What's more important: the hero or the plot

What attracts us to the stories about Sherlock Holmes: an intense detective investigation or the participation of a legendary detective in it? Why do we love the Harry Potter series: for a story set in the wizarding world, or for portraying an orphan boy who turned out to be the strongest wizard? What do we follow with great attention: the story or the characters? What is more important for the reader: the hero or the plot? And how do you write a book that will appeal to both the reader?

Or a hero or a plot. Both the hero and the plot

Looking ahead, let's say right away: for a full-fledged work, we need both, because a book is unthinkable without heroes, and the plot (if we do not take into account the conceptually plotless works) forms the eventual basis of the text, on which reflections, lyrical digressions, descriptions are layered.

However, world literature knows many examples when a hero becomes more popular than the text from which he came out. These are the already mentioned Sherlock Holmes and Harry Potter, and also Peter Pan. Unique, outstanding, original characters, instantly win the readers' love, thanks to which many film adaptations, fan clubs around the world and a huge number of goods related to their favorite characters have appeared. They have become a part of world culture, boldly stepping beyond their history straight to the heart of the reader.

At the same time, there are works in which the plot, the story itself, becomes paramount for the reader, and although the heroes are important for the development of the action, they are nevertheless the engines of the plot, its embodiment and continuation. The reader is interested in how everything will end, what will become of the characters, to what finish the story will come. The characters in such works are important, but the story itself is more important, more significant. The story or the artistic world in which the action unfolds is more entertaining than literary characters. In such texts, the interest is not so much the description of the hero as his actions. Even if the character is an extremely likable type that arouses the sympathy of the reader, the development of events will prevail over the description of the character. It is more important here how the hero acts, and where he will lead the story.

And this is found not only in genre literature of high tempo, where the plot is always extremely dynamic, and the intensity of passions is high, but also in the very classics. For example, "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen, stories by Jack London. Of course, the heroes of these works are bright, skillfully described, integral personalities. But the pulse of the story is so high, the plot twists are so unexpected, that it is interesting for us as readers to move towards the denouement as quickly as possible, sometimes even annoying when we have to face another description or lyrical digression.

The plot beats the heroes here: the reader is interested in knowing what will happen to the characters, rather than seeing them in a new scene. While the authors who can make an essays that hold on to the uniqueness of the characters, on their impressive features, abilities, skills, lifestyle, the main thing is the portrayal of the characters themselves, the disclosure of their character. The reader wants to see the hero, to know what he is doing, what he is thinking, how he lives.

True, a striking unique hero, acting in the text, does not at all exclude the presence of an exciting story. Let's remember the Harry Potter series: we are interested in the character, but the course of events makes us, sitting on the edge of a chair, nervously turn the pages in anticipation of the denouement.

It's good when a book captures everyone: the characters are memorable, the plot is fascinating, and the language is outstanding - it's a pleasure to read. Each of us will immediately name several works in which the author succeeded in everything.

But there are books that the reader turns to because they want to know what will happen. That is, for the sake of history. And there are those that you read, because it says about some favorite character. And you are ready to read any text, as long as the hero to whom you have become attached to acted there.

Unique heroes help the author

How can a novice author use it? Very simple. Of course, this advice will not be useful to those masters who can come up with a dashing plot and believable heroes that sink into the heart. But for those who are at the beginning of the literary path and are considering how to write my essay by domyessay.co you can use the techniques developed by the classics. After all, heroes loved by all readers are half the battle.

Unique characters such as Sherlock Holmes, Peter Pan, mummies are endowed with unique properties and characteristics that in themselves determine the course of the story and plot twists.

For example, Sherlock Holmes is a detective, a representative of high society, capable of identifying a criminal from insignificant details. The very characterization of the hero determines the events that will be described in the text: this is the unraveling of crimes that take place for the most part in high society in the entourage of the Victorian era. The lion's share of the text is a description of the life of Sherlock Holmes, his life, in which the reader gets used to himself, imbued with the charm of the comfortable life of a genius detective. He, the reader, wants to take part in the investigation, but far from one detective component beckons to stories about Holmes. It is the main character who magnetizes the reader to the text, which today seems naive in places, and some conclusions are rather tense.

In fact, the same thing happens with mummy trolls - cheerful, kind-hearted fantastic creatures who live in a quiet, cozy Mummi Valley, a life full of the most exciting adventures. Tove Janson has written only nine books, and she herself has created illustrations and drew comics for the audience, which brought her worldwide fame. What mummies do not do, but whatever they do, they inevitably attract the attention of readers. Largely due to the fact that these are not just stories with unusual characters, but a real literary universe, in which absolutely any reader is so comfortable: both young and adult. After all, the books of Tove Janson are stories for an adult audience, which, thanks to the funny look of the characters and the presence of young ones among them, have become popular with the children's audience.

That is, the uniqueness of the hero determines the plot twists. Hot-tempered, temperamental, suspicious and poor, D'Artagnan simply cannot tolerate sarcastic remarks and even ironic looks, so he gets involved in a fight on his way to Paris, thus charting a storyline with Milady.

The conclusion is simple: the more unusual the hero, the more unique there is in him, the more obvious for the author will be the path along which the narrative should go. Therefore, creating a unique profile for his hero, the author automatically outlines the plot lines, which simplifies literary work. Story-related.

Schemes for building a novel: heroes and circumstances

An ordinary hero in an unusual setting, an extraordinary hero in an ordinary setting. How do you write a book with these introductions?

Heroes move any story. The story, of course, may be important in itself, but without the heroes it will not be told. Sometimes a work is generally read only for the sake of the main character, since he overshadows the story itself: he is more valuable, brighter than the events taking place with him. That is, the character of the characters, and especially the protagonist, and the circumstances he encounters, largely determines how successful the work will be. If you use these two variables correctly (hero and circumstance), you get a good formula for the work.

An ordinary hero in an ordinary setting

Of course, you cannot make an action-packed novel at such a reception, but serious, high-profile prose may well work out. An ordinary hero in an ordinary setting is the ideological basis of short prose. The overwhelming majority of stories are built according to this scheme: an ordinary character and his small life. The text describes various incidents, special cases from life, although in general nothing significant, grandiose, beyond the ordinary, happens to the heroes. But it is not the events that are important to the author, but the movements of the heroes' souls, their characters and destinies.

An ordinary hero in an unusual setting

One of the most common techniques used since time immemorial in folklore: remember the fairy tales about the girl who got lost in the forest and met a bear? They are written exactly according to this scheme. An ordinary hero finds himself in extraordinary conditions that go beyond the usual, ordinary. The main intrigue of such a text lies precisely in these amazing circumstances, forcing the hero to act. How exactly - the author decides. The fact that the hero is a native of the people, a simple, ordinary person makes the text especially attractive. And this, firstly, facilitates easier self-identification of the reader with the hero, and, secondly, increases the level of trust in the text. Let's take it good because it creates the illusion of authenticity, the verisimilitude of the hero's image verifies the events taking place with him. It is thanks to the fact

An extraordinary hero in an extraordinary setting

Here the reader should be impressed by everything: the hero - unusual, memorable, amazing, and what is happening to him. This is a technique that should work one hundred percent: we display an unusual character on https://domyessay.co/about/, place him in unusual circumstances, and see how he copes with them. And since the reader often wants to break away from everyday life while reading, such a scheme becomes a guaranteed successful technique.

An extraordinary hero in an ordinary setting

This may be a variant of a special agent, a retired special services employee, or a biography of an unusual hero in his usual circumstances. Another option: the hero is extraordinary, but lives an ordinary earthly life. As a rule, such a hero sooner or later still faces extraordinary circumstances that force him to reveal his true face to the world (or part of this world).

It must be said that the above schemes for constructing works are used not only in genre, action-packed literature, but also in serious (high, high-quality, intellectual) prose. Therefore, no matter what work the author conceives, he can safely resort to using these schemes - at least for the sake of training.

Useful Resources:

Freelance Copywriter at DoMyEssay

6 Steps to Take When Editing Your Novel

What Comes First the Book or the Publisher?

How to Find a Publisher for Your Book (Part I)

A Book Publishing Fantasy Come True (Part 2)