I spent part of this weekend on a new project and as I sat musing about characters, I tried to define my newest hero. What do you think makes a hero great? Is it his body, his smile? Personality? Or maybe the way he interacts with the heroine?
Does he have flaws and do those make him seem more real? Maybe I should add a few quirks to his personality? Or give him something in his past, some tragedy he had to overcome?
All these thoughts ran through my head as I sat with pen and paper to “rough out” my hero.
I like complex characters, so I start building them layer by layer, adding depth and flesh. Ooh, now I sound like Dr. Frankenstein, huh? LOL.
But in a way, authors are like that esteemed literary doctor. We take bits and pieces of what we’ve learned through our experiences and add touches of them to our handsome project. Maybe the quirk of a best friend, the special “moves” of an ex-lover, the sexy smile of a movie star, or the voice inflection of someone we once met. Then we combine those elements along with our imagination and create our hero, our imperfect but sexy and lovable man that will fall for our heroine.
So I ask you, the reader, what do you like to see in a hero and what makes a hero great?
I like him strong… I have a hard time relating to androgynous or small heroes. Probably because there are very few small men of any note in my life.
I like him funny. He’s smart, so funny comes naturally. Mysterious, but not creepy. A little rough at the edges and maybe he could benefit from the lady’s love without “needing” it.
I like her love to transform him in a small, but powerful way.
Cool topic, CC– and gorgeous blog layout!
I love my heroes with that sexy little smile that makes the heroine’s heart drop to her feet! I also love heroes that are confident in any situation. I like for them to have their secrets too. Something they don’t want the heroine to know for fear it will make her leave him. A little vulnerability mixed with the confidence. I love quirks too!
Love your blog CC! :)
Cia
Thanks, Chrissy. I wanted the blog to be the classic colors of a newspaper. black, red and white with halftone images. An hommage to the old days when I was a newspaper reporter. :)
And I have to agree I love strong and mysterious men with a sense of humour. If he’s also tall, dark and handsome, I’m there! LOL
Hey Cia!
Good to see you here!
Thanks for stopping by and thanks for the comment. I love that touch of vulnerability. Brings out all those nurturing instincts. 
Love the topic. Loved Chrissy’s comment.
Hero’s need to be loyal, dedicated. Then there’s observant: they need to see the heroine as no one else sees her, appreciate her (lust after her) and somehow connect emotionally.
I like my heroes deep and full of dichotomies.
They can be hard if needed but are soft hearted at the core. They’ll have simple tastes but can easily handle themselves at a black tie dinner. They’ll be well travelled but prefer to stay at home.
Above all, they’ll have a lot of passion.
When I write the physical descriptions of my heroes I quite deliberately avoid the physical stereotypes like the one in the picture. I dislike those the same way most women dislike Penthouse Pets. Personally I don’t like stories with ‘hunks’ and ‘babes’. It bores me. I find it unreal and unreal in such a way that I can’t suspend disbelief.
Sorry for the rant.
Seriously, in life and in books it’s what’s inside that counts.
Imperfections.
They make men perfect.
I agree Mima, the hero has to love AND lust after the heroine. Without the intensity of passion and sex, romance is a little bland.
Rob, I asked for opinions, so nothing to be sorry over. And you are right. What’s inside is far more lasting and important than the outer package.
But I do like outer packages. The innies make me squicky.
Ooh Seeley, you are so right! Characters with flaws are so more interesting than perfect heroes.
Which is one reason why I titled the post What Makes A Great Hero, as opposed to What Makes A Perfect Hero.
No one is perfect, and if we want to be true to our audience, then we need to draw our heroes with those minor imperfections…or maybe even a major imperfection. But one that the heroine can deal with and still realistically love her man despite it.
Late to the party on this one.
A great hero is one who is very human–with flaws and strengths. The heroine becomes the driving force for his actions and motivations. I like them serious, but with a sharp wit. A great hero is very intelligent, confident without being overly arrogant and can “see” the heroine as no one else does.
I’m less concerned with the physical, though I have my personal preferences (I like them tall and dark-haired for the most part). I’m much more interested in the internal workings and character.
Take that with a grain of salt though. For practice in writing a difficult anti-hero, I wrote a fanfic where Grima Wormtongue from Lord of the Rings was the romantic lead.:eek: