Every book has to have one, a great hero who leaps off the page and into our hearts! Think of your favorites: Braveheart, or maybe Robin Hood? Maybe it’s simpler: Hugh Grant in Notting Hill. Whoever your favorite heroes are, they all have the same elements that make them heroic.
So, what are the elements of a winning hero?
- Noble – every hero has something to fight for. As Mad Max says in the Princess Bride-what do you have to live for? “True Love.” But every hero should have something he believes in, something we find noble and true and worth believing in him, even when he acts like a cad to the woman he loves. Maybe it’s a secret, or a wish, or a past mistake. It could be a dream, or something he’s protecting the heroine from. But it needs to be strong enough for him to win the reader. Give your Hero a noble cause!
- Flawed – Our hero has to be less than perfect. Something about him that makes him real. Maybe he has issues with recklessness, or perhaps he trusts too much and has gotten burned. Maybe he’s jaded and mean on the outside (but of course tender hearted on the inside). Something that is fixable, but less than perfect.
- Fearful – Our hero has to have a fear. This fear must be deep – one that would keep him awake at night, or drive him to do stupid things, make stupid decisions. Sometimes a novel will start out with his fear being realized, and the result being so horrible we understand why he will run from it. A fear will build until the black moment, and makes him human. The fear — and eventually his courage to face it, will cause us to love him.
- No Wimps! A hero has to have courage to change. We don’t like heroes that are stuck in their ways, that don’t see their need for change, who are unwilling to take up the sword and fight the battle. Why is the Matrix so popular? Because it’s about an ordinary guy who dared to reach out with his gut and fight for something real and better. He can be reluctant, for sure, but in the end, he has to see the greater good of going into battle for what he wants (and ultimately, for the woman he wants).
Give your hero these four qualities, put them with a winning Heroine (see matching article on creating Heroines!) and they’ll be loved by readers far and wide!
