What is your least favorite type of hero?

[Anonymous]

@kathleenramm Don’t apologize! I totally agree!

Haha. Well, I’ll tell you like I told Abigail:

The #1 answer would be that I read romance, and I’m more liable to fall in love with Mr. Darcy than Lizzie, if you know what I mean. I like heroes more because I can fangirl over them and dream about meeting the real life version of them one day. XD

But from an author’s standpoint, I dislike a great deal of the heroines in books I read because of (a) how shallow they are, (b) how feministic they try to be, and (c) how different we are. With the hero, I don’t expect to be exactly like him–mainly because he’s a him. But with the heroine, I like to have common ground. I like her to be strong, but not feministic. I like her to gain respect and superiority by being worth it, not demanding it. I like her to care about other people, respect authority (particularly the male variety), and trust God.

However, I find a lot of heroines–even historical romance ones–try so hard to be something they are not. They’re rebellious against authority simply because it’s male (like fathers, for example) and demand respect they don’t deserve. They refused to depend upon another person or on God, yet they can’t find their own footing and take care of themselves.

I prefer to read about a heroine who is not better than me or worse than me. I want an equal, a friend. Someone with faults and good qualities. Someone I understand or can come to understand. Someone who is like a friend to me.

Another reason why I don’t like heroines is that they’re underdeveloped. I can come to love a character I disagree with if they’re well-developed and realistic. Like Elizabeth Bennet or Alice Knight (from The Chronicles of Alice and Ivy). But most authors rely on tropes, clichés, and other popular characters for their heroines, which makes me dislike them all the more because they’re unoriginal and based off a character I didn’t like to begin with.

Make sense?

But I LOVE writing from the female perspective. I’m all about my own heroines, and I find that most of them are strong, tough, and sometimes even kinda feministic. Like Rina, for example. She’s a pirate captain in the 17th century, a girl holding a man’s title. However, I gave her charisma, natural dominance, and compassion for other people (she eventually turns from piracy XD). So instead of demanding respect, she earned it. Instead of rebelling against authority, she respects it because she understands their position. Instead of being selfish, she gives to other people in her time, resources, and love. She’s not perfect, no, but she’s definitely not cliché!

But then I’m a misogynist by definition, so my views differ greatly. And you just got my chauvinist word vomit all over you! XD My apologies.   Hopefully you don’t mind…

[Mallory O’Bier]

I think my least favorite type of hero is the chosen one. It’s pretty overdone, and at times so cliche. I don’t hate it, though.

Also, the Mary Sue hero, because it’s just really hard to relate to and like a hero that is overpowered through basically no effort of their own, always gets stronger right when they need to, and never seems to actually struggle at all or experience any real character development. It’s downright dull.

[Mallory O’Bier]

I think I know what you mean, @gracie-j. Good heroines are hard to find. Elizabeth Bennet is definitely one of the rare exceptions. She’s brilliantly written, and we’re the same personality type (ENTP), so it’s hard not to like her. We think too much alike. 😉

My sister is an INTJ and she likes Darcy for the same reasons. We enjoy debating and analyzing Pride and Prejudice together.

Including Elizabeth, I can probably count female literary heroines I actually like on one hand. I usually prefer reading stories with male main characters instead, and most of my favorite books have them.

However, (unlike you) I am not fond of writing the female perspective. I prefer to write from a male POV (probably because it is less like me so I can rely on my imagination more instead of getting hung up on being realistic, also it’s just more fun) than to write from a female’s. When I realized that my current WIP would be best with a female MC, I was hesitant. I didn’t particularly want to spend that much time on a female character. Still, I had to choose what was best for my story, so I grudgingly gave in.

There is a male main character as well, he’s just not the POV character. He’s really fun to write and I enjoy their interactions (I love writing dialogue), so it helps make up for it. 🙂

[Madelyn]

Hey, @kathleenramm!

For me, it would have to be the selfish characters. They may not always be blatantly selfish, but I see it sneaking into fiction today through the dramatically misunderstood, rebellious, or discontent characters. Those kinds of characters encourage bad behavior and focusing on oneself, so definitely something I would love to see less of!

~In Christ Alone My Hope Is Found~

[Elfwing]

@kathleenramm

I dislike the rebellious kid/YA hero…

like Elsa from Frozen; she is a terrible heroine in my opinion; she runs off and expects it all to be fine. She thinks no rules apply to her and acts in a way that hurts everyone and then expects no one to get hurt by her actions even when inuring them more. I am glad that she does get into some trouble towards the end and then realizes she’s wrong, but she still doesn’t have any permanent consequences. It gives people an unrealistic view of life and encourages them to decide who they’ll be and that they’ll do what they please when they please and not have any real responsibility.

By far my least favorite hero is the domineering-bossy-perfect girl-hero who is portrayed as stronger than all the guys in the book. I can’t stand reading books like that. I mean, it’s not realistic; why is she the boss to begin with? Why not have her be the friend/sister with the guy and he is someone who leads/really helps/protects her, instead of him being the underdog and sidekick who just comforts her when she messes up or does something stupid?

Yes, sometimes girls as the MC is cool and fun. The Viking Quest series by Lois Walfrid Johnson being a favorite of mine. the main character is a girl named Brianna O’Tool, but she’s not perfect, she fails and doesn’t choose right sometimes, she almost gets someone killed out of her stubbornness. But when she struggles and falls, she looks to God for help and relies on Him. She also depends on her brother Devon to an extent.

So I’m not saying a heroine is bad, but don’t make her dominant over everyone. It’s not realistic even though popular culture promotes for women to be at the top.

Men are stronger than women. it doesn’t mean we are inferior, men are just meant to be stronger. Plain and simple. God made them that way, so they could protect the women in their lives. They were made to be leaders and that’s what they should be.

I'm 'a homeschooler' because cookie-making writing artistic animal-whisperer isn't a job title

[Ariel]

@kathleenramm

My least favorite type of hero is the one who ALWAYS does the right thing and ALWAYS knows exactly what to do, no matter what.

[Madelyn]

@elfwing

I really liked your points about rebellious characters and domineering girls. I see that a lot in stories nowadays (especially Disney), and I believe it’s something that needs to be called out.

Also, I agree with your points about how men and women are portrayed wrongly in fiction. Strong female characters should not mean physically strong and basically better-than-everyone-else characters. Some well-written strong female characters I’ve encountered in books would be Nia (The Wingfeather Saga), Ellen (The Wide, Wide World), Carliss (Lady Carliss and The Waters of Moorue), and probably quite a few more that escape my memory ;P

Also, I love The Viking Quest Series too!

 

~In Christ Alone My Hope Is Found~

[Elfwing]

@madelyn

Thanks! Yes, I agree about it needing to be changed. People get whitewashed so easily, but that’s a subject I should probably avoid on here so I don’t divert from the subject XDD

Yesss! A fellow Knights of Arrethtrea fan! I just started Chuck Black’s Starlore Legacy series. I suppose I shall see if they’re any good. I got, like, halfway through chapter one and it’s cool so far.

and that’s so cool you like the Viking Quest series too! *high fives *

 

I'm 'a homeschooler' because cookie-making writing artistic animal-whisperer isn't a job title

[Anonymous]

@overcomer Exactly!!

Since I read mostly romances, I’m either stuck with just the heroine’s POV or the heroine and hero…but I almost always prefer the guy. Women are just so strange. XD

I know how that is, though. I do enjoy writing from the hero’s POV, and would probably do that more often if I weren’t so unsure of how convincingly male they seemed. XD I find it easier to write from the perspective of girls who are waaay different from me (like Rina, who is more like Jack Sparrow than like me XD), or with strong personalities that make their character less confusing.

I have a lot of guys like that! (Lookin’ at you, Julius. *winks*) They’re so much more fun than the heroines…

[Madelyn]

@elfwing

Definitely!

Ooh, yes, I love Chuck Black books!! Hmm, I’m not sure I’ve heard of that series. Maybe I’ll look into it!

Yeah, the Viking Quest series is awesome!! *high-fives back*

~In Christ Alone My Hope Is Found~

[Elfwing]

@madelyn

Yeah it’s more of a Sci-Fi genre, and really cool so far!

Yes, I like Mikkel the best of all the characters to be honest,

oh, and the Freedomseekers by the same author is amazing!

I'm 'a homeschooler' because cookie-making writing artistic animal-whisperer isn't a job title

[Author]

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