The best thing about writing novels is getting to create your own heroes. My Fairytale Trilogy series has female protagonists and they are awesome and so much fun to write, but there is something beyond fun about creating perfect (for them) heroes. Of course each hero should be strong, complex characters on their own…and hot. “Hot” helps too. Never underestimate the power of “hot.”
“’He is also handsome,’ replied Elizabeth, ‘which a young man ought likewise to be, if he possibly can. His character is thereby complete.’” – Pride and Prejudice.
The problem with writing heroes is they need a character arc. They need to develop, or learn something, yadda yadda. This writing conundrum has lead to a rise in what I call the “Bad Guy Hero.” There are several subsections of Bad Guy Heroes. Examples include the Reformed Rake, Vampires or Other Mystical Beings Generally Considered Evil-ish, the Self-Centered Tycoon, and the Pirate/Thief, just to name a few. Invariably these Bad Guy Heroes are discovered to have a Heart of Gold and/or their perfectly normal heart is gold-i-fied by love for the heroine.
The Bad Guy Hero is not necessarily a new invention, nor is he necessarily just straight up bad. He may just need some polishing, or to realize the Error Of His Ways. In my opinion, Mr. Darcy is the original Bad Guy Hero (and by original I don’t necessarily mean first, but most definitely the most influential in a literary context). He isn’t evil, or a thief, nor does he suck anyone’s blood, but he does fall a bit into the Self-Centered Tycoon archetype. He was given “good principles” after all, but he just doesn’t follow them quite the right way until he meets and falls in love with Elizabeth who shows him – wait for it – The Error Of His Ways.
There is a reason why the Bad Guy Hero is a thing. They’re fun to write, they’re fun to read, they’re fun to watch on screen (Han Solo anyone?). The second book in my Fairytale Trilogy, Atone: A Fairytale, has a Bad Guy Hero – I mean, it kind of has to, it’s an adaptation of Beauty and the Beast after all – and it is is heaps of fun to write the
interactions between the soon-to-be-almost-but-not-quite-a-”hero” and the heroine.
Just because a Good Guy Hero starts out good, doesn’t mean he can’t grow. He can go through trials, learn, and change. He just does it with in the context of not being a jerk to start off with. Peeta in the Hunger Games, definitely grows as a character. He goes through some major crap, but within those trials he desperately tries to hang on to the truth that he is a Good Guy Hero, even with though everyone is trying to rip that truth away from him.
Just for fun, I made my hero in Awake: A Fairytale not only a good guy hero to start with, but unconscious for most of the book. You know, cause I just like to up the difficult quotient for myself. Some may argue that my Good Guy Hero, Luke Reed (yes, quite possibly named after Luke Skywalker, first crushes die hard my dears), doesn’t have much of a character/growth arc. He’s a Good Guy Hero (and a total hottie) at the beginning of the book, then he’s knocked out by a magical curse, and at the end he’s still a Good Guy Hero. This is something I struggled with while I was writing him. I wanted him to grow as a character, even if it was subtle growth WHILE unconscious…and to reference some previous “right before the novel starts” growth. Did I succeed in making a character who is asleep most of the book into a valid, Good Guy Hero worthy of a heroine who undergoes quite a bit of growth on her own? You’ll have to read it and let me know! (See what I did there? It’s called “a plug,” people and I can just feel it working it’s magic on you right now).
So, to sum up: I love me a Bad Guy Hero with wonderful growth and character arc and “Omg I love that girl and therefore I realize The Error Of My Ways” moments. They make for some dishy heroes. But if you really want to make me sigh, give me a Good Guy Hero. Give me a Peeta, or a Clark Kent, or in my case, a Luke Reed. Good doesn’t have to be annoying, or whiny (I hear you all of you Luke Skywalker haters), or uptight. It can be honorable and dashing. It can be sweet and honest. It can be super, uber hot.
What about you? Do you prefer the reformed Bad Guy Heroes or do you prefer a hero that starts out good?
Want to win a copy of Awake: A Fairytale with its hot good guy hero? Jessica has offered one paperback copy to a lucky reader.
To enter:
1) Follow Jessica’s blog. (All links below)
2) Follow Jessica on Twitter.
3) Follow Jessica on Facebook.
4) Share a link to the giveaway on Facebook.
5) Tweet (up to once daily) about the giveaway, using the following tweet: Love fairytales with hot, good guy princes? Enter to win Awake: A Fairytale by @_JessicaGrey http://ow.ly/9Mu0T via @Nancy_Kelley
Giveaway is open to residents of the US and Canada until March 28 at 11:59 PDT. Winner will be chosen randomly and announced in a separate post.
Bio:
Jessica Grey is an author, fairytale believer, baseball lover, and recovering Star Wars fangirl. A life-long Californian, she now lives in Montana with her husband, Edward, and two children, Maddie and James, where she spends her time writing, perfecting the fine art of toddler-wrangling, and drinking way too much caffeine.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/_JessicaGrey
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/authorjessicagrey
I’m sith you Jessica, the Good Guy Hero is my favorite. I can’t wait to read your book!
I follow you on Twitter (DanieGirlASL)
I follow your blog.
I tweeted the giveaway.
https://twitter.com/#!/DanieGirlASL/status/182468831074189313
I follow you on Facebook.
Posted link to giveaway on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000959260593&ref=tn_tnmn
I’m just swinging by to gush…You said Han Solo! You said Han Solo!
::dreamy stare into the middle distance:: ::receiving weird stare from prof walking by:: Ahem. You also said Clark Kent… Clarrrrrk… ::another dreamy stare into the middle distance:: And Luke Skywalker ::crinkled nose:: Yes, it’s the whining. I can’t stand the whining! Ahem, again.
Where was I going with all of this? ::perplexed look::
Oh!
First: Cannot wait to read your BadAss Beast. I have a mega soft spot for Beasts 
), the odds of meeting one are kinda slim. Just because we live in that kinda world… But a Bad Guy Hero? The Han Solos? They totally exist. 
Second: I think one reason we like Bad Guy Heroes is because they’re more likely to exist. As much as we may swoon over the Clark Kents or Mr Kinghtleys (he’s a good guy hero, fo’sho! and I can’t bring myself to use “swoon” and “Luke Skywalker” in the same sentence
Third: What if Clark Kent and Han Solo had a love child?!? Sa-WOON!!!
Sorry, I had to toss that out there…
Rebecca, how did I know there would be Han Solo based swooning happening in your comment. And the Han Solo / Clark Kent love child would be too hot for this world
And I just realized how totally weird my last sentence sounded…
What I mean is – if you mixed all the qualities of a Han with all the qualities of a Kent and ended up with “This Hot Guy,” he would be way too hot for this world…
Ahem.
LOL! I thought “weird” was part of our charm
As to how you knew — well, I’m gonna guess it’s because you’re my long lost big sis
haha…
LMAO @ Rebecca and Jess!
I am so glad you posted this, Jess!
With Luke, I would agree that he experienced some growth. You conveyed the idea that he was changing right before the story and then he got to show it at the end. I don’t think Luke would have worked as a reformed rake character. I think he works as an unconscious nice guy, though, because the focus of the story, the change comes about for and because of Alexandra. So Luke hasn’t really changed, Alex’s opinion of him (and how readers see him) has changed.
And I think I’ve just worked out one of the problems I’ve been struggling with in “My Dear Sophy”! Croft is just a NICE GUY and he doesn’t even come onto the scene until the middle of the story.
Actually, come to think of it, I have written TWO nice guys into my story! I promise I do have quite the soft spot for reformed rakes, though.
There is nothing at all wrong with a NICE GUY, Kim
And I am so excited to read your Sophy and Admiral Croft story!
“But I was going to Toshi station to pick up some power converters!” Whiner
Okay, he’s a whiner at the beginning. Then he grows up and becomes an absolutely dreamy Jedi Knight.
True confessions: Luke Skywalker was my first movie crush.
Mmm, Good Guy Heroes are the most fun to have crap happen because they won’t let themselves do appropriately horrible things to the in-story causes 99% of the time
*cough*
And as long as you let them have their happily ever after with babies, you can do horrible things like KILL THEM OFF, and no one can say you were really *that* mean to them.
xD I’m contemplating being nicer to him while he’s alive…He might get more of a sex life, for instance. And really, I don’t kill him off for fun, I kill him off because Athanasius isn’t going to do NOTHING at that point in the novel… “Oh, my chief plaything is about to break free from the only things keeping him from murdering me in a variety of slow and painful ways.”
Just because a hero is totally good at the beginning doesn’t mean he’s totally perfect, or even perfect for the heroine. Luke Skywalker is a great example. As you mentioned, he does start out as a whiner–but that doesn’t mean he isn’t a good guy. It just means he needs to mature. It’s an internal character arc, rather than an external character arc.
Also, that picture of Peeta? So hot. Is it Friday yet?
Almost Friday! Soon
I absolutely adore the good guy hero! And I’ll differ with you enough to declare Mr. Darcy is solidly in the good guy camp. Other than a few snide remarks, his “bad deeds” only seemed bad in the eyes of the beholder (Elizabeth) because she misunderstands them or is misinformed. Even when he tried to bust up Bingley and Jane, it was what he thought best for his friend. But, like Nancy points out, good guys aren’t perfect and still have room to grow. All Darcy needed was a good woman, and now he IS perfect. Sigh.
Hmm, Shannon…I see your point, but I’m still sticking with my Bad Guy Hero declaration
But like I said, the Bad Guy Hero isn’t necessarily BAD…in this case just a bit full of pride!
gotcha
This makes me oh-so-happy! While I also have a very soft spot in my heart for reformed bad boys, it makes me a little sad to see how good guy-types have gotten pushed to the side. I’m currently working on a WIP where it’s the good guy who gets the girl (even though I find the rakish airship pirate SO attractive), just to balance things out a little bit.
Can’t wait to read AWAKE!
Thanks Lena! The rakish guys are always attractive, aren’t they
But yay for the good guy getting the girl!
I love how many of us appreciate the good guys (and want to write about them)! Now if only there were some of them in real life…
Love this post! Yeah, I thought Luke Skywalker was a whiner, too. I’m definitely in the Han Solo camp! I’m not much for Clark Kent..I thought I loved good guy heros but maybe not. I do love your Luke, Jessica, now he is hot! and not whiny!
That’s the key for me, no whining!
Thanks for the fun post and the entertaining comments!
He is indeed hot and not whiny at all
Luke ceases to be whiny by the third movie (yes, I said third, I don’t acknowledge the prequels).
Since we have all 6, and Jack loves them, I have to remember that the first is the fourth. Hate that.
Tweeted the giveaway again!
https://twitter.com/#!/DanieGirlASL/status/183234478771159040
I tweeted this
@jaffobsession
I follow Jessica on twitter
@jaffobsession
stopped in to read and comment on this post and found a giveaway! wow ~ perfect!
email fllwng Jessica..
twitter fllwr @_eHope
FB fllwng and ‘liked’
https://twitter.com/#!/_eHope/status/183956126893735936
tweeted ”)
I love the pictures, My favorite hottiw though is the guy that played Thor, ohhh! But don’t tell my husband. LOL
Tweeted the giveaway again.
https://twitter.com/#!/DanieGirlASL/status/184660295300550656
Tweeted the giveaway again today.
https://twitter.com/#!/DanieGirlASL/status/184991269175558144
tweeted
https://twitter.com/#!/_eHope/status/184999664179888130
[...] talked a little bit about why I wrote the hero of Awake, Luke Reed, the way I did (in this guest post on “Good Guy Heroes” on the fabulous Nancy Kelley’s site), but I have yet to talk about the [...]
[...] recognize Jessica Grey as the author of Awake, the modern retelling of Sleeping Beauty. She did a fabulous guest post for me in March on the appeal of the good guy hero, and she is also my Indie Jane [...]