her.
Know the Dream/Goal
This is more than just knowing the heros main objective that
is, the pursuit of what your protagonist is trying to
accomplish that gives shape to plotting the main story
of the film. You must know every dream, want, and
desire. Take, for example, an action film in which your
hero is on a life and death pursuit to rescue his
abducted daughter, the main objective is obvious, but
what about all the other goals: does he regret the past
and promise to be a better father, does he secretly
 wish for acceptance, or is it something more tangible,
like the desire to take his daughter to a Yankee game
for the first time? The more you understand what your
hero wants both internal and external the easier it
will be for your audience to champion his causes.
5. A central character cannot exist without conflict.Make sure
you have enough obstacles (internal and external) that
your character must face.
Conflict Is Bliss
Right when the audience thinks it can't get worse for your
character(s), it gets worse; and when there is
absolutely no way the situation can get more severe, it
does; and finally, when there is no possibility things can
deteriorate even more, it rains. It always rains. But the
bestconflict occurs because of a characters own flaws:
hubris, doubt, narcissism, jealousy, overconfidence,
etc. because it is with the character's own flaw(s) that
will get him or her into even more trouble, and self-
induced trouble is a recipe for success.
6. Your main character must have a weakness (hopefully
many). They are often oblivious of these weaknesses,
or in denial, or constantly trying to hide from
themselves.
Creating Weaknesses
Just as the best villains are the ones who are layered and
complex bad guys in whom the audience can
empathize with the same rule applies to your hero.
When your hero is truly "good" in all situations, he is
set and stony and not very interesting. We have no
reason to fear for him because we know he will always
do the right thing. However, if you establish early on
that your hero has weaknesses (hopefully many) and is
even oblivious of these weaknesses, or in denial, or
constantly trying to hide them, then it's easy for your
audience to fear.
7. Attack your main character at his/her weakest spot, and
he/she will show things about him/herself that he/she
doesnt want to reveal.
Attack! Go For the Jugular
And when you do this, really go for it. Hit your hero at his or
her weakest spots, because when you corner your
characters, and I mean really squeeze them, they will
reveal things about themselves that you never even
knew existed. And when characters are forced to reveal
things they are unwilling to share deep secrets and
psychological scars conflict is abundant, rich with
emotion, and those are the scenes we want to see.
8. Your main character should not be aware of the full
dimensions of thetheme atthe beginning of the story,
but he/she will learn.
Character Awareness
Every action has a reaction, and nothing is as easy as it
seems. The reality is that situations are complicated,
especially what's beneath the surface, and even though
it is obvious that your hero must be aware of the main
objective, it is usually a mistake if your hero is aware of
the full dimensions of the theme at the beginning of the
story. Its okay for your audience to see the big picture
(or not); sometimes you want your audience to
discover along with your hero. But regardless of the
creative decisions you make as to what the audience
knows and when, it is important that your hero learns
along the way. The theme and its implications
should be revealed on your heros journey.
9. Think of your main character unfavorably. This will make
them believable and more human.
Thinking Unfavorably
This can take some practice, especially if you really love your
character, but try to think of your protagonist
unfavorably. The application of this approach will make
them very real because we all know that real people
are incredibly flawed and do some pretty ugly things.
To put it another way, when you like someone, it's often
quite hard to look at their actions without a bias in their
favor, and that lack of truthful insight can create an
unattainable illusion, but if you erase that positive bias,
you will immediately make your protagonist very
human and more believable.
10. Change. Make sure your characters learn as they go. How
does he change? What does she learn? How is he/she
becoming someone different?
Character Arc: Growth vs. Change
By the end of his or her journey, your hero should be different
because of the experience. If you dont show the possibility of
moral transformation or an increase in wisdom in your
protagonist(s), there really is no point in writing the
screenplay at all, because one of the most fundamental
human principles is that human beings do have the capacity
to change. This is the character arc. But is there a difference
between growth and change? I say yes; its not just semantics.
Knowledge is growth, but acting upon that knowledge is
change. You need at least one.