Lesson Six: Heroes, Sidekicks and Villains

What makes a good hero? As mentioned, the hero does not always have to be the archetypical ‘good guy.’ The hero does have to be sympathetic. Even if you use an antihero, the reader must be given good reason to care about him, support his goals, worry when he is in trouble and celebrate with him when he wins. Your first goal as a writer is to establish the hero and his goal (the story question) as soon as possible.

• Heroes are proactive.

  A person who is doing something is seen more positively than a person who is reacting to things being done to him or preventing something from happening. Heroes should take action. Occasionally the hero will react to a new circumstance, but she should always recover and move forward. A person who sits and reacts to one bad piece of news after another without doing anything is called a victim, not a hero.

• Heroes have clear goals.

   Readers want to have a straightforward conflict in the story. Heroes who are ‘trying to live a normal life’ or ‘working against society’ do not have clear, definable goals and will put your reader to sleep.

• Heroes have obstacles.

  Read more in Writing

  « Lesson Five: All About Characters

  Lesson Seven: Character Traits and Tags »

  Ever hear the story about the hero who got everything she ever wanted with no troubles whatsoever, was rich and famous and lived to be 1000? I haven’t either, because stories are about the troubles that your hero goes through to find happiness, true love, riches or whatever goals you have set before them. The more hardship that your hero must go through to get their prize, the more interesting the story is.

• Heroes have strong motivation.

  If your hero is after the prize because ‘they have nothing better to do today,’ then they need stronger motivation. The hero must desperately need the goal. The goal must be essential to their well-being, maybe even vital to their existence. If your hero doesn’t want the goal badly enough, then your reader won’t care if they achieve it or not.

Why do I need a sidekick? As mentioned before, a good story relies more on action and dialogue than on exposition. A hero needs to have someone to interact with (action) and speak to (dialogue) about his goals. The sidekick provides the perfect partner, sounding board and counterbalance for the hero.

What a sidekick IS: A multilayered character; an aid to move the plot forward; a complement to the hero to bring out and highlight his qualities; a character that can be enjoyed for his or her own qualities.

What a sidekick is NOT: An exact replica of the hero; always agreeing with the hero; a shallow character; boring; unsympathetic; can’t stand on his/her own.
What makes a good villain? The villain (sometimes called the antagonist) can be as entertaining as the hero himself. A good villain will keep the plot and story question lively, dynamic and always in doubt.

• Villains have strong motivation. The villain believes in his goals just as strongly as the hero does. Keep in mind that no one thinks of himself as ‘a villain.’ Your villain must do what he does out of belief that he is doing the right thing, at least ‘right’ according to his own world view and moral code.
• Villains are worthy opponents. In other words, don’t put your hero, the 30 year old boxing champ, in the ring with a 5 year old! Villains must be at least as strong, resourceful and cunning as the hero that they oppose. If not, the hero will prevail too easily and your story will be over before it has begun.
• Villains are dynamic and interesting. A good villain doesn’t stand around doing nothing until it’s time to do the next evil thing on the plot list. Villains actively plan, sometimes surprising and winning victories over the hero, usually when the hero least expects it. Don’t let your villain sit in a closet, let him intrigue and menace your reader!
• Villains appeal to our own evil side. Even as your reader is cheering on the hero, he should be attracted to the villain as well. The best villains stick out in our minds because we secretly admire their guts and sheer nerve.

The Bottom Line: Heroes, sidekicks and villains should all contain the qualities of a good character and serve their function of keeping the story moving, lively and engaging.