My main character in my paranormal/fantasy/romance novel is withdrawn, uncertain of herself, lacks confidence, is fearful of many things in life, and generally feels unworthy as a person. She will eventually find the courage within herself to go into the unknown and venture into a different realm where she is forbidden to go... essentially, the strict by-the-rules girl is going to break the biggest rule of her life. Why? What would effectively serve as a catalyst for her to suddenly do something so outside of who she has been all her life? What would need to happen for said girl to decide, "That's it. I'm going, and nothing is holding me back" as she sheds the first layer of self doubt and uncertainty and begins her journey of self change and self awareness? It needs to be raw, emotional, believable and something the reader can relate to, perhaps even a reader who self identifies with the character's own struggles with feelings of inadequacies. I want the reader to root for her as she breaks free!
something beyond her control like her family losing all its money or position , or may be she has to to save a friend
I had not even thought about a rescue mission, i.e. saving a friend as you suggested. Many possibilities swirling around in my head now... thank you!
Having somebody or something on your side adds confidence, a friend to encourage (whether with you or in spirit), a loyal and capable pet possibly, or maybe a concealed (badass) weapon?
I don't know if your character has any paranormal skills or special talents? Having abilities that most others don't possess can boost one's self-esteem.
You say it's a romance novel, so, what if her romantic interest is what gives her that bold and daring spirit? I don't know if that messes with the outline you already had in place, but I find it fairly believable that someone would face their fears and venture into the unknown with someone they trust so dearly. Or maybe she could lose that person or have to face something daunting without him/her, placing the reader in the moral support role that her romantic interest used to fill. Just spitballs.
My MC in my WIP is in a somewhat similar situation. The way I do it, though, is that I'm simply pushing him into problems and undesirable situations so that he can become bold through that. And I personally think that's the best strategy. The most believable way people become daring is not simply through a firm resolve in character, but most importantly through a situation in which they have to opt between sink or swim. So push your character into the brink of this different realm and give her a situation in which she sees no other choice but to enter it. So she would be forced to develop a more daring character in face of the new challenges that arise in this new world.
Let me boil the thread down by asking one question. Everyone has something that they will fight for, what is that something for your MC? Once you have that question, confidence needs a history of success to be more than bravado, so (dare I say RPG style?) give her smaller victories that give her a reason to believe she can win the final conflict.
"We have to remember that what we observe is not nature herself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning." Honestly, I find that people always revert to type. So a coward with confidence issues cannot become bold and daring. However, people can and will risk everything when they are removed from their base selves. When we observe people, and they are attached to our societies, we experience these people as they wish to be viewed within the framework of the world we have created. People behave, more or less, how they should behave, within reason. If you want someone to behave outside of that, either give them a reason to leave that framework, or remove all reason and see what kind of person they might be when things stop being so easy to define. (I hope that makes sense, it's early and I've not had my cocoa). Give yourself a different name, try a different accent, and jump on a train far from where you live. Speak to people and create a personality that only exists for that purpose. You'll see how drastic people's imaginations of what they could be are compared to what they actually are.
I had exactly this scenario. My FMC was taken from her village, somewhat forcibly at age 12 with her brother aged 20. Chinese in appearance but with Roman ancestry and bilingual in Latin and Chinese, they are to serve as translators for a Chinese mission to Rome. At that tender age she is given to a mid-level Chinese official as his concubine and he keeps her thoroughly under his thumb, occasionally beating her for the next eight years. From that humble beginning, she has to rise to become a fighting woman and the strong proud wife of a centurion. THERE ARE A LOT OF STEPS ALONG THE WAY! To start with, she must endure what appears to be a hopeless situation with inner strength. There is a big difference between fatalistic acceptance of a bad situation, and a self-pitying, oh poor pitiful me, why can't I have someone who loves me? During this time, she has to care for her big brother, who has suffered his own catastrophe at the hands of the Chinese court, one that is irreversible: she becomes the pebble to his rock. Fatalism can be inner strength, self-pity is inner weakness (sorry if I offend anyone). From that inner strength, which she has in abundance as we get to know her, she evolves out of that situation. To paraphrase a female mentor who was critical in her development, if she is a strong person, she can become a stronger one. If she is weak, she is stuck in that role until she acquires some inner strength. Don't use tools or powers to give her strength. Strength comes from inside.
Attack her core values. Maybe following the rules leads to a greater evil than breaking the rules would have? Maybe following the rules would mean siding with unsavoury allies? Maybe she becomes a victim of the rules, or someone following the rules single mindedly with no consideration for circumstance (zealot etc.). Also, rescuing a hot chick always works.
You all are absolutely amazing. I have been stuck in such a rut with my character development that I decided to try a writers' forum for the first time, and I am so thrilled with all these answers I've gotten and wish I had asked sooner! The gears of my mind are already turning as I'm considering ways to weave several of your ideas/suggestions into one bigger theme that will help her find courage within herself. Thank you all again and PLEASE keep them coming!
This is also something I had not thought of in this regard... my (very) basic plot line has been for the main character to find her mate once she crosses over into the other realm, although "looking for love" is not the reason I want her to go. My novel will definitely have a romantic element, but I am not hoping to go all "Twilight" and have her refuse to live/breathe without him. I do, however, LOVE the idea of her losing that said person from her own world to the other realm and then maybe realizing just how much he actually meant to her and deciding to go after him (you never know what you have until it's gone type theme). But that would require an entire reworking of my plot line! So many ideas!
The main turning point for my FMC was having to confront her abuser, strengthened by having been treated with respect by all the Roman party for the first time in her adult life. She beans the bastard with a vase when he tries to beat her again, fears she has killed him (she hadn't). This generates the central crisis of the story: though Chinese, she is also a Roman citizen and the Roman party chooses to defend her though it may cost them all their lives. Suddenly she finds herself an object of value to others. Then she can and does find love, though at first it seems to be the last thing she will do before dying.
I am writing a story with a similar MC. For me, part of my MC confidence issues stem from how she was raised- her mother was killed being a hero and her father raised her to be cautious and fearful bc he didn't want her doing the same thing. Also, her mother was on the verge of finding out some dirt on the king, so he paid a family in her village to torment her and attack her self-confidence. (pretty much psychological warfare meets medieval fantasy) So when she starts realizing that she was deliberately sort of sabotaged in the confidence department, she starts realizing that hey, maybe it wasn't her fault and she could be different. Also, you need to up the stakes. You need a "Either I do this or this terrible thing will happen." For example, my MC's country is at war. If she doesn't seize life by the nuts and step up, all the new friends she met along the way might die in an upcoming battle. And her mother's death would have been for nothing, and her father's killers would win, bc he was killed in an effort to stop her from doing what she needs to. AKA....the motivation to overcome her fear of failure which is the root of her confidence issues.
Maaaaan murder justification is so blasé. Not that it doesn't work, because its the highest form of emotional blackmail a reader can endure, but it's just always the same. An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.
Can I just say- it does not happen, there is not a catalyst. If you are timid and shy, there is little that will turn you brave. Now I'm going to delve into the tedium of personal experience, as a little kid, I was timid. There was very little that would have turned me away from that, as much as I would like to think I would respond in a brave manner if I was pushed too far, or if the right circumstances aligned, I simply would not, I was too scared. What changed? Nothing, I'm still scared as shit... No, I learnt some Jujitsu and boxing, but it was not a swift process, it took a few years for me to reach the level of confidence where I could overcome my timidity. I just think the idea of an instant fix is unlikely. Edit: Ok, I might have taken this from the action hero standpoint. Okay, in answer to the OP, someone who takes her by the hand and forcibly drags her out into the world...
That is the case with my story too. There's a scene where the female lead falls into depression because her parents disowned her. The male lead, mad that this misery is what her parents want, drags her out of bed and gets her started on rebuilding her life.
As a rule-following girl of self-doubt myself, I can say that any time I've had to do something I was unsure of, I did NOT go into it boldly and fearlessly. I did it trembling and I'm-going-to-vomit-any-second nervous, and the more I realized I wasn't dying yet, the more confidence I had. Give your character a threshold to cross, and explore the inner battle of confidence vs. fear along the way.
How about a good supporting character that they can rely on to push them into breaking the mold. Have them be a close friend that they would hate to lose, and set off to go and get them back. While being skittish at first, works up the courage to venture into the other place and build up their confidence in their journeys amd trials. You could have her love interest get captured and builds up the courage to go after them, alternatively. While the love int. has no idea that the MC has a thing for them until the end. Though you might want to make the last quarter of the story building their relationship into something believable. Good luck with your story.
But this is a question I cannot help but ask. Imagine someone with my face and personality is in peril, surely that would be motivation enough to overcome your fears?
I suppose this goes back to the following expression. Courage is not the absence of fear, but the ability to face them. A character I wrote as a teenager, Kara, was timid and didn't believe in herself, but during the story the MC is injured protecting another member of the group, and Kara shoves her self-doubt aside to treat the injury out of concern for someone she had taken to see as a friend. It wasn't that she stopped doubting herself, or that she believed she could do it all of a sudden, but the desire to help her friend, even if a little, was enough to shove that feeling aside.