Monica Leonelle shows how to map a protagonist's false beliefs, the convictions that stem from their core wound. She uses examples from Harry Potter and The Hunger Games to demonstrate how plot events can challenge these beliefs and create an emotional arc, with a workbook method for mapping up to five characters.
Chapters
Hey there, Igniter! Monica Leonelle from theworldneedsyourbook.com. Today is day 8 of the challenge, and we are talking about false beliefs for each of your characters and what is holding them back from reaching their goals. We are on day 8 of the challenge, and we'll be talking about character false beliefs. So basically, we have the fatal flaw. We did that in day 7. The fatal flaw is kind of the overarching, uh, challenge that that character is facing. So the false beliefs are really like sub-fatal flaws. It's kind of the best way to describe it. So the false beliefs are, you know, all those little things that have added up to create this fatal flaw in this character. And you can think of the fatal flaws also like the biggest wound or the core wound of the character, the thing they need to heal in order to transform. So you can imagine that there are lots of false beliefs tied to that. So you're going to want to do this for your protagonist, your, you know, if, if you want, you can do it for your antagonist if it's a person. You can also do it for any major point of view characters. So if the If the character has a character arc within the series or within the story, you might wanna map this out for that character as well. So the false beliefs, they're not necessarily false. I would count them as unbalanced beliefs. So some examples, you know, Hufflepuffs are nice but can easily be taken advantage of. Slytherins are self-preserving and can also be ambitious, shrewd, brilliant, and protective of the people that they love. So these are examples from Harry Potter. The way I think of it is that really anything that is good also has that shadow side. So, you know, as we go through this section, we're really going to look at where these false beliefs might have developed and how these false beliefs can be essentially brought back into balance. So we have a page for each of the characters' fatal flaw to false beliefs, and so you'll put your character's fatal flaw in the largest circle. And so this is kind of, kind of displayed as a dreamcatcher. You know, I've taken some liberties, of course. And then you're going to look at what all the false beliefs are that can stem out from these. So, you know, it's, it's basically a mind map. So false beliefs in the character's past, from the people they grew up with and what they are known for doing or being based on what people have told them and what haunts them. So you can come up with a lot of stuff, and for the most part, false beliefs actually are largely in the past. That's where they are formed. Kind of makes sense, you know, if you were counting it as more of like a wound, then the fatal flaw is going to be something that that character has experienced before, and that is going to manifest in these false beliefs. So there should be, you know, quite a few false beliefs in the past. You can also look for false beliefs in their present. And so this may make sense for you. So this could be just depending on what you're writing. So this could be in the character's environment and who they are similar to or different from. So this was, you know, a lot of times books have foils or characters have foils. And that can be something that is helpful to your book, to have a foil. So like Harry Potter's foil would be Draco Malfoy, for example. It could be in who they trust or don't trust. So, you know, one example of this is from The Hunger Games. Katniss had really a bad impression of Peeta even though they had a strong past and they had a strong history, uh, you know, the way Peeta was acting in the present, um, really caused her some false beliefs that were eventually broken through really right at the center of the book. Then there can also be false beliefs in their future. And so this is stuff that can come along so in the big reveals of the story, based on what happens to them in the story, in their greatest desire, or also in their dreams. So you can use something around that. Like maybe they are trying to get to something, or they believe that if they get to this goal, then they're going to receive this, or it's going to fix all their problems. And that is really a false— it's a false belief, right? Um, in some cases, or you can make that a false belief where they maybe they get to that goal and it's very empty for them. So you can have false beliefs that are in the future as well, and you can use this map to really— what you're trying to do is you're really trying to support the fatal flaw, is the best way I can describe that. It's like supporting evidence, and so you build your character up to support that evidence of the fatal flaw, and that's what makes the fatal flaw very believable for the reader. And then as you move through the plot, you can chip away at that fatal flaw by chipping away at the false beliefs. So have the character experience a situation where that false belief is challenged and have them conquer it. And so then they've removed that false belief, and now it's now the wheels are turning in that character's head, like, oh, maybe things aren't the way I thought they were. And so the, the reader can really see that you are moving that character on, uh, on them, on an internal arc, on an emotional journey. And again, I've said this a couple times, but emotional journeys are where the resonance is. That's how readers fall in love with the characters. And so if you don't take them on that emotional journey, the book, you know, it could be the most exciting plot ever, but it can be a very, you know, not an emotionally resonant story. Some characters aren't really going on a character arc, and that's fine. So this may not apply to your character. Uh, sometimes characters can be a little bit static. But I still, you know, I think that there can be room in really any story to develop this transformational arc of some sort. Like, the character doesn't have to change much, maybe they don't change at all, but they probably still have some sort of flaw in their logic, right? Because how How would there be tension in the story if there wasn't some sort of fatal flaw for the character? So even if your character's static, I do think that this can still be helpful. So you have a number of pages on this. You can do this for 5 different characters, or you can print the— you know, if you're doing this in the workbook, if you have the printable, then you can print out extra pages. Thank you so much for watching and listening. I hope this has been helpful to you. If you have any questions or comments or anything, make sure you leave that below. There are also links in the description if you are not signed up for the challenge. There's still plenty of time. We're only on day 8. We have 30 days total, and it's super simple to catch up. You can probably catch up in, you know, a couple hours of effort. So definitely feel free to sign up. Links below in the description. And I hope that this has been helpful to you. Have a wonderful day.
