st his smile. The story is all about getting his smile back.

In Silence of the Lambs (1991), Clarice recites her backstory to Lecter - it is the moment when her inner challenges were born / her b

The Hero embarks on the Journey and Transformation, not to gain a capacity, illumination, power or balance, but to regain it. It is not the attainment of a capacity that helps the Hero conquer his (or her) challenges but the reattainment of it. The backstory should be viewed as the moment when that capacity was lost and everything that has occurred since then.

Looking at it another way, the Hero's backstory revolves around that point when his (or her) challenges were born and everything since and up to the present moment.

This is an incredibly useful fact, as it gives you an immediate and story-relevant handle on the Hero's past and character. This tells you what is lacking and what direction you need to push your story in order to rectify it. In City Slickers (1991), Mitch has lost his smile. The story is all about getting his smile back.

In Silence of the Lambs (1991), Clarice recites her backstory to Lecter - it is the moment when her inner challenges were born / her ba

her) challenges but the reattainment of it. The backstory should be viewed as the moment when that capacity was lost and everything that has occurred since then.

Looking at it another way, the Hero's backstory revolves around that point when his (or her) challenges were born and everything since and up to the present moment.

This is an incredibly useful fact, as it gives you an immediate and story-relevant handle on the Hero's past and character. This tells you what is lacking and what direction you need to push your story in order to rectify it. In City Slickers (1991), Mitch has lost his smile. The story is all about getting his smile back.

In Silence of the Lambs (1991), Clarice recites her backstory to Lecter - it is the moment when her inner challenges were born / her b

ero's backstory revolves around that point when his (or her) challenges were born and everything since and up to the present moment.

This is an incredibly useful fact, as it gives you an immediate and story-relevant handle on the Hero's past and character. This tells you what is lacking and what direction you need to push your story in order to rectify it. In City Slickers (1991), Mitch has lost his smile. The story is all about getting his smile back.

In Silence of the Lambs (1991), Clarice recites her backstory to Lecter - it is the moment when her inner challenges were born / her b

e and story-relevant handle on the Hero's past and character. This tells you what is lacking and what direction you need to push your story in order to rectify it. In City Slickers (1991), Mitch has lost his smile. The story is all about getting his smile back.

In Silence of the Lambs (1991), Clarice recites her backstory to Lecter - it is the moment when her inner challenges were born / her b

st his smile. The story is all about getting his smile back.

In Silence of the Lambs (1991), Clarice recites her backstory to Lecter - it is the moment when her inner challenges were born / her balance was lost (the story about the lamb).

In Midnight Cowboy (1969), Joe Buck has flashbacks in the bus. We learn his backstory - various moments when his inner challenges were born / balance was lost (he is abused and his girlfriend is raped).

In An Officer and a Gentleman (1983), Zach has flashbacks in the bathroom. We learn his backstory - various moments when his challenges were born / balance was lost (his mother commits suicide and his father is disinterested in him).

Post the point of imbalance, every great Hero undergoes a similar experience, which includes a period of obscurity and the demonstration of an extraordinary capacity for survival.