I gave it my very best shot. I’ve longed believed that a great writer also READS, so I try and read a great book every weekend. I love Friday nights – searching through my TBR pile to find the book that speaks to me, then settling down with a great novel late Friday night, reading it after Saturday morning chores are finished, and spending Sunday afternoon on the sofa finishing the book.
Unless that book is, say, a Diana Gabaldon novel. Yes, I did it – I jumped into the Outlander series to see what all the hubbub was about. At 550 pages, book one is daunting. . .until you start reading. (I’m on book #3, and while I spent 12 hours reading yesterday, I only managed to get half-way through the 870 page tome. . .but I will not be denied!) Yes, it’s long. . .and frankly, a lot grittier than books I normally read. But . . .
The Hero. Oh, the Hero. Jamie Fraser. What is it about this Scottish Highlander that is so appealing? The kilt? The brogue? The fact that doing battle for his woman is second nature?
Or is it simply that Jamie embodies so well the 5 traits that make a fantastic, heartthrob hero?
Honorable – Jamie is a highlander, which means he runs with a crowd of other kilted men. But Jamie is not like the others – from the verra beginn’ he has a sense of honor, a way of protecting the heroine, from wrapping her in his plaid to keep her warm to telling her that as long as she is with him, she’ll be safe. Despite his renegade past (he is an outlaw. . . but falsely accused), he treats the heroine with chivalry.
Flawed – Jamie also has issues. . .namely, he’s prideful. Which is played out in his stubbornness. So stubborn, it nearly got him killed, led to the death of his father, and gets him into one peck of trouble after another. Why is he so stubborn? Because his pride is all he has left after the English have taken everything else from him. I talked about FLAWS in previous blogs (find them HERE), but the great trick about a flaw is that you can use it to cause your character to make powerful plot decisions. For example, it is Jamie’s stubbornness that also allows him to rescue Claire (the heroine) over and over again (armed with nothing but his bare hands and an empty pistol, in one pivotal scene). And it is his pride that is eventually taken from him at the end of book one. (*warning, this sequence of events is particularly gritty/disturbing.)
However, it’s seeing him overcome this flaw, slowly, and finally emerging into a new person who can forgive himself and accept help is part of the heroism of the character.
Fearful – Our hero has to have a fear if he is to be real. Jamie is deeply afraid of losing the people he loves (he’s lost his father, believes he failed to save his sister’s honor, and fears, in the end losing Claire.) For Jamie, this fear is embodied in his greatest enemy, Black Jack Randall. This fear of losing the ones he loves is what causes him to make stupid – and heroic – decisions. But without a fear, a character can’t be manipulated, can’t be changed. Can’t overcome.
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. Or, the fear is built slowly, with revelations, to the Dark Moment story. Most of all, the fear will build until the Black Moment Event makes it real. And then, his courage to face it will cause him to change forever.
Courageous! – I’m not talking about his ability to pick up his broadsword and fight the English. Yes, he’s very heroic as he goes to battle in his kilt, but his greatest courage is found in his willingness to change. We don’t like heroes who are stuck in their ways, that don’t see their need for change. Jamie has a powerful come-to-Jesus moment when he realizes he’s married a woman who doesn’t conform to his highlander expectations of a wife and he has to choose between tradition and finding a new pattern for marriage.
Tender – Okay, I know this is where we say – hello? Is this hero realistic? But yes, a great hero has to have tender, heart-revealing moments. (Just keep them real!) Jamie is a warrior – he spends a lot of time ordering Claire around, telling her how to behave, and even dragging her headlong into trouble (and her, him!) But in between those moments, he’s not afraid to reach into his heart and pull out something swoon-worthy. One of my favorite scenes takes place after he rescues Claire from Black Jack Randall. He is furious with her because she didn’t obey him, thus getting herself captured. They get into a terrific fight until he says (my paraphrase), “You’re just trying to punish me for (essentially) not protecting you.” He then goes on to tell her how, when she was taken, he stormed the castle armed with nothing but his bare hands and an empty gun. And how she is “tearing his guts out.” Not the most romantic thing to say, but somehow this revelation is overwhelmingly tender and suddenly, we forgive him for everything he’s just said to her in anger.
How to give your Hero a Makeover: (Highlander Style)
- Make him honorable! If he’s a rogue, give him a good reason for it. And always treat the heroine with some measure of respect/protection.
- Make him flawed. . .and have him fix that flaw (mostly) by the end of the novel.
- Give him a real, founded fear, and have him face it (sometimes more than once).
- Show that he has the courage to change, by giving him small then increasingly larger changes through the story.
- Give him tender moments of revelation. (but make them realistic!)
Of course, it doesn’t hurt if your hero has russet whiskers, curly red hair, broad shoulders, blue eyes and always manages to show up just when your heroine needs him, ready to save the day.
Go! Write something brilliant!
