How to Create the Perfect Heroheroes

Last week, I wrote about what I think it takes to write a perfect villain. If you haven’t read that blog post, I’ll summarize it here. I think ‘villains’ should be reframed as antagonists whose goals are in direct opposition to the goals of the main protagonist. In short, don’t think of your villain as an evil bad guy, just put them against the hero. This mindset gives a writer the ability to create multidimensional characters with fewer limitations. The good news is, that same logic applies to heroes. We all know that nobody wants to read about a flawless good guy, who must battle a monster in a war that they were always going to win. That trope feels dated and uninteresting to most readers, myself included. 

Having said that, sometimes I feel there's been a bit of an overcorrection in a different direction. We became so tired of damsels in distress and their knights in shining armor, that somewhere along the line, we started writing about bad-ass bitches and their morally-grey shadow daddies. We all know the trope I’m talking about. You know the stories where women are independent – but not too independent. Men are good – but not too good. Now look, there isn’t anything inherently wrong with writing this way. A lot of people, myself included, read books like this. I’m just saying it becomes a tiresome trope the five millionth time you’ve read it. Again, before my words get chewed up and twisted, I want to make one thing clear. I love this trope. I read about this trope all of the time, and will continue to do so whenever I feel like it. That said, it's not really how I like to write. Nor is it *chefs kiss* writing, in my opinion. 

So, what, in my opinion, makes a perfect, captivating hero? I’ll tell you. Similar to your villain, your hero should have flaws. And no, ‘I was a dick to you, but I did it to protect you’, is not a flaw. Make your hero do bad things! Write your hero in such a way that their negative actions cannot be explained away with a POV chapter. Many modern stories only dabble with the idea of flawed heroes without actually going there. They create the illusion of flaws, only to explain them away, keeping the reader comfortable. I can assure you, you’ll never feel comfortable reading my books. If your hero is a naturally incredible, badass fighter, maybe make them a bully. If your hero is a lovely, quiet ingenue, make them a pushover who is easily taken advantage of. It's okay for your hero to be selfish, or weak, or annoying, or mishandle justice at times, because those are things that all humans do, and more importantly, it allows for real, authentic, and interesting growth.  

Side note: Your hero can grow into someone better or worse than who they were at the start of your story. Who says that the hero’s journey must be one of improvement? As long as the process is well written, it will be interesting to read. 

So, just as I’m against purely evil villains, I’m also against purely good heroes. I think sometimes modern readers are fooled into thinking a hero is ‘morally grey’ simply because they have dark hair, and shadows following them around. For me, that doesn’t really cut it. I don’t want to write about a hero who is occasionally misunderstood for some spice. I want to write about a hero who, after you’ve already grown to like them, does something bad, causing you to question your loyalties as a reader. The key is to make the action understandable, but not necessarily justifiable. At the end of the day, you just have to remember that real life doesn’t draw a pretty line between heroes and villains, and neither do I.