Overview Appreciation

the degree to which the Main Character feels compelled to accept the quest

Not all Main Characters are well suited to solve the problem in their story. They may possess the crucial element essential to the solution yet not possess experience in using the tools needed to bring it into play. Like most of us, Main Characters have a preference for how to go about solving problems. Some prefer to immediately take action. We call these characters Do-ers. Others prefer to deliberate first to determine if the problem might go away by itself or perhaps they can adapt to it. We call these characters Be-ers. When a Do-er finds himself in a story driven by Action he is quite at home. Similarly, when a Be-er finds himself in a Decision driven story, he is quite content. Both of these combinations lead to Main Characters who are more than Willing to accept the quest for a solution to the story's problem. They are comfortable with the tools they will be required to use. But if a Do-er is placed in a Decision story or a Be-er is drawn into an Action story, the Main Character will be very Unwilling to participate in the quest at all for the tools he must use are not in his area of experience. Willing Main Characters force the plot forward. Unwilling Main Characters are dragged along by circumstances beyond their control.