Heroes are symbols of the soul in transformation, and of the journey each person takes through life.
Christopher Vogler, The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers (2020, p. 241)
The hero makes the story happen.
Eric Edson, The Story Solution (2011, p. 15)
What motivates and matters to our heroine is being reunited with what was lost.
Gail Carriger, The Heroine’s Journey (2020, p. 98)
The division of the world into opposing forces of plucky David and almighty Goliath seems a signature maneuver of the hero-making brain.
Will Storr, The Science of Storytelling (2020, p. 99)
The more evil the villain is, the braver the Hero is able to be.
Kim Hudson, The Virgin’s Promise: Writing Stories of Feminine Creative, Spiritual and Sexual Awakening (2010, p. 120)
That’s how every good movie begins. Into the life of a sympathetic hero plops a Big Problem, igniting in the hero a strong desire to create a change that will solve the problem.
Eric Edson, The Story Solution (2011, p. 33)
…a heroine doesn’t refuse the call, if indeed there is one. Why? Because her family has been taken from her! She’s not going to be coy about a reunification. She isn’t a hero and that’s not her pattern.
Gail Carriger, The Heroine’s Journey (2020, p. 118)
I suspect this is why we so easily identify with underdog heroes at the start of the story—and then cheer when they finally seize their just reward. Because they’re us.
Will Storr, The Science of Storytelling (2020, p. 146)
Perhaps the word hero, like the word lady, has run its course. We need another word, a deeper, less showy, less performative one…
Ursula K. Le Guin, “Philip K. Dick: The Man in the High Castle” (2015) in Words Are My Matter (2019, p. 124)
Women, female-identified, and nonbinary characters can be heroes. Men, male-identified, and nonbinary characters can be heroines.
Gail Carriger, The Heroine’s Journey (2020, p. xv)
A common flaw in stories is that writers make heroes grow or change, but do so abruptly, in a single leap because of a single incident.
Christopher Vogler, The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers (2020, p. 238)
For experts to be taken seriously in public life, they must embody the main traits of heroes. …competent…innocent…and influential. … Competence is a form of strength, innocence a form of goodness, and influence perhaps a form of activity.
James M. Jasper, Michael P. Young, and Elke Zuern, Public Characters: The Politics of Reputation and Blame (2020, p. 175)
A heroine not only asks for help, she is good at it.
Gail Carriger, The Heroine’s Journey (2020, p. 271)
When a person finds your hero sympathetic, they identify with that character. They project themselves into your hero as their surrogate for the adventure ahead. Then the audience climbs aboard eagerly and commits to your emotional movie ride. Now they trust you.
Eric Edson, The Story Solution (2011, p. 14)