4 Great Reasons Why Your Hero Needs A Special Skill or Talent

There are many things readers admire about storytelling, but it is always the characters they fall in love with. This means our main character should always take center stage, and we must work hard to fashion a hero who is unique, authentic and worth rooting for.

To forge a compelling character, we need to dig around in their past to understand what experiences shaped them, who loved them, hurt them, and what needs and desires motivate them in the story. Based on what we learn, we then choose positive character attributes that suit their personality, and assign flaws that come from their fears, which will trip them up and make it harder for them to reach their goals.

Another facet of character creation is deciding what special skills or talents the character might have. On the surface, skills and talents make a character interesting, but choosing the right abilities can also strengthen your story and make your characters memorable to readers.

archery1) Skills & Talents Can Add Character Depth

Skills and talents can range from a person being mechanically-minded, to wilderness navigation, to having a knack for archery. What you choose for your character doesn’t have to be mainstream–in fact, sometimes unusual talents add originality (like knowing how to hot wire a car…especially if the character happens to be a high school principal!)

Skills can also show a side of the character that reveals something deeper. Consider a trained assassin who is able to attribute any bible quote to its chapter and verse. This not only alludes to a somewhat surprising upbringing considering his chosen profession, it also indicates intelligence and discipline. Discovering the hero’s talent raises questions, ones that will keep readers turning pages so they can discover the answers.

2) Skills & Talents Can Allow You To Deliver Backstory Without a Dump

As mentioned above, when a character displays an unexpected talent or a skill, others take notice. Better yet, the people around him in the story will ask about it, and this gives you the opportunity to deliver back story details in a non-dumpy way.


mask3) Skills & Talents Can Mask a Character Flaw

Each character is a mix of strengths and weaknesses, and flaws are what the protagonist must overcome in order to achieve growth and go on to attain the goal. The problem is that people don’t always know what their flaws are. The last place a character might expect to find his is in an area where he feels special or extraordinary, making it a perfect hiding place for their Character Arc epiphany.

For example, your star tennis player might be focused, talented, athletic and hard working. But he may also be a perfectionist, pushing himself and others to the point where it damages relationships or forces sacrifice in other areas of his life to compensate. Likewise, a talented healer character may be selfless, kind and generous, and have a friendly nature, yet her propensity for putting others first may mean she puts herself last, resulting in feeling unfulfilled and dissatisfied. Both of these characters will need to take a step back from their abilities if they want to gain insight into themselves, and achieve a better balance in their lives that will lead to greater happiness.

secret4) Skills & Talents That Might Seem Useless Can Actually Be the Character’s Hidden Strength

It’s common for someone to feel they have useless talents. After all, how can whistling or gaming skills aid someone in the real world? How can being a bit of a comic help the Hero achieve his goals?  This mistaken belief that one’s talents have no value can create low self esteem, especially when others reinforce this message through teasing or criticism. This gives the author a huge opportunity to stand the story on its head by building in a scenario where this very talent leads to achievement. As a result, reversing this belief in the character’s own mind about his value brings about self growth (the goal of Character Arc!)

So what is your character’s special talent or skill, and how does it fit into the story?

If you need inspiration, check out our Talent and Skills Thesaurus that we happen to be working on right now here at Writers Helping Writers! And if you have a skill or talent you’d like to see us profile, let us know in the comments and we’ll add it to our list.

photo credit 1: eyedea via photopin cc
photo credit 2: Sklathill via photopin cc
photo credit 3: Thomas R. Stegelmann via photopin cc


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17 Responses to 4 Great Reasons Why Your Hero Needs A Special Skill or Talent

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  3. Eva Lefoy says:

    Currently I’m writing a Yeti. I think that shifters are sort of a shorthand for special skills these days. That’s probably why a lot of people write them. A Yeti shifter would have certain physical attributes in his Yeti form but in the human form he might need something special too. Not sure what that is yet. Great post.

  4. Marcia says:

    Yes, this is so true! A talent immediately lends depth and interest to a character.

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  7. Thank you for the helpful post. My protagonist is an amateur PI with a great sense of humor, and it is his humor that makes him memorable, I’d like to think, even though it’s not his talent but character trait.

  8. My character’s special skill is leadership. I wonder if I should give him an unusual talent though, just to keep things interesting.

  9. I always find great tips and advice here. Thanks for this wonderful resource.

  10. So glad this is helpful. Personally I love reading about characters who have unusual or unexpected talents. They don’t have to be big things, either. This is just another layer of characterization that can help a character stand out to readers, and even something to personalize an antagonist to the reader or help make an anti hero more likable.

    And yes, anything that can deliver backstory without dumping is a win in my book! 🙂

  11. Mart Ramirez says:

    This is great advice, Ange. Thank you! I think sometimes we all get caught up with flaws and ticks we easily can overlook talents.

  12. Kelly Miller says:

    I absolutely love this post! The part that especially spoke to me was when you mentioned telling about a character’s special skill enables the reader to have a look into his mind and his past without having a big information dump. So many great tips!

  13. Love this, Ange. I agree about the point on dumping back story or using the skill to add back story in easy to ingest increments. You two are the absolute BEST! Great post!! 🙂

  14. Love this—the idea of giving a character a talent/skill that is meaningful rather than one that just makes them quirky or unusual!

  15. Great post, and something I need to apply to my current MC. Thanks so much. Clicking over to the Talent and Skills Thesaurus now. . .

  16. Karen Lange says:

    Great stuff, as always! Can’t wait for the new guide. Don’t forget hockey players. 🙂

  17. Jade champion says:

    Your helpful sight has given my thief a good head start along side for his love of getting his grubby hands on everything! But what would make a great talent, for someone with Fasd? Thanks for helping guys!

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