relatable – Almost An Author

Fantasy Heroes? This Is How You Make Them Relatable.

One of my friends recently gifted me a book. She’d loved it so much she literally went out and bought a second copy for me to read.

It’s a fantasy, and some of the characters are so heroic they seem fantastic, at least as far as Google defines fantastic: “imaginative or fanciful; remote from reality.”

It’s hard to connect to someone who’s so removed from my own abilities they seem distant. I’d like to believe I’m capable of the things this hero in this book is, but I’m not. The theme of the book is great, just like my friend said, but so far it’s been hard to truly relate to at a personal level.

How can we steer clear of this issue and write fantasy heroes who are very human, physical, and flawed, yet still capable of greatness?

Write Human Characteristics

If you’re writing a fantasy there’s no question you have some very inhuman, creative characteristics in your characters. Maybe some of your supporting characters are not even human at all. Maybe your main character (MC) isn’t! Regardless, in order to be relatable to your human readers, your MC needs to have human characteristics.

Maybe they’re very uncomfortable around a specific supporting character and this shows through their body language. Maybe their natural response to fear is to fight (ever heard of fight or flight, the very human response to negative feedback in the environment?).

Whatever it is for your MC, make it human.

Remember The Physical

Just because they may not be human, your MC is still physical. He/she can still feel the full range of emotion, and demonstrate this emotion through their body.

We all have certain physical limitations. For instance, I dislike running but I run anyway in order to stay healthy. On the other hand, I love getting with friends and experiencing the outdoors with them.

Maybe your main character loves running but experienced an injury that keeps him from running at the time your story takes place. This physical detriment makes him uncomfortable around others. He unconsciously portrays himself through the emotion of insecurity via low power poses.

We all have physical insecurities. Give your MC one too, and he’ll be far more relatable to the average reader!

We’re All Flawed

Whether we admit it or not, we all have flaws in our personal characters. Maybe our reasons for doing something good are skewed, or we see the world through a false lens.

Readers relate to flaws, and flaws enable a full character-arc for your MC.

Wherever your MC starts in the story, make sure he overcomes a personal flaw by the last page. If you can write a fictional character who overcomes, you’ll inspire your readers to overcome.

This won’t only build trust with your readership, but keep them wanting more. Your influence will expand, your writing will grow, and you will experience the pleasure of using your gifts for others.

Happy writing!

Sarah Rexford is a Marketing Content Writer, working with brands to grow their audience reach. She studied Strategic Communications at Cornerstone University and focused on writing during her time there, completing two full-length manuscripts while a full-time student. Currently she trains under best-selling author Jerry Jenkins in his Your Novel Blueprint course and is actively seeking publication for two books.

Instagram: @sarahjrexford
Twitter: @sarahjrexford
Web: itssarahrexford.com

Messy

Let’s face it, sometimes life just stinks. Friends betray us, family walks away and sometimes the boy doesn’t get the girl like Danny Zuko did in the movie Grease.

It’s why some Christian movies feel so unrealistic, life is too perfect—what’s the need for redemption or hope?

Last year I had the opportunity to attend my first Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference. While there I was able to learn the craft from 30 year Hollywood veteran Brian Bird.

I’ll never forget his honest observations,

Keep your story messy, because life is messy and there is not always a happy ending.
Characters grow through messy situations.
Write your characters into a corner

Trials and plot twists cause our characters to grow, just like hardships in our lives can make us or break us. Fairytale endings are rare in real-life. Even Christian marriages rarely end up a happily ever after story; even when it does there are still struggles.

The audience can relate to stories that are messy, because their lives are messy too.

Even in my childhood favorite Star Wars was filled with messy real life struggles. The whole father-son angle hits home for a lot of men, me included. Sometimes fiction can be as real as reality.

Reality?

People can relate more to other messed up people. And when they do, they are pulled into the story. The rise of reality TV over the last decade and a half is proof of this.

According to Statistica.com. viewers like reality TV because.

They like the drama.
It’s a mindless.
It helps them forget the real issues in their lives/the world.

It’s obvious difficult and tough situations on the small screen resonate with audiences. Shouldn’t we keep the narrative in theaters more realistic and possibly more life-changing?

Legendary novelist Ernest Hemingway once noted, “When writing a novel a writer should create living people; people are not characters. A character is a caricature.”

Have you ever found yourself in an unpredictable situation? Welcome to being human, sometimes reality is stranger than fiction. Am I right?

Fight for it!

Audiences are drawn to stories that defy the odds. Okay, I admit I’m a hopeless romantic and often daydream about love stories that don’t make sense, love that endures the hardships to survive. The best romances are messy. Let’s go back to a movie I mentioned earlier, what man didn’t root for Han Solo getting the girl?

A rough-around-the-collar and rugged rebel who becomes smitten with the gorgeous young princess, not exactly a match made in heaven. But it works, because it’s messy.

I’m sure many of you reading this can think of dozens of movies with unlikely love stories that captured your heart.

In college my favorite was the movie Jerry McGuire. Who can forget when Renée Zellweger’s character says, “You had me at hello.”? Jerry didn’t realize how much he loved his wife until he lost her, now that’s messy.

Martin Johnson survived a severe car accident with a (T.B.I.) Truamatic brain injury which left him legally blind and partially paralyzed on the left side. He is an award-winning Christian screenwriter who has recently finished his first Christian nonfiction book. Martin has spent the last nine years volunteering as an ambassador and promoter for Promise Keepers ministries. While speaking to local men’s ministries he shares his testimony. He explains The Jesus Paradigm and how following Jesus changes what matters most in our lives. Martin lives in a Georgia and connects with readers at Spiritual Perspectives of Da Single Guy and on Twitter at mtjohnson51.