Character Series
Part 09: Heroes - Part 1
Again, this post was really long, so it's
been split into two parts. Let's begin:
Everyone Believes They Are the Hero
Every living person believes they are
special. Every living person believes they are the hero. This is a fundamental
by-product of self awareness, an intrinsic part of being human. Your novel may
only have one protagonist, or it may have several. However if you want to write
realistic characters, you have to remember that every single character in the
novel, from the nameless guard to the queen to the villain, is the hero of
their own story.
The reason you choose your particular
protagonist for your particular story, should be because they are going to take
the reader on the most satisfying and intense emotional journey. Presumably
they stand the most to lose or gain, they are tied inescapably to the plot, and
they are an interesting, relatable character. And remember, if they aren't
relatable, they have to be very interesting (EG: Dexter in the Dexter series by
Jeff Lindsay). And if they're not very interesting, they have to be very
relatable (EG: Bella in the Twilight saga by Stephanie Meyer).
Resonance & Archetypes
Resonance in writing is building on what
has come before to give a sense of familiarity to the reader. This doesn't
refer to what has come before you in your novel, rather what has come before in
human history and the culture you are writing for.
If I talk about beautiful elves and
dwarves living in mountains and orcs and trolls being the bad guys, you're
going to think 'Tolkien'. However Tolkien was already using a lot of resonance
in his writing, referring to earlier mythology and stories. Likewise, there
have been thousands of authors who followed Tolkien, borrowing from the world
he created to write new worlds that still resonated with the same ideas.
Resonance is powerful, because it allows
us to draw on the emotions those previous works created. If you feel excited
and awed when you think of Lord of the Rings and the cover or synopsis of a new
book remind s you of Lord of the Rings, some of that excitement and awe will
resurface too.
The same goes for characters and
character archetypes. At different stages of our lives, we all have archetypes
we are drawn to, even if we are not consciously aware of it. Go and get the
last twenty books you read. Make a note of the protagonist's age, gender and a
few personality traits. Is something popping up again and again?
You probably prefer an archetype that is
your gender and age when it comes to protagonists. And you might have a type of
secondary character you love too. Personally I am drawn to intelligent, serious
and often cold characters who are neat, organised and precise. They are not
jokers. They are not messy or unorganised. They often have a strict, inflexible
moral code which may or may not be aligned with the people around them. I wish
this archetype was more popular than it is. It crops up quite regularly in
anime, but infrequently in books.
Your hero should match your target
audience. And it's not a bad idea for them to resonate with other popular
characters with the same target audience. Your character should also tend
toward morality--or rather, their morality needs to be consistent. Or shown to
develop and change as the plot progresses, driven by the events of the plot.
A hero who is against killing and actively
wants to help people, but who then kills some nameless guards without feeling
guilty or being otherwise affected, is an inconsistent character and their
morals and actions don't match.
Agency
Character agency is a term that is thrown
around a lot, but someone hasn’t explained it to you, it can be a bit tricky to
figure out. Simply put, a character with agency is taking action, instead of
reacting. They aren’t just a passenger, accepting what happens to them. They
are doing things to help or escape or somehow get ahead of the problems they
are facing.
Let’s say your heroine has been kidnapped
and locked in a cell. Does she wait for someone to rescue her? Cry? Tremble in
fear? Or does she come up with an escape plan. Does she do everything possible
to get herself out, including trying to dig an escape route or attacking her
captor or at least throwing a handful of shit in his face when he brings her
food?
Characters with agency TAKE ACTION, they
do not simply REACT after things are done to them.
Generally speaking, readers prefer
characters with agency. No one wants to read about the sort of loser that just
sits there letting things happen, never taking initiative. If Katniss hadn’t
taken initiative in The Hunger Games, her sister would have gone to the games
instead, died and the book would have been about Katniss slowly working herself
to death, slowly giving up, watching every year as more children went to die in
the same way her sister did. It probably wouldn’t have been a best seller.
Back to the Profile
In the second blog post in this series, I
talked about profiles. Your hero profile is very important, because it keeps
track of your hero's motives and goals, strengths, weaknesses, interests,
morality and relationships. It helps you keep them consistent and it helps you
end up with the kind of character you planned to write.
Your characters should have something
they want from the very first page. It should be something they want
desperately. This motive may be maintained through the novel or may change as
they develop. However starting with a need which the characters are willing to
make sacrifices for is important.
Your character should be a well rounded
person with interests. Have you ever met someone who has a boring job and no
hobbies and talking to them is like pulling teeth? No one wants to read about a
character like that anymore than they want to talk to them. Your character
doesn't have to be skilled at their interests. Maybe they like painting, but
they suck at it. Maybe they love football, but they're in a wheelchair and
can't play. Maybe they grew up in a cell devoid of human contact, but they
collect and breed cockroaches.
That said, you should be careful that
your hero isn't just the person you wish you were. It's good to share some
interests with your character--if you know a lot about horse riding it will be
easier to write a character who loves horses. But if your character is good at
all the things you wish you were good at and has all the things you wish you had,
you're not writing for an audience. You're just daydreaming.
Lastly, remember what I said about
strengths and weaknesses: Every trait a person can have can be good or bad. Any
strength you think you have can also be a weakness. Any weakness you have can
also be a strength. What is leadership in one, is bossiness in another. What is
loud and brash to one, is enthusiasm to another. What is compassionate to one,
is soft-hearted and weak to another.
So when you are giving your character
strengths and weaknesses, make them the same thing. Fun loving, but
irresponsible. A good leader, but bossy. A skilled fighter, but aggressive.
Intelligent, but impractical.
Your goal with a well written hero is
often to slowly turn these negatives into their positive, rather than reversing
them completely.
NEXT
WEEK - Part 10. Characters: Heroes - Part 2
The previous parts of the character development blog series can be found here:
5.
Characters: Gender and Gender Roles
6. Characters: Conflict, Conflict & More Conflict
7. Characters: Motivation & Stakes
6. Characters: Conflict, Conflict & More Conflict
7. Characters: Motivation & Stakes
