Good and Evil - The Good Guys

So, what makes a super good guy? Is it his or her beauty? Is it their virtue, humor, bravery, capacity for self-sacrifice?

Well, maybe. But what I think makes a really great hero(ine) is his/her weaknesses. What are their human frailties? Where did they come from and what did that teach them about their world and their place in that world? What hurdles have they had to overcome? What are the characteristics that could trip them up on whatever quest you have them set out on?

Perfect people are dull, and they are very hard for a reader to embrace because of the fact that we can't relate to someone who is perfect. In fact, I tend to resent perfect characters. There is nothing more off putting to me that picking up a sci fi or fantasy and the leading woman/man is gorgeous and strong and everyone falls all over them... bleck! One of my favorite good guys is Tyrion Lannister from George RR Martin's 'A Game of Thrones' series, and I'm not even sure he's a good guy. I love that ambiguity, and I love the fact that he has a whole sackfull of things to overcome, but he just does. He's a wonderful character. On the other hand, a character I once liked, although never loved, Richard Rahl, has become far too self righteous and perfect for my taste lately. Of course, others may have differing opinions.

Also, as writers, complex, flawed and even twisted good guys make the writing that much more fun. Guiding a perfect being through an adventure is okay, but how much fun to have the rollercoaster of ups and down, failures, botched successes, and all the other weirdness that goes with being human.

As well, cardboard cut outs do not make for great heroes. Every character deserves depth and history and an individual way of looking at the world, but your protagonist even more so. Start right from birth and work your way up in creating their life story. Conduct in-depth, Barbara Walters type interviews with them to understand what makes them tick. With short stories, this might seem like a lot of work, and perhaps it is, but for novel length work it is a must. You should be able to say how your character would react if a time portal opened up and King Kong waded through to give your hero a kiss on the cheek. Most of our characters would run away, but some of you have characters--and you know who you are--who would think it was a unique dating opportunity.

If you are writing a heroic quest novel, there is actually a time honored formula that everyone from Gilgamesh to Luke Sywalker, to Frodo Baggins takes. If you want to know more, I suggest a very good book called The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell. It talks about the hero's quest and how it taps into a special place in the human psyche.

Just remember to keep those heros and heroines real, flawed and grounded in their world.

The last thing I want to mention is the merry band of companions who go on a quest in almost 90% of fantasy in particular. It really has been done to death, so if your hero is going to be aided on his/her quest, make sure that the band of people helping are not an elf, a dwarf, a barbarian mercenary ... etc. Obviously, none of us succeed entirely on our own, so your hero is going to need some kind of support system. I just encourage you to make it as unique a support system as you can.

Prompt: Sit down and have a chat with the hero of your work. See how he/she thinks about life, the universe and everything. Write an indepth interview and see if they don't have some things to tell you about themselves, their world and the journey they are taking.

Until next time. Cheers and good writing. kim