The Unwilling Heroine's Journey: Writing a Protagonist Who Fights Her Destiny

Hello, chroniclers of extraordinary souls,

June Skye here. One of the most compelling archetypes in fantasy, and one particularly close to my heart in The Night Chronicles, is the "unwilling heroine." This is the character who doesn't seek out adventure or power; rather, it’s thrust upon them, shattering their ordinary existence and forcing them onto a perilous path they never chose. Today, I want to explore how to craft such a protagonist, using Elizabeth "Liz" Mitchell as our guide.

1. Grounding in the Mundane: The Ordinary Before the Storm

To truly appreciate the seismic shift in an unwilling heroine’s life, we must first know her in her everyday world. Before Lunaria, before Daemon, Liz Mitchell was a young woman defined by familiar routines and relatable burdens. She was a bartender at "My Bar", a cornerstone of her family's life, a role she fulfilled with a sense of responsibility. This grounding in an ordinary, recognizable life makes her subsequent descent into the fantastical and terrifying all the more impactful for the reader. We see ourselves in her "before," which makes us empathize deeply with her "after."

2. The Echoes of Past Trauma: Vulnerability as a Foundation

Unwilling heroines often carry pre-existing wounds that shape their reactions to new crises. For Liz, the inexplicable disappearance of her mother, Margaret, seven years prior, is a profound trauma that has left an indelible mark. This unresolved grief is a core vulnerability, a source of persistent pain and unanswered questions. It makes her attuned to loss, perhaps even subconsciously braced for further disruption, but it also underscores her deep love for her family and her fierce desire to protect them when new threats emerge. This past trauma makes her reactions to Daemon's arrival and the shattering of her reality feel earned and deeply human.

3. The Awakening: Strength Forged in Fear, Not Ambition

The unwilling heroine doesn't typically seek power; often, it awakens within her as a terrifying, chaotic force, often in direct response to overwhelming threat or the need to protect others. Liz’s powers – the Susurri cold, the Anima fire, the mending Light – are not initially a source of excitement, but of profound fear and confusion. Her emerging strength isn’t born from a desire for greatness, but from a desperate struggle for survival, for agency, and for the safety of those she loves, like Maya and her brothers. This reactive strength, born from love and loyalty rather than ambition, makes her incredibly relatable.

4. Internal Conflict: The War Within

The core of the unwilling heroine's journey often lies in her internal conflict. Liz grapples not only with external monsters like Daemon but also with the terrifying potential and alien nature of the powers within herself. She fears what she is becoming, resists the destiny being forced upon her (that of the Scion of Two Bloods, Queen of Lunaria), and is torn between her desire for her old life and the horrifying demands of her new one. This internal war – between fear and courage, between her past self and her future potential, between her hatred for her captor and the confusing, unwelcome flickers of something more complex – is what makes her journey so compelling.

5. The Struggle for Agency: Small Defiance, Growing Resolve

Against overwhelming forces and seemingly inescapable fate, the unwilling heroine's fight for agency, for some measure of control over her own life, is paramount. Liz's journey is marked by moments of terror and forced compliance, yes, but also by sparks of defiance. Her demands for Maya's dignity before the High House Council, her challenging Daemon about his methods, even her desperate bargains – these are not the actions of a passive victim, but of someone fighting to carve out a space for her own will in a world determined to crush it. These small victories, these assertions of self, are crucial for her development and for maintaining reader investment.

Writing an unwilling heroine like Liz Mitchell is about exploring the extraordinary courage found in ordinary people when faced with the unthinkable. It’s about the resilience of the human spirit, the fierce power of love and loyalty, and the terrifying, transformative journey of discovering who you are when everything you thought you knew is stripped away.

What qualities do you find most compelling in an unwilling heroine?

June Skye