While I don't consider the protagonist's greatest fear to be positively vital to a good story, knowing it and working with it can certainly improve the story and give it more impact. Perhaps the reason I don't focus too much on fears, is because if you have the proper story pieces in place, your protagonist's greatest fear is likely already in place as well--you just may not realize it. But once you do, you can utilize it to better effect.
So let's dig into how to find your protagonist's (or any character's) greatest fear, according to story theory.
