We’re talking this week about building a heartthrob hero into our stories – if you want more about building a hero – and characterization in general – go to our archives. There, you’ll learn how to build a hero from the inside, out.
Yesterday, we talked about a hero having a Noble Cause – that thing that makes him likeable and drives him through the story, through all the obstacles and conflict.
Today, we’ll touch on the next element….
Your Hero must have a Flaw
Your 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 tenderhearted on the inside). Something that is fixable, but less than perfect.
Let’s look at some of our favorite movies and their flawed heroes:
While You Were Sleeping – Jack refuses to tell his father that he doesn’t want to be in the estate sale business anymore, and keeps his furniture building business a secret. He also doesn’t want to “steal” his brother’s fiancé. (which is admirable, except that, well, we want him to speak up, too!) His flaw is that he holds back when he should charge forward. We see this timid flaw played out in movies like the Wedding Planner or Two Week’s Notice.
Titanic – Jack’s flaw is that he is a gambling vagabond, not good enough for our heroine. Of course, we see his true value, but he struggles with feeling that he deserves her. He is also a bit of a troublemaker, and gets her into trouble as well. Again, we might find these admirable, but still, they make him less than perfect. This is a common flaw – we see it played out in movies of all genres from Shakespeare in Love, to Moulin Rouge, to even A Walk to Remember. Even, Dirty Dancing. The “wrong” guy, the trouble-making guy, the rogue from the other side of the tracks is a favorite flaw and one that works time and again.
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past – I’m just going to call this the Matthew McConaughey flaw, aka, the Playboy flaw. He has this same flaw in How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Failure to Launch, Fool’s Gold, even Sahara. Mel Gibson suffers from it in What a Woman Wants. It’s that…”I love the women, but I don’t want to commit” issue. Deep inside, of course, the playboy is afraid of rejection. We all understand being afraid of rejection, so we forgive them…if they promise to amend their weasley ways when they find the right woman.
Sleepless in Seattle – Sam Baldwin is…too far away! His flaw is that he lives half-way across the country from the heroine, and he doesn’t even know her. Separation by time and/or space is a great flaw. It’s often a construct of plotting, yes, but in the end, they have to confront the “distance” and do something to overcome it. We see it in movies like The Lake House, Somewhere in Time, even You’ve Got Mail (where they are separated by the internet). Even Sam, the hero in Ghost has this problem. These heroes are flawed in the fact that they are distant, and have to make the effort to bridge that gap.
I know there are other flaws out there – things that make our heroes less than perfect, but still loveable by the right woman. What are your favorite flaws? Go to www.mybooktherapy.ning.com and join the discussion!
And by the way, if you’re writing a romance, I’d encourage you to attend one of the “How to write a Best-seller” conferences that I’m doing with literary agent Chip MacGregor. A great opportunity to get a crash (but thorough!) course in writing commercial fiction, as well get feedback on your idea from one of the industry’s top agents. Our next one is in a few weeks in Atlanta! Check them out at: http://www.themasterseminars.com/
See you tomorrow when we talk about the last two elements of a heartthrob hero!
Susie May