Writing Tips -- How To Make Heroes Deep And Realistic But Not Evil Pt 1:

An interesting thing that crops up in story commentaries is the idea that bad guys are the ‘cool’ ones.  The ones with the awesome theme songs, the ones with edgy character designs, and the ones that sometimes gain the audience’s sympathy whether or not their behavior would be acceptable in real life.

This happens partly because the heroes aren’t allowed to be fully fledged beings often enough.  Real people fail and make mistakes. Real people are wrong sometimes or even hold subconscious beliefs that we might not.  In short, real people have depth and struggles, regardless of how we might perceive those struggles.

Thus, this post will explore some ways to make heroes deep and realistic without making them evil.  Now, some of that could depend on how one defines evil. Does evil mean fighting for what the viewer considers to be the wrong side, regardless of the reasons?  Or does it mean that the character makes upsetting choices? Or, heck, does it just mean that the character knowingly hurts others for fun or for their own gain on a regular basis?

For the sake of this discussion, let’s put all that aside and make a separation between people and their behaviors.  Most people will do both good and bad things over the course of their lives, so when I say ‘good’, I don’t mean it in the sense of someone that never makes grave mistakes.  Instead, I’ll be referring more to who that person is at their core, or perhaps even what they will become in the future.

Now, to begin addressing the issue of depth in hero characters, begin asking these questions about the heroes:

What are they fighting for and why?

At what points do they question themselves?

What do they struggle with and why is it important to them?

What shifts do they make over the course of their lives?

Do they ever have doubts that make them wonder and change their minds eventually?

In terms of personality and beliefs, what about them is different, especially from those that are on their ‘team’?

That’s just a starting point.  But, if two or three questions like that aren’t important to the character, that’s a pretty decent sign that they’re too shallow.  A character like that risks coming off as a Mary Sue, or being boring or annoying for some other reason. They might also bother the readers because in spite of the author’s best efforts, that character might still be wrong or come off as pointlessly arrogant, and if there isn’t enough questioning or growth to offset that...the character’s realism and appeal will decrease.

To fix this, consider what positive and negative actions a character will take, given his beliefs and desires.  Don’t idealize him too much.  Not even our favorite people will be consistently able to avoid being disappointing.  Instead, allow for a realistic pondering of cause and effect. For example, if people have an important belief or goal, they often won’t be nice to someone that treads on that in some way, especially when they’re younger and less understanding.  Figure out what it would take for the character to act in a less than ideal manner. Furthermore, how does that affect his life and the behavior of those around him?

Everyone will have some sort of flaw that lasts a lifetime, but good people often realize at least a few of their flaws and try to get a handle on them.  Beliefs also change in response to new information, or perhaps even horrific situations that force a character to reevaluate their life and figure out where things went wrong.

At those points, it’s not necessary or always realistic for a character to flip a 180 and turn his back on everything he thought before, though he might feel he has to for a while.  Instead, he might simply develop more nuance and perspective to his mindset. Or maybe he changes the way he expresses or acts on his beliefs. He could, for example, continue to disagree with a friend’s viewpoint or even feel upset about it in his head from time to time, but he could also decide that he still respects and cares about his friend regardless of any differing opinions.  Thus, those two chars fight less.

If you’re worried about the character having such big flaws that they would be seen as villainous, realize that the character’s flaws don’t have to be huge and obvious at first.  It could just be a couple small flaws, like procrastination, having a temper, etc. Just make sure to give those flaws the exploration they deserve. Things like that will permeate every fiber of a person’s being and affect them in ways they don’t anticipate.  Procrastinating could, for example, make someone miss a deadline and thus make them lose a job opportunity. The fallout and how the character handles it is what will shape him.

Depicting realistic mind changes takes practice, though, which can come in the form of authors putting themselves in other people’s shoes more.  They can also think back to how their own behaviors and beliefs changed over time. Paying attention to how these shifts happen in other people is also a useful tool.  

Other than showing realistic growth in a good hero, it is also vital for authors to consider how they’re presenting their characters in the first place.  Does the hero in question seem to have his own life and identity, or is the author merely using him to say ‘this is a perfect model for this one thing I’m talking about’ or ‘this character’s opinions are definitely right all the time’.  

It’s not to say that stories can’t have a message portrayed through the characters, but like it or not, someone in the readership can find some flaw in the hero.  And then they will probably bristle if that character is pushed as some kind of ideal example when the flaws make him anything but.

Using characters to represent themes and ideas is a great storytelling tool, but if the story details the character’s thoughts and actions, don’t approach them in a shallow way.  Don’t fall into the trap of acting like the character is right about everything. Instead, simply show the character’s journey. Allow for challenges or mistakes in the character’s ideals, because if the authors are afraid of depicting such things…  That will only weaken the presentation of their beliefs and characters.  

Lastly...be willing to show true challenges to the characters themselves.  This is somewhat in line with everything else, but there’s another aspect I want to discuss.  Occasionally characters will argue with someone the author would disagree with, and the character in question will know how to make all the good points, and will almost seem to be talking to a straw man for how little their opponent can put up a fight.  

It’s not to say that heroes can’t win arguments, but it’s important to ask how likely that would actually be under the circumstances.  Furthermore, how realistic are their opponent’s responses? Consider that the opponents have their own backstory and reasons for their beliefs and might be able to throw the hero for a loop, whether or not they’re on the ‘right side’ in a debate.  Regardless, the opponent probably isn’t saying things because they woke up one day and decided to be stupid and wrong for the sole purpose of aggravating people. They have reasons, and addressing those reasons will make the story stronger and maybe teach the hero something.

This can actually make a story much more exciting, because just like with a physical fight, the readers might wait in anticipation for who will come out the victor.  And just like with a physical fight, losing can motivate the hero to question what he’s been doing all this time and make necessary changes in his life.

Alright, that’s all for now.  I’m thinking about doing a second part to this at some point, so let me know if you liked this or have questions.  Have a good day!

Writing Tips -- Why Is Romance Important?

Romance kind of gets a bad wrap for being silly and frivolous when included in a story.  In some cases, this is for good reason. Mainstream media often depicts romance in a stereotypical manner, or in a way that’s so cheesy most can’t help but scoff at it.  As a result, some might see it as an annoying interruption, a deviation that has nothing to do with the main plot. Furthermore, some people have little to no personal interest in romance, and thus have no desire to include such things in their story.

Some stories are indeed better when devoid of romance, but there are many cases where a tale may actually benefit from the inclusion of romantic elements.  For the sake of this post, ‘romantic elements’ will encompass the normal connotations of falling in love, but also other issues that surround it, such as lust and marital conflict.

First and foremost, romance benefits stories by reflecting reality.  Romance impacts everyone, even those that abstain from relationships.  When people’s parents don’t get along, that shapes their childhood. Furthermore, practically no one would be born without romance and lust.  In general, even societies that lack romance and handle reproduction through more scientific means were probably affected by romance in some way.  In all likelihood, something in their history made them see romance as a hindrance to progress and thus caused them to focus on other means of sustaining their population.  Thus, even then, some sort of romantic element might merit discussion to explain the origins of that society.

There are ways to avoid a story being impacted by romance, but they often require writing about beings vastly different than us.  Having all the chars be immortal is one method. Another is to write about a completely asexual species that has always been like that and has no contact with creatures that reproduce other ways.

Romance can provide sequel material.  If the main character’s story arc is over, either because they died or they are done adventuring forever, sequels are going to have to focus on other characters.  Although it may be possible to use previous side chars or new chars as the sequels’ protagonist, focusing on the next generation instead may have more impact. This gives authors a chance to build off the previous arcs of well loved chars and show how they impacted others.  A character’s behavior is often going to impact their family greatly, after all. Even further, the character’s children can provide a fresh perspective on previous events and people.

Using next gen characters is also usually easier than starting completely from scratch, since next generation stories ground readers in pre-established situations instead of having to take time for exposition to introduce new ones.

But next generation characters are harder to introduce without some degree of romance(unless the stork dropped them on the parent’s doorstep one day).  If someone has a biological kid, the question of who that kid’s other parent is will likely come up at some point. Maybe the question would realistically occur in the story, or it will simply be something readers want to know.  But having a kid is a process, an entire segment of the character’s backstory, and thus would impact the character almost regardless of the circumstances around their child’s birth. If, for instance, a man has a child because he got married and his wife died in childbirth, that should have some bearing on his characterization.  In turn, this will have a bearing on their child’s characterization.

Writing romance well can be very vital in cases like that.  Main characters have the spotlight on them. If everything else about them is well written, yet their romance arc is flat, stereotypical, and/or barely discussed, it might weaken the story’s quality.  Or, even worse, it can cause people to misread the character. If a character is supposed to be kind hearted and empathetic, yet his spouse dying in childbirth has no impact on his behavior going forward...he may come across as callous, or at least inconsistent.  It would also be strange if that romance arc didn’t impact the character’s child in some way. The child might not be sad, due to not knowing the mother, but such things would impact how the child grows up and sees the world. This can fuel a sequel by giving the next generation character challenges to work through.

Romance is an excellent way to explore human psychology.  Many normal relationship dynamics, such as friendship, conflict, etc. are present within romantic relationships, but the two characters are more deeply intertwined.  Because of the impact they have on each other, their relationship dynamics are magnified. If two regular friends don’t get along, it’s usually a lot easier for them to go their separate ways, so we may not see what would happen if their conflict worsens due to close proximity.  

In a romantic relationship, however, breaking ties can be harder.  The two chars are more likely to be emotionally bound, or they built a life together that will fall apart if they stop interacting.  Factors like that may force them to stay together and in conflict far longer than people who are just friends. This is the perfect opportunity to show how a detailed, somewhat inescapable conflict looks like over the long haul.

But conflict isn’t the only psychological aspect that can be explored through romance.  There’s also long term friendship and camaraderie. Normal friends have a higher chance of moving away and growing apart, but a romantic partner may very well stay there a lifetime, if all goes well.  This can be used to explore how such close friendship impacts someone’s life. When people always have someone they can count on, that greatly affects their behavior. People might be a little more daring or effective if they know someone’s always got their back, for instance.

Romance doesn’t have to be cheesy or stereotypical.  Not only can it can be an intricate study of human nature, but it can be used as a well thought out plot device.  The way people treat their significant others, for instance, says a lot about them and helps with characterization.  A romantic partner can be a help or a hindrance, depending on the story. When characters responds to each instance of that, they show who they are and move the story along.  At that point, the romance doesn’t have to be sappy and cheesy, but an interesting set of behaviors instead.

If authors want to write stories and characters that feel real, they often need to address romantic elements at some point or another.  Simply because of that, learning to write romantic elements adds another tool in the author’s arsenal. One way to start learning is by finding shows/comics/etc. with well written romantic elements and various types of relationship dynamics.  When people find romantic elements in a story they enjoy, it becomes far easier to internalize how to add those elements in their own tales. Additionally, pay attention to romantic elements that occur in real life and compare them to romance stories that seem poorly written.  Based on what is seen in real life, what did those romance stories do wrong and right?

So, just my two cents worth on the subject. What are the best and worst examples of romance writing you've seen? What are your habits/opinion when it comes to romance in stories?

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