Troping without Cliches

[Tropes in Writing: Source]

I've been blogging for over seven years, mostly about how to write in a more literary fashion.Tropes are everywhere in writing. In fact, a trope is a building block of writing. Any figure of speech can be called a trope. But when one thinks of a trope in a story, movie, or play, one thinks of a building block of a story such as a character or event in a story. Every story uses tropes.

[Trying to Avoid Tropes: source]

Even when one tries not to use tropes, it's practically impossible. There's even a trope for stories that are striving to be tropeless. It's impossible to avoid troping in a story. When one thinks of a character trope, one thinks of a type of character or plot device, the antihero, the plucky heroine, the sidekick, the man vs nature story structure, etc. However, what is possible is avoiding cliches with those tropes. For most people, the first idea is usually the cliche. If one pushes beyond that, that's where fresh stories begin.

[Tropes as the beginning of Ideas: source]

There are so many tropes that it's impossible to count and it all depends on the definition of a trope. But even if one focuses on character tropes, it would take a very long time to name all the available tropes. One can easily google them online. What it comes down to is that almost every character you will read about or see falls into one trope or another. The best books, literary or otherwise, don't simply plug in a trope and call it good. Authors of good books use tropes as a start but not an end. 

[Starting with a Princess in a Tower: source]

One of the main differences between good literature and simplistic stories is how much work the author puts into making the trope their own, making it something fresh. It's not enough to write about a simple princess in a tower, a damsel in distress waiting for her simplistic prince to come and save her as a dragon prowls its base. What makes her unique? How is he more than he seems? 

[Making a Trope Fresh: Source]

And, often better yet, how can the author flip the trope to make it something that feels new and fresh in order to stand out from the pack? One can simply flip the trope in the obvious way and have the damsel save the prince. One can have a prince or princess save the dragon or the dragon save one of the others. 

[Pushing the Trope further: Source]

Any of these can work, but you can push a trope further. Maybe the "princess" is actually a cowgirl, and the "prince" is a rancher in modern or period days, and the tower and/or dragon is metaphorical. Or maybe a literal dragon shows up in the wild West. Maybe the princess has sci-fi tech and has to steal the tower to take it somewhere to save her kingdom, fighting the mage prince and his training master, the queen of dragons, in order to do so. Maybe the tower, itself, has to fight the other three off to save itself. Who is the bad guy? Who is the good? Or are they all morally gray? Or perhaps anybody winning means the end of the world. 

[Now, it's your turn: source]

Think through your stories. Are you relying on simple tropes? Do you have a story that would benefit from pushing that trope and turning it into something fresh? If you use simple tropes, how can you make them unique? 

Side Characters

[cast of characters-source]

I've been blogging on how to write in a more meaningful and literary fashion. One critical character type that you'll need to include for almost every kind of story, whether fictional or factual, is the minor character. Minor characters flesh out your world, make it feel more realistic. Without them, it's just your main character(s) and their antagonist(s). That can work for some books and short stories but not many.  Most stories need inhabitants that people your world, and you'll need to give some thought to how to craft those characters. 

[Minor characters peopling the world-source]

One kind of minor character is someone who may be a name and/or face who is part of the crowd, one who doesn't play much of a part in your story but simply serves to texture the world. These characters can be given some slight description, a name, a face, but they should generally be unmemorable. They mostly serve as a backdrop. They may interact with the main character but only in minor ways. These are the hotel clerk, the main character's student and/or her parent, a witness to a crime, etc. Think of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in "Hamlet." They started out as his friends, became his enemies, and eventually ended as pawns in his war against his father, used by both side. 

[Hamlet-source]

If they serve any part beyond just peopling your story, it should be to highlight some aspect of your main character, to make them stand out. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern highlight Hamlet's progress from bystander to blade of justice in his late father's ghostly hand. If your protagonist is running for his/her life, the minor character is the distant sibling ignorant. of the hero's danger or the tourist simply enjoying the sights. They're living the peaceful life your protagonist wishes to have. They're bodyguards of the enemy who show the competence or lack thereof of the protagonist. They may stand out briefly or steal a single scene, but they shouldn't overshadow the main character. Every character that stands out in any way should be there to advance the protagonist and/or the plot, in whatever small way. One of these characters could even start out part of the background but turn out to be a secondary character or an antagonist or an important key to the mystery, a rifle on the wall.

[Peopling world like Harry Potter's--source]

Another kind of non-protagonist character is one that plays a significant role, a secondary character. This is the kind of character that can be memorable, can steal scenes, may land clever lines and star in pieces of the story but should not be the main heart of the story. Subplots can revolve around them, but the main plot should engage directly with the main character.  If the main goal of the antagonist is to thwart a secondary character with no connection to the main character, your story will feel disjointed, like you chose the wrong protagonist. Ron and Hermione can take the lead for certain parts of the book, but Harry Potter is clearly the perspectival character, the protagonist. In the aforementioned "Hamlet," Horatio is the only character who comes close to knowing the truth behind Hamlet's charade. 

[Mirroring the protagonist--source]

These secondary characters help the protagonist grow, give them the opportunity to interact in order to illustrate aspects of the character, and provide side conflicts and comic relief. They mirror and contrast with the protagonist's choices. These are friends, significant others, and other associates that mirror and expand the plotline. Their critical role in the story is to help the main character grow and pursue their main goal. They challenge the main character and help them grow. They enlighten aspects of the main character even the main character doesn't understand. They may be threatened to help the protagonist rise to greater heights or even sacrifice themselves on some level to help the main character succeed. 

How are you using your side characters? Do they ever take over as the protagonist or overshadow your main character?  Do they always serve an important enough role to justify their existence?  Why is each one there?  How do they improve and enhance your hero's voyage?  

Destroying the Precious

[Editing time-source]

 I've been blogging about how to make writing more literary. One of the most important differences between inferior fiction and amazing fiction that kicks off a future with diehard followers is the editing process.  Your first draft can be absolute trash, but as long as the editing takes as long and as much effort (on your part and someone else's) as it needs to, you can still end up with a brilliant and meaningful final copy.  Your writing process can involve outlines, pages of background and characterization, or just a lot of pantsing.  The key is in editing, and some of that may likely involve scrapping the moments, characters, entire scenes, or long chapters into which you've poured your heart.  Sometimes, your final best work involves shooting your darlings, those bits that are just too precious, too detailed, too inessential to stay.  

[Your Draft-source]

So you have a draft.  You may love this draft or hate this draft.  It can be anything from short poetry to an autobiography to literary (non)fiction to the wildest sci-fi romp. That draft is done.  Now what?  Don't even think about looking at your commas or other fine editing at this stage.  The first step is to take a careful look at the structure and major characters, themselves.  If you can afford to have a freelance editor who does this kind of story editing, all the better. Even Stephen King needs an editor, and he's a master. If you have a publisher breathing down your neck, great.  They may have someone to pitch it.  You may also have friends or a writer's group to look over.  Or you may be doing it all yourself.  I don't recommend the last option, but sometimes, there's no choice.  

[Editing-source]

Regardless of whether you now have a pile of editors' or other readers' comments, you really need distance from the text, as much as you can afford to give yourself.  If it's a few days or even a week, fine.  If you can give yourself a whole month or more, even better.  When you've just carefully crafted that cherubic/charming/witty/scathing/etc cast of side characters, what you see as amazing dialogue, a brilliant series of scenes, and a whole book that just feels wonderful to you, you're too close.  It's like investigating the murder of your best friend.  There won't be any emotional distance, and you're not ready.  

[Taking a closer look--source]

Because when you start giving your manuscript a really close look at your story editing, you need to see it with fresh eyes.  You need to see each scene, each character, each description with a clinical eye.  What purpose does each aspect of the story serve when it comes to building up the main character's story arc, the critical subplots, the overall plot, or the 3- 7- or 12-act structure, whatever you're using?  If nothing, it can't stay. 

[When beauty achieves nothing--source]

If there's a beautifully written, breathtaking scene that you poured your heart into that doesn't contribute substantially to the symphony that is your piece, it needs to go.  If there's a clever, witty side character that draws too much attention from the protagonist's main growth, you may want to keep him/her/it/them for another story.  You don't have to simply erase.  You can always keep a running side document where you keep your best cuts.  It may inspire you later. 

 

[Achieving balance--source]

But if you've got 30 characters in a 100 page book with very little characterization or possibly a breathtakingly purple (florid, overly descriptive) background with uninteresting foreground characters, something, probably a lot of somethings, need to go. It's at this stage you're finding your balance and the voice of your narrative.  I don't care how much you love that scene/dialogue/character/set. If it doesn't perform a critical role in the overall story or distracts in any way, it's time to break up with it for the sake of keeping the narrative compelling.  If it becomes too precious, too specific, and slows down your story, it just can't stay.  

[What feedback can feel like--source]

Editing can be such a hard part of writing. You get feedback that may feel like a gut punch or leave you reeling, wondering how you'll achieve what the reader wants.  Trimming back scenes and characters you love can feel like you're parting with your best friends.  It has to be done to make your final product what it needs to be to keep the reader glued.  

                                                                   `

Structure of Romance

[Writing Romance Novels--source]

 I've been blogging about how to make a piece more literary. One piece of advice almost every writer will give you is to read what you plan to write. Since I am working on clean romances, it makes sense to read a lot of them. And I have, from Austen to Bronte to Stephenie Meyer to an ever-increasing list of modern writers. Some write period romances, some fairy tale adaptations, some fantasy, some modern, and some sci-fi. There are patterns that hold true, no matter the genre. 

[Exploring characters' eyes--source]

Step one is to dive into the protagonist's character. If we're talking about a heterosexual couple, several romances give intense focus to the female lead alone. Occasional romance novels only focus on the male. Some authors, such as Stephenie Meyer, write a book from one perspective then book from the other (Twilight back to back with Midnight Sun gives you both). The other perspective is entirely a mystery or, as in Austen and Bronte, we get hints of other perspectives from an omniscient narrator. This is how we get such an intense focus on Lizzy, but we still get to hear Darcy's perspective on her "fine eyes." Later authors will often do a Midnight Sun on a classical work, or recreate Austen's original work through, say, Darcy's perspective or Bronte's through Rochester's eyes. 

[Romance on a bike--source]

Many modern romances balance the male and female leads (once again, in heterosexual romances), alternating between the two. Keep in mind that it's possible and always best to introduce the characters through show (show them losing a friend or family member; show them caring about something or someone) rather than endless data dumps. The reader needs an immediate attachment to one or the other, or the reader is gone. The way the main characters relate to each other can come as a shock to the reader: an assassin and his/her target, beings from two different (possibly alien) races or cultures, a peasant and a royal, etc. Many start as strangers like in Jane Eyre or Northanger Abbey or friends as in Mansfield Park. Several start their relationship as enemies before anything romantic begins. It's not a version of Pride and Prejudice nor of Much Ado about Nothing if sparks don't fly one way before they ever do the other. 

[Romance Begins--Source]

After that, the dance begins. The couple-to-be meets and has their first impression of each other (or we get a portrait of their existing relationship). There may be some kind of chemistry or interest associated with a description of (usually) attractive looks, but frequently, the initial meeting is one of indifference or a negative response. It appears for a time the characters will remain in separate orbits or in the status quo. This is the hero's journey's equivalent of the normal world. 

[Next Stages in the Dance-source]

Then, something happens (often danger, if it's genre, or enforced interaction if it's more literary or mainstream). Some action forces the two out of their regular orbits. This is the call to adventure, and one or the other or both protagonists often refuse at first. They reject that force that brings them together. Frequently, there will be some kind of early touch that excites an initial physical response for good or for ill. Sometimes, any kind of touch waits until the characters realize that they've started to first trust then feel something for the other. As they interact more and more, touches, accidental or otherwise, become more and more frequent until they make a realization of first an instinct to protect, then some level of trust, then romantic feelings. Sometimes, those feelings go unrecognized or misunderstood until the last few pages. 

[The dance--source]

The first touch is often just a brush, a light touch on the arm, a rescue, two bodies running into each other through force of circumstance, etc. As the characters become more and more interested then interactive, the touches start on the outside, an arm, a hand, clothing. Then, the touches tend to focus around the face, a touch of the cheek, foreheads touching, a light kiss somewhere on the head or hair. All of this may crescendo with a light then intense kiss. Some tales end with this. Some result in the two making some kind of commitment like living together, a title like boy/girlfriend, or marriage. If the romance is of the more intense (not classified as clean variety), the crescendo may be sexual in nature. This blog is not about that kind of romance novel, but they're common. The best way to get a feel for any kind of romance novel is, as with any writing, to read the masters and learn from those who know how to write the scenes you want to emulate. 

[Together in the End--source]

One way or another, your book can't be classified by publishers as a romance if the two characters don't end up together. It may take one book or two or three or several for this happily ever after. The rhythm of the dance and rate of movement from one level of touch and romance to the next will depend on your plans for plotting. Books like Twilight often have the couple together on some level by the end of book one. Everything that happens next just takes them through other adventures with the series ending only after marriage and childbirth. The reader can feel satisified if they just read book one. And sometimes, there's only a standalone, so there is no book two. Meanwhile, Vampire Diaries and several other books may carry on with a love triangle, building suspense over several books. Other books tag team, creating a series of romances all in the same world, interconnected but not the same romance, over several books. 

One way or another, if you want to write romance novels and get the feel for their rhythm, find which kind of romance novel you like and immerse yourself in them. Get a feel for how they're structured. Then, you'll be able to write them for yourself. 

Curses, Foiled Again

[Foils=Opposites who are also mirror images; source]

I've been blogging about how to write in a more literary fashion. Recently, I watched a video highlighting how the best villains are mirror images of the hero, or even the hero's greatest fears and desires taken to an extreme. There are many villains that don't do this, villains that are bad for the sake of being bad or so far removed from the hero that the hero defeating him/her/it is simply a thing the hero does as part of an adventure. The hero swings a sword and takes down a minotaur, but the minotaur is just a monster, not a reflection of the hero's soul. It's by far better when one remembers that story is character, and character is story. Most writers will tell you every part of the story should further the plot, setting, or main character along. However, if story is character, then it's better still when setting, minor and even major characters, and the antagonist help the character grow. The best kinds of antagonist-protagonist pairings are foils, opposites who are also mirror images of each other in many ways. 

[Star Wars-source]

If you think of the lesser Star Wars entries, for instance, they're about hero(es) fighting the empire. Main characters shoot their blasters, run around, go to hyperspeed, even swing a light saber, and bad guys go down. They fight big enemies, but those bad guys don't reflect any part of the hero. The characters do stuff, and stuff happens. But there aren't character arcs. The hero, Boba Fett for instance, goes out and fights monsters. He faces mobsters and governors and enemies of all sorts. But none of these challenges transform him into anything but the character he was in the beginning. Rey starts the story as a competent hero and ends the story as a competent hero. She fights bad guys. She stands up for the little guy. She even faces off with the Emperor's forces. But none of these things make her anything different than how she started. 

[Flat Characters-source]

The same thing happens in other movies, TV, books, etc. Disney's Hercules starts a noble hero. He gets a reputation for being what he started, but he doesn't change. Hades is his opposite in every way. Captain Marvel fights bad guys as a hero who always remains a hero. She gets more skills but doesn't grow. Her villain is not like her. Most Disney bad guys are the opposite of the hero(ine) in every way. You can read any of a number of pop lit books and find the same thing. Heroes go out and show how heroic they are, but they don't grow. Their villains are extremely different from them, dark and evil and black-hearted. They deserve to go down to the hero because the hero is Good. The bad guy is Bad. 

[Ben Solo aka Kylo Ren-source]

However, in the very same stories and sagas, you may also find villains that are externalizations of the protagonist's internal struggle. Ben Solo starts very much a follower of the Empire. He's been emotionally destroyed, like Anakin, so he turns to the Dark Side. But unlike Rey, his antagonists reflect some part of his soul. Rey mirrors back the Light Side he tries to hide. Snoke shows the powerful Sith Lord he wants to be. Emperor Palpatine echoes back to him the ultimate power he wants. He grows as he faces off with externalizations of his internal struggles. 

[Star Wars character development-source]

The same is true of the Mandalorian and Luke Skywalker. The Mandalorian has embraces a lifestyle all about money. When a child-father connection and love show him the errors of his ways, he has to face people just like how he has been, from bounty hunters to Mandalorians to force wielders who echo part of who he is and externalize his interior struggle. Each conflict helps him grow from misunderstanding to understanding until he becomes a hero. Luke starts a reluctant hero and a kid and, through facing off with his own father, the man who he can become, he learns what he does and does want to become in order to become a hero. 

[Rapunzel--source]

The best of the Disney characters also face off with their mirror images. Flynn Ryder from "Tangled" has to fight with his fellow thieves, his former allies, in order to grow from selfish thug to hero. Rapunzel has to face off with her own mother figure, someone who raised her, someone who she placed as her ideal self for all of her growing up years, in order to regain her identity. In "Encanto," Mirabel has to confront her grandmother who is like her in so many ways in order to save her family. Spider-man comes toe-to-toe with his professors, mentors, heroes, and other ideals, friends, and former allies to grow from clueless boy to great hero. 

[Snow White-Source]

One of the best examples in literature that comes to mind is the Grimms Brothers' "Snow White." Her Stepmother with the mirror is the personification of Snow-white's own vanity. The items that tempt her are a comb to make her lovely, corset laces to improve her figure, and an apple, representing budding sexuality. In overcoming the vain queen, Snow White overcomes her own vanity. Meanwhile, Harry Potter faces off with Voldemort, who, in childhood, could have been his mirror image. The main difference in their lives is one embraces dark, and the other embraces light. They are clear foils. His growth comes when he overcomes the personification of the path he chose not to take.  

Take a look at your antagonists. Do they reflect any part of your protagonist's internal struggle?  Is the tale one in which stuff happens, and people do stuff, or is there real growth as the hero faces off with someone that mirrors his dreams, fears, and flaws back to him? If not, how can you change that? 

Prepping to write your story

[Writing: source]

I've been blogging about how to write in a more literary manner. There are multiple things to consider as one starts a new piece in order to make it deeper, more meaningful from the start. It's not just a matter of just writing or spending endless amounts of time researching.  There are certain steps that will help one fully understand the story before starting. 

[Story bus--source]

1. First, when you have a germ of an idea, do a basic brainstorm about your story and characters. Who is your character? What era? What world? What is your basic plot idea? What is going to drive your story bus? By that, I mean will your story be driven primarily by character development (resolving your character's unhappiness/misunderstanding), plot (something's broken in the world, and your character needs to fix it), question (who dunnit?), or milieu (think Gulliver's Travels or Lord of the Rings--the most important character is the world.) 

[Harry Potter-source]

When you start one of these types of stories, it's not over until you've fulfilled the contract with your reader. Harry Potter, for example, is driven by all four. The story isn't over until Harry is happy, what's broken in the world is resolved, the mystery is solved (in Harry's case, a series of questions, one posed before the next is resolved), and the foreign world is introduced (we understand the basics of the wizarding world). I, personally, had a harder time getting into the latest Harry Potter-adjacent movies because they're more milieu-driven, more about the magic and denizens of the magic land than character development or fixing a broken world. 

[Building worlds-source]

2. Once you have the basics of your story established, this is when you get into more detail, understanding the world of your story. This would be a good time to do your research if you're creating a piece set in a different time or with characters grappling with an event or condition you don't understand. It would also be a good time to create your map of the location. You'll also want to establish a fictional (sci fi/fantasy) magical set of rules. Your characters and plot will want to stay true these rules if you plan to keep your reader involved. They can help you develop the power sources, magical rules, creatures, etc.

[Creating Characters-source]

3. You'll also want to understand your characters on a deeper level. At this point, you may have names, perhaps an interview with likes, dislikes, wants, needs, and a bit of a story. This is a good start, especially when it comes to wants vs needs. A plotline can be built around the conflict between what your character wants most vs what they need most. They may want to stay home and feel safe, but they really need to go on this quest, or their loved one will die. 

[Understanding your character-source]

Their protagonist's fears and desires could be the foundation for a friend or, better yet, antagonist. I always get a rough idea then decide on an enneagram (character) type, which gives me a lot more depth. These types come ready-made with a lot of characteristics. It can help you figure out your character's basic flaw and misunderstandings, which they then need to outgrow throughout their character arc. 

[Outlining-source]

4. Once you have world, character, and rough idea for a plot, those who feel comfortable with outlining can then outline a rough or even specific plotline. I'd recommend you refer to a three- seven- or twelve-act structure (various guidelines that walk you through the hero's journey) as a foundation. I tend to be a pantser who writes then outlines unless it's a plot-based story, in which case I use very basic outlines. One way or another, you'll want a tragectory of your story. 

[Just Write-source]

5. Once you understand your plot, characters, and world, it's time to simply write. I wouldn't edit, rethink, revise, rewrite in any way until I get to the end, or there's a good chance you won't finish. You'll lose steam and get frustrated. Revision comes later.  

If you don't already have all this planning in, you may not be ready to write your novel/biography/etc.  If that's the case, you may have some planning to do.  

Making Writing More Exciting

 

[Source]

I've been blogging about writing in a more literary fashion. Language and how to write in a way readers appreciate shifted a lot over the centuries. Writers used to use a lot of types of words and phrases that don't work at all now, so if you're going to write in a modern fashion, it's a good idea to read modern books. Ignore the tips below until you have a first draft. If you get bogged down in editing and reediting even before you have a first draft, it will take forever to get the draft.  Now, authors are more and more cutting deadweight and focusing on enhancing the reader's direct experience of the events in the story.  

[Source]

If you read older literary works, a lot of the authors used techniques modern writers avoid. Classic writers wrote using passive voice (The gloves were lifted), "filtering," (phrases that focus on words like, "I saw," "He heard," "She looked"), unnecessary adverbs, redundancies and overwriting (He trotted in on his horse--how else would you trot?), and purple prose (excessively descriptive).  Now, professional writers are moving away from all of these. 

[Source]

To cut the deadweight, start with the obvious. Any English teacher will mark up your work that is boring because it's so passive that it's hard to tell who does what. "The dog was walked."  Who walked the dog? Who cares because the reader isn't going to stick around to find out. Make sure to emphasize the actor of the sentence. A technique that is perhaps a little less known is to avoid starting with the character who is merely observing the action, which is called filtering. Just launch the reader into the events of the story, have them feel, see, experience what your story has to offer.  Instead of writing, "I looked out over the landscape, saw old trees, and felt the wind in my hair," write, "Wind rushed at me through the jagged, ancient trees."  

[Source]

Next, work on focusing on powerful verbs and only the most essential descriptions. Stephen King's main complaint with the early Harry Potter books was their excessive use of adverbs. One could say the same of the early Twilight books or most novice writing. Experts emphasize that one should especially avoid adverbs in dialogue tags. Find the right verb, and you don't need an adverb. "Jumped happily" could become "sprang." "Walked slowly" could become "Trudged."  Also, cut words that are made clear by any other word in the sentence.  Why should someone "smile happily" when happiness is implied in the smile? Why should someone "tremble in fear" when trembling is enough to imply fear? If your character is trembling with joy or anger, then, you may want to add the extra word because it's less obvious. 

[Source]

When you're going through your second or third draft, it's time to refine the language, to start seeking and destroying the deadweight, all adverbs that are not critical, excessive adjectives, filtering words and phrases, redundancies, and all other forms of overwriting. Give your readers the intensive experience of a well-written piece, and you'll go far. 

The Ordeal: The Soul-crushing Moment

[Trial by fire: source]

I've been blogging about how to make any piece of writing more literary. Most people have heard by now about the hero's journey. It's not hard to find the general order heroes' tales have taken throughout the history and even prehistory of literature. I've talked about how some of the best stories early on show the main character having their heart ripped out. The person/thing/goal/hope they care about most is ripped away from them, so the reader is tied to the protagonist by pain and loss. This can happen in the ordinary world or as the character crosses the threshold. We see them care, so we care about them. But one transformative moment I haven't addressed recently is the ordeal. This crucible moment, the trial-by-fire is a key moment that prepares the hero to face the antagonist during their supreme ordeal. This is often the moment when the main character must face a soul-crushing moment and become a true hero.  

[Harry Potter: source]

Many times, this is the moment the hero realizes they have been standing in their own way, that they need to sacrifice wants for needs, give up something significant for much more important. The moment prepares them for the imminent climax. Christopher Vogler writes, "Only through some form of 'death' can the Hero be reborn, experiencing a metaphorical resurrection that somehow grants him greater power or insight necessary in order to fulfill his destiny or reach his journey's end. This is the high-point of the Hero's story and where everything he holds dear is put on the line. If he fails, he will either die or life as he knows it will never be the same." This is when Harry Potter accepts he will have to die, to sacrifice all, to make the defeat of Voldemort. This is when Hamlet has embraced his own death in order to take down his father's killer.  

[Daredevil: source]

 Many modern shows feature this moment, the moment the hero allows his soul to be crushed as part of his preparation to defeat his antagonist.  In the Netflix Daredevil season three, he has spent the entire series taking on himself all risk, all danger, in order to protect those about whom he cares. This is what he wanted the whole Daredevil: I can't do this alone.  Has to let his friends sacrifice for him. This has been his most difficult sacrifice. He is standing in his own way by insisting he go it alone.  

[Spidey; source]

Meanwhile, Smallville is the opposite in some ways. Clark Kent realizes he has to give up his childhood, his life before, his place in hiding in order to become the great hero the world needs. He needs to embrace a future where he stands alone in the sunlight. In Spider-man: No Way Home, he, too, has to sacrifice his comforts, his childhood, his past in order to save the universe.  In The Batman, the most recent reboot, he realizes he has to give up his goal and the meaning he has stood for in order to be the hero those around him need.  In each of these cases, they realize they have to sacrifice and give up what they want for what the world needs. 

[Rising above the trial by fire: source]

This part of the ordeal, the crucible moment, is the moment the protagonist becomes a true hero.  Heroes go a long time and do a lot of heroic things without sacrificing what they want most for what the world needs of them. Earlier, they still act heroically but can't become what the world needs them to be, a true hero and master of both worlds, until they pass through the crucible/trial fire moment. Does your protagonist have a soul-crushing crucible moment, when they become truly prepared to face their greatest challenge? If not, how can you reshape your protagonist's story arc to make it happen?