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Your hero can make or break your novel — so in this episode I'll show you, step by step, how to build a main character readers will follow for an entire book.
Read the example novels FREE on Wattpad (links below) — no ads, no catch.
This is the deep dive on creating a hero. I pull the strongest techniques from two of the best craft books ever written — The Anatomy of Story by John Truby and Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody — and put them to work on real stories.
You'll learn how to build:
Flaws — both psychological and moral
Wants vs. needs, and why they're not the same thing
The ghost — the wound from the past that still haunts your hero
The wound and the inventory of losses
The ten universal lessons
The A story and the B story, and how they weave together
Opponents who attack your hero exactly where it hurts
The payoff chain
Story-worthiness tests to pressure-test your idea
…and more
To keep it concrete, I use two of my own novels as living examples — both FREE to read on Wattpad:
Hi Bob, It's Gus — my finished novel, which I break down to show these techniques in action:
How to Survive Paris with No Money, No French, and No Idea — a first-person novel I'm writing live as this series unfolds, so you can watch a hero built from scratch:
📚 The craft books behind this episode:
The Anatomy of Story
Save the Cat! Writes a Novel
If this helped, subscribe and come write with me — your hero is waiting.
#writing #howtowrite #characterdevelopment #novelwrit
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2026/08/28
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