Psychologists such as Maslow assert we all have an intrinsic need for personal growth.

This need explains why we like fictional characters who grow through adversity.

The emotional journeys of characters in classic literature show us how to grow in our own lives.

Trapped in a job, a relationship, or an overweight or sickly body? Drifting through life without a direction or purpose? Yearning for something more, something vital in your life? If you’re like most people, the answer is ‘Yes.’ Realizing that is the easy part.

The harder part is knowing how to transform, heal, master, or whatever dimension of growth you seek. That’s why self-help books, which might as well all have the same title Three easy steps to becoming more than what you are, sell so well. They don’t so much sell insights about how to leave your old self behind as they sell raw, unrefined hope.

But there’s a more enjoyable way to learn how to grow: From stories.

Working around Hollywood for over two decades, I learned that a script must have a satisfying character arc, where, for instance, the hero starts off wanting one thing, but through adversity, learns to sacrifice what they want to get what they truly need. For example, Rick Blaine, hero of Casablanca, starts off wanting Ilsa, but gives her up to embrace what he really needs: to recapture his idealism and pursuit of a better world. Rick became the person he could be, not the person he was.

Hollywood demands stories driven by........

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