Dr Steve Brule
Dreamer
In many books and films I see a similar theme or idea. Usually the main hero is not a hero/warrior/fighter and that through circumstance they become a hero. I just watched a Star Wars marathon and would like to use Luke as an example. He was a simple farmer, nothing seemingly spectacular about him. He loses his family, discovers a bigger world outside the one he knows, sets out to learn the force and become a jedi knight. I think the story would have been much different had it started with Luke already trained in the ways of the jedi. But, would it have necessarily been bad?
I know it has become a cliche of sorts to have the "main hero is a farmer/peasant/whathaveyou, his family is killed, joins X group (usually a rebellion of some kind) and then ends up becoming extraordinary." (I'm thinking of Eragon here) I find a lot of stories use this set up and the hero is usually trained by a mentor type character.
Do your heroes follow this path or were they already powerful to begin with? If you don't use this approach, how did you go about portraying your protagonist?
I know it has become a cliche of sorts to have the "main hero is a farmer/peasant/whathaveyou, his family is killed, joins X group (usually a rebellion of some kind) and then ends up becoming extraordinary." (I'm thinking of Eragon here) I find a lot of stories use this set up and the hero is usually trained by a mentor type character.
Do your heroes follow this path or were they already powerful to begin with? If you don't use this approach, how did you go about portraying your protagonist?