I enjoyed this so much, I'm reposting this article by Jody J. Sperling on BookFox.

I'd like to ask Sperling if this advice equally applies to young adult. If I get a response, I'll share it.

 Stories are only truly great when they confront the great fears.

Bernard Malamud knew this. His character of Roy Hobbs, a naturally gifted baseball player, was shot by a mysterious and seductive woman, which ruined his career in the big leagues. This was what Hobbs dreaded the most — a career-ending injury.

But in The Natural, that wasn't the end of Rob Hobbs many years later, past his prime, Hobbs returned to the Major Leagues as an outfielder with pop in his bat.

Then Hobbs is offered a staggering amount of money to throw the playoffs. He accepts the bet, and plays half-hearted baseball until the game's end. Down to his final at bat, the last out, Hobbs has allowed himself to be beaten, and his team trails in a do-or-die situation.

His conscience resurrects, and he decides he would prefer the glory of victory over wealth, but strike one, two and three sail past. Hobbs walks away a defeated and hideous creature.

The article continues here.