I am part of a great writers’ group that meets weekly to critique members’ work and to support one another in our writing journey. We recently started a podcast to discuss writing craft. Our sixth episode on YouTube asked “How do you make your hero??”
In this episode we discussed multiple books, movies and writing references that we go to when we’re looking for the models of great characters or the details on how to write a worthy hero.
Melanie opened with some great novels to check out. Fine examples of heroes with major flaws that are compelling and novel worthy are found in: Crime and Punishment, Emma, Lolita, The Lord of the Rings, The Maltese Falcon, Beloved, Things Fall Apart.
Wendy writes cozy mysteries. Check out Kat Out of the Bag to find out how she writes her cozy mystery heroine. Wendy also uses a great acronym to remember the important features of a strong cozy hero. A LARCH is a coniferous tree, familiar but each unique with many branches and always growing. So think LARCH for a cozy mystery sleuth: Light Flaws, Authenticity, Relatability, Community, Hook.
Avis points out how important a well done plot is in making your hero worthy. Check out A Writer’s Journey, by Christopher Vogler, and Save the Cat Writes a Novel, by Jessica Brody.
I find that a worthy character can be found in several characteristics:
- Character contradictions. Check out movie heroes with character contradictions: Rick Blaine/Casablanca; Elle Woods/Legally Blonde; Jean Valjean/Les Miserables; Sydney Carton/A Tale of Two Cities
- Risking something big: Frodo/The Lord of the Rings; Katniss Everdeen/The Hunger Games; Bennet girls/Pride and Prejudice; Hank/Selfies (Carl’s hero from his novel, hopefully coming soon!)
- Sacrificing something significant: Indiana Jones/The Last Crusade; Rick Blaine/Casablanca
Check out some or all of these great resources, and join us soon for our next episode.
My partners on the podcast include (in alphabetical order by first name):
- Avis Adams, an amazing published poet and YA writer whose novel is under consideration by an editor
- Carl Lee, a writer of paranormal fantasy – his first novel has also generated interest from an editor
- Melanie MacDonald, a mystery writer editing her first novel
- Wendy Kendall, the author of a published cozy mystery, and a soon to be released prequel novella in her cozy mystery world of Bayside
Join us for this episode at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMGSzGmhAOc&t=4s
Subscribe to our YouTube channel to see our subsequent videos! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj5RZS7tkuPKB4rvfWuER9Q
The Facebook page is at: https://www.facebook.com/flamingoswritenow/
