4 Tips for Creating a Memorable Mentor and Hero Bond

By Chelsea Hindle

Mentors are great, aren’t they? They’re full of sharp wits, a good amount of insults, and they always have a wise word for our hero. They’re a well-beloved staple of every genre--from fantasy and sci-fi, to historical, romance, and action adventure. Just think about how much we adore Gandalf, Obi Wan Kenobi, Yoda and Mr Miyagi!

But have you ever stopped to consider why some mentors are so successful? Have you ever considered how to write an exceptional mentor and hero relationship that feels real and compelling? Well, wonder no more, for today we’re going to tackle this at length. Behold, four tips for creating a unique and memorable bond between your hero and mentor!

Tip #1: Give Them A Shared Backstory

Many books rely on the hero and the mentor meeting each other in the first few chapters and developing a relationship from there. 

This isn’t the only option though and, while not a “necessity”,  giving the hero and the mentor a shared backstory can be immensely impactful in your story. It changes the narrative from “two people getting to know and trust each other” to “two people who already know and trust each other going through life together and overcoming challenges”. It’s a great technique for creating a more memorable bond, so let’s have a look at an example.

Alfred Pennyworth, from the Batman comics and movies, serves as a mentor (and honestly, a common sense communicator) to Bruce. He works as the Wayne family’s butler and takes on a fatherly role when Bruce’s parents are murdered. This means that by the time we actually meet Alfred and Bruce, they’ve been together and in the position of mentor and hero for decades. Because of this we can dig deeper into their relationship and explore the more complex topics that come with it. It makes their father-son bond more believable and more satisfactory.

This tip can also add opportunity for surprise and a compelling twist. For example, in The Fellowship of the Ring, when Frodo discovers that Gandalf is much more than a simple peddler of fireworks, and is in actual fact a wizard caught up in a dramatic battle against an immortal Dark Lord. Or in Eragon, when Eragon discovers that Brom, the “crazy” old man who had trained him during the first novel was actually his biological father and a Dragon Rider.

Again, while this is not a necessity and some very great stories have been written where the mentor and hero meet each other within the narrative, consider whether your mentor and his mentee could be acquainted prior to the beginning of the story.

As an example, your mentor could be a family member of the hero, an uncle, father, aunt, or older sister. They could be a neighbor, a coworker, or the crazy old cat lady at the end of the road. The possibilities are endless, so let your imagination go wild!  

Tip #2: Bend The Mentor Stereotype

Sadly, while this tip should go without saying, it is usually taken for granted. If you say the word “mentor”, what comes to your mind? What comes to my mind is an elderly man, with a long grey/white beard, maybe spectacles or a monocle, and a penchant for spouting wise riddles, as well as an inability to be honest with the hero. As can be seen, too often mentors fall into a stereotype and, funnily enough, many writers don’t bother to drag their mentors out of this miry cliché.

A great way to create a more memorable bond between mentor and hero is to consider the mentor cliché, purposefully bend—or completely break—it and explore the ways this might change their relationship with the hero.

For instance, how might a typical fantasy quest change if the mentor was a young girl with a sharp temper, instead of an elderly man? Or how might a contemporary coming-of-age story change if the mentor was an older brother, or a stepmother trying to connect with her partner’s teen?

Also, for goodness sake, put as much effort into your mentor’s personality as you do the rest of your characters! Give them their own hopes and dreams, give them a personality beyond that of “wise and puzzling”. Make them short-tempered, or brash, or charismatic, or shy, or anything that makes them stand out from the grey-haired crowd.

A great example of this can be found in The Hunger Games. Haymitch presents a very different mentor to most. For one thing, he’s young—only about forty or so (a spring chicken compared to Gandalf). For another thing, he’s never sober, has PTSD, and has a very fatalistic outlook on life, as well as a knife-sharp sense of ironic humor. This brings an entirely different facet to the story, as Haymitch guides Katniss using his own personal experience, often bullies her into taking action, and, most importantly, gets her through the Games alive. The fact that Haymitch is so different from the run-of-the-mill mentor is what makes The Hunger Games work as well as it does.

Tip #3: Have The Hero Help the Mentor

This is another tip that really adds an extra level of depth to the bond between your hero and your mentor. Sometimes the relationship between these two characters is very one-sided. For example, while Yoda helps Luke improve his use of the force, Luke doesn’t do anything for Yoda in return. Again, this isn’t exactly necessary for an engaging storyline, but healthy relationships in real life go both ways, with both people giving and receiving, and it’s no different with mentor relationships.

A genre where this is actually quite common is the contemporary coming-of-age story, where a young and innocent child becomes friends with an old and usually crotchety man or woman. In return for some wisdom and maybe a horse, or a dog, the child often teaches their mentor a lesson. Sometimes the lesson is how to stay sober (why is this the plot of so many horse movies?), sometimes it’s how to fulfil the dreams they never pursued. Sometimes it’s how to let go of regrets and live in the moment.

But this is pretty rare in fantasy and sci-fi, given the fact that mentors present more as plot points and less as characters. It would be neat to begin including more of a back-and-forth relationship between our mentors and heroes.

For example, in the first book of Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn trilogy, The Final Empire, the rebel Kelsier serves as both a main character and the mentor to our protagonist, Vin. Kelsier teaches Vin magic (“allomancy”), gives her a safe place to live, and becomes her trusted confidante. In return, Vin becomes a surrogate as the daughter that he always wanted, provides aid in his heists, and—most importantly—tells him that his beloved wife didn’t betray him on purpose. They have conversations that they both participate in, they do things for each other and trust each other, and both Kelsier and Vin are complete, well-rounded characters and are definitely a memorable mentor and hero!

Tip #4: Give the Mentor a Motivation

Motivation: it’s one of those words that writers have thrown at them on a regular basis, often with no real understanding of what the word means. Motivation is, put simply, a reason for behaving in a particular way, and we’re encouraged to dig deep into the motivation of our hero and villain whenever we write a novel.

Why does the hero act the way he does? What are his goals? Why is he involved in the plot? And we ask the same things of our villain. What does the villain want? What do they hope to achieve? Why are they involved in the plot?

But rarely do we stop to consider what the mentor’s motivations are, and that can have a significant impact on the mentor-hero relationship. For example, A New Hope gives its mentor—Obi-Wan Kenobi—a solid motivation. He was friends with Luke’s father and he swore to protect Luke. Part of this vow involves teaching Luke how to use the force and training him in the art of lightsaber duels.

And to return to Alfred, his motivation for mentoring Bruce is originally that he works for his family, it’s his job. However, it’s undeniable that he grows to care deeply for Bruce, and this becomes his new motivation.

Sometimes, particularly in fantasy novels, it appears that the mentor is only mentoring the hero because they are “the chosen one”. And that is a very weak motivation indeed. Take the time to ask what’s in it for your mentor? Why should they dedicate—and in all probability, sacrifice—their life to a random kid? Do they gain from it? And is it a material gain, such as wealth or privilege? Or is it an emotional gain, such as a freedom from regret or guilt? Or is it simply their duty? Once you figure out what is driving your mentor, you’ll have a whole new level, with a lot of new complexity and potential, to take your mentor-hero relationship to.  

Well, there you have it! Four easy ways to deepen your mentor and hero relationship!

Who are your favourite mentor-hero duos? Do you have any suggestions to add to this article?