Creating a Hearthrob Hero…continued. 

My husband used to hate to dance.  Last year, because he’s a hero, he gave me dancing lessons for my birthday.  Now, this flaw kept him from dancing for years because…he was afraid of looking foolish.  (which is why we have to make sure our dancing is perfect. It’s like dancing with a drill sergeant.) I finally figured this out and helped him conquer this fear by buying us dancing tapes and letting us learn the basics in our kitchen.  Then, when we enrolled in dance class, he looked like he knew what he was doing.  (And wow, you should see him now!)  

Behind every hero’s flaw…there is a fear. 

Yesterday we talked about flaws…those problems our hero has that makes him less than perfect.  Flaw are important, because they lead to a deeper issue, and the third element of a great hero…

 What does your hero fear? 

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. Things that make him flawed.  Sometimes a novel will start out with his fear being realized, and the result is 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.

Let’s look at a few of the flaws from yesterday. 

The Sleeping flaw (While You Were Sleeping).  Jack can’t go after the woman he loves because he doesn’t want to upset the family.  His fear is letting down his family.   (as played out in why he won’t tell his father about his furniture business). 

In the Wedding Planner, our hero is engaged to someone else – the wrong woman.  But he is an honorable guy and he wants to see it through. His fear is breaking his promise to this girl – his college sweetheart and the woman he should marry.  He fears letting down someone who believes in him. 

How many of us have this fear?  Okay, don’t answer that, but is a legitimate fear, and one that drives a large majority of people through life.  The truth behind the fear is that we may be betraying more people if we don’t own up to the truth…our heroes learn it’s better to live in truth, and let a few people down, than live a lie. 

How about the Troublemaker flaw?  Jack, in Titanic, and Johnny in Dirty Dancing, and every bad boy that thinks he’s not good enough for the girl.  What are their fears….that it’s true. They are trash.  Of course, we, the reader, and the heroine, see the truth – they are honorable and worth loving. But having a moment where that fear comes true is a key element to helping that flaw feel insurmountable.  Like, Jack being arrested and handcuffed to a pipe while the boat sinks.  And Johnny being accused of fathering a child out of wedlock.  Make your trouble believe he is trouble, and his flaw will translate into a real fear.

The Playboy flaw is easy to diagnose – They’ve been hurt by women in the past. OR, better yet, they’ve had a role model who told them that commitment will only hurt them.  it will keep them from enjoying life, or achieving their dreams, or even make them miserable (like their role model).  In Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, his parents loved each other, but he choked on the night he should have asked his best friend to dance, and instead she had her first kiss with someone else.  He was so hurt that he ran to his uncle…the King of the Playboys, who taught him everything he knew.  His fear is letting someone inside, and committing to them. 

The Distance flaw (Sleepless in Seattle, the Lake House, somewhere in Time, You’ve got Mail) can have numerous fears.  Sam Baldwin fears not finding another love like he had before.  Sam, the hero in Ghost fears saying the words “I Love You” – until it’s all he has left.  In Somewhere in Time, he fears travelling back to the present and losing this love in the past.   When this exact thing happens, he has to confront his fear that he is from a different time than she is, and that perhaps they had their one chance.     

The key to finding the fear behind this flaw is looking at what they need to overcome to bridge the gap, and then tracking that back to a fear that might keep them from doing it. 

As your own Book Therapist look at your character’s flaw and ask:  what is the fear behind the flaw?  This fear will help you plot your book’s tension and eventually, the moment of….

COURAGE. 

Courage is the last element of a great hero. 

See, we won’t fall in love with a 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).

We cheer when Jack shows up at the booth, and drops in a diamond ring. When Johnny Castle charges back into the resort and takes the stage with Baby.  When Sam reaches out on the top of Times Square and takes Annie’s hand.  When Conner Mead (the hero in Ghosts of Girlfriends Past) chases the woman he loves through the snow to tell her he loves her. 

Give them a courageous moment where they will break through their fears, overcome their flaws and change into the perfect hero that saves the day.  (and gets the girl!) 

As you’re plotting your story, ask:  what moment shows his courage to change? (and then make sure you put that in your book!) 

Give your hero these four qualities, put them with a winning Heroine (which we’ll talk about next week!) and you’ll have heroes your reader will love.

Have a great weekend.  Hey – go dancing!    ~ Susie May