All I Need is a Hero

All I Need is a Hero: A Brief Study in Character Development

by Ruth D. Kerce

One day you wake up with the perfect idea for a novel. You sit down, and after sketching out some brief character descriptions, you begin to write. Soon it becomes clear that things aren't working out as you had planned. The hero of your fabulous story is causing you all sorts of problems. He just sits there, refusing to come alive.

The task of creating a memorable hero can be daunting, even for an established writer--and for the inexperienced, aspiring writer, it is often overwhelming.

Do you write a lengthy biography of your hero, spending hours, days, even weeks trying to flesh out his appearance, feelings, and motivations--then sink into despair when you find, after all that time, he still doesn't seem quite real?

Maybe you just dive right into the story and hope that his mystery man will somehow come to life among the pages. Do this and you'll likely create a man who is only slightly more interesting than cardboard and, by his own actions and words, contradicts himself at every turn.

You're now befuddled, depressed, and quite envious of those more fortunate writers who have somehow managed to do something that you cannot seem to grasp.

So how do you create a hero?

The task may not be as hard as you think. You already have your own heroes in life--in your own home, at the office, at school. Maybe there's a character on TV or an actor in a film that you especially admire.

Choose a man that you already know for your model. You'll know what he looks like, how he feels, what his motivations are, and how he will react in different situations. Simply change his name and plop him right in the middle of your story, no matter what the setting or time period--and viola, instant hero! But ... it can't be that simple, you say.

And you're right.

"The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials." --Chinese Proverb

You must develop your hero for the reader. You know who he is, but the reader doesn't. Well, that shouldn't be so difficult. You just describe him. But there's a trick. When you describe his appearance, feelings, and motivations, don't write them down as you would a grocery list. There is nothing more boring than reading 10 pages about the hero's clothing all the way down to the condition of his zipper, or hearing in detail about every trauma experienced in his life in what seems like an attempt to 'get it out of the way.' Don't force-feed information. Weave the details into the story, giving out only a little information at a time.

Keep the reader wanting more.

In your story, make your hero face trials and overcome these trials one by one. In the process he will reveal his motivations in life and what makes him tick. He must become almost larger than life, but at the same time remain quite human. He cannot be invincible, but must face his demons, whatever they may be, as a man, with all a man's strengths and faults. Through these trials, your hero will develop into something more than he was to begin with, something that maybe you didn't even know he could be.

This is when your story truly comes alive--so much so, that you are no longer writing it, but he is.

"Adventure is not outside a man; it is within." --David Grayson

So, your hero has killed the bad guys, rescued the girl, and saved mankind from destruction. That should be more than enough to satisfy the most jaded reader, right? Wrong! If you have simply moved your hero through his adventures, you have cheated yourself, the readers, and most of all, your hero.

You must delve inside his thoughts, his emotions--display them for the reader to see and experience. A hero without a heart is a hero nobody needs or wants. Don't be afraid to make him vulnerable. A hero needs weaknesses. This makes him human.

The bottom line is that you, the author, must love him. Even more importantly, you must like him. Only then can you truly show him for whom he is, and thus, allow your readers to like him ... and hopefully fall in love with him, as well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Writer of historical and contemporary romances,

and webmaster of Addicted-to-Romance.com

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