Brody identifies1 the following ten universal character needs (“life lessons”):
- Forgiveness: of self or of others
- Love: includes self-love, family love, romantic love
- Acceptance: of self, of circumstances, of reality
- Faith: in oneself, in others, in the world, in God
- Fear: overcoming it, conquering it, finding courage
- Trust: in oneself, in others, in the unknown
- Survival: including the will to live
- Selflessness: including sacrifice, altruism, heroism, and overcoming greed
- Responsibility: including duty, standing up for a cause, accepting one’s destiny
- Redemption: including atonement, accepting blame, remorse, and salvation
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Jessica Brody, Save the cat! writes a novel: the last book on novel writing you'll ever need (Berkeley, California: Ten Speed Press, 2018). ↩︎