Heroes Don't Have to Be Boring | On Writing

how do you make purely good Heroes interesting you know characters who go around inspiring others to be better to be more like them so much of non-fiction these days prefers darker grittier more morally mixed Heroes that even traditionally Paragon characters like Superman have been reimagined and more dramatic darker ways literally and figuratively in the case of the snydervers I mean his character I can Man of Steel is should I save these people I don't know it's a joke it's a joke part of it is that people want to read and write characters who are more morally and personally conflicted and that's fine sorry this one is just absolutely demanding baby you know characters like descard in Blade round 2049 who can become disillusioned or characters who are going to struggle over what's right and wrong like Jaime Lannister and Paragon Heroes aren't gonna do that so much so for a lot of people they're just not very interesting but that doesn't have to be the case and here are four things that you can do to make pure good Paragon Heroes fascinating like number one getting nebula the streaming service that was started by and is owned by creators us real people where we don't have to worry about the algorithm being demonetized it's awesome and the sponsor of today's video use my link down below to get it super cheap and access to my exclusive Beyond writing series part one being the Paragon isn't easy Captain America I'm gonna do this all day he is probably the most famous example of a paragon character today and I wouldn't call him boring no so much of the tension in his stories comes from how difficult it is to keep choosing good in Winter Soldier he has half of his friends turn on him the government as well all because he believes the right thing to do is helping Bucky and nothing will determ from that he resists the temptation of a huge surveillance system for moral reasons the way that other other characters like Nick Fury just don't it makes his job harder but it's his principles in Civil War he ends up sacrificing his position his citizenship alienating his friends and destroying the Avengers virtually as a force in order to do what is right in his mind so you know with these Paragon characters you've got to consider how costly it is to follow their unbreakable moral rules and repeatedly increases the tension for your purely good hero let their morality create obstacles let it damage relationships let it create difficult dilemmas Cap's friend or his country his morals or his allies putting a paragon in a position where every choice is a bad one can be a really interesting story to tell but fundamentally if being a paragon is easy then you kind of start sliding into that Mary Sue territory where you know they're always right and nothing ever goes wrong and everyone's meant to agree with them but if it's hard if it's a struggle then you're telling a story about a good person in really difficult times and we love stories like that people often say that Paragon heroes are simple because you know they're not wrestling with what's right and wrong and that's the type of tension that we really like today but why does someone choose to be good all the time how do you know that you're doing good what does it do to how you view other people and the world these are really interesting character nuances that can create a really unique perspective a really unique person sometimes being the Paragon hero can create tension with other characters sometimes I want to punch you in your perfect teeth because you might be looking at this person who seems to have it all together they're always right they're so certain of who they are and it's frustrating like you don't think they're going to understand or maybe respect how other people around them even struggle even if they are inspiring even if they are the ones saying you've got to do better all the time it can create some distance between them and you know other anti-hero type characters this is actually wired or Frodo is pure of art he takes on the ring out of self-sacrifice and not a desire for power he inspires others around him but in the end he succumbs to to the ring you know Tolkien is almost making an interesting commentary on the Paragon archetype here you know that nobody can make the right choice every time we are human the Paragon doesn't really exist that true good is found in how we strive to do that good for as long as we can and Frodo failing only at the last moment but don't have time to get into all that here let's look at an extreme example in Ned Stark right Ned Stark is kind of a paragon character he's a morally right and likable hero but he is a paragon in a world where being morally right has no relationship to whether or not you solve the tension in the story here being a paragon isn't just difficult it makes you dead and for a writer that has thematic and symbolic meaning in the world of restaurants Martin has written a world that critiques fantasy is like the good leader being the moral one or that bad people are always made with Justice that things turn out all right in the end does the power of friendship even matter in this world which the Paragon will often tap into right the place and fate and suffering of the Paragon character is going to say a lot about your themes but perhaps even more importantly part two Paragons have feelings too if they don't struggle then it can feel a little bit like oh wizard did it except this time it's a morally upstanding wizard that knows exactly what they're doing at all times this is another misconception so because traditional Paragon heroes are usually morally right likable Inspire others around them and generally get the job done they don't tend to have as much of a character Arc Lyra balakwa from Philip Pullman's his Dart material series is kinda a paragon character at least in the first book she does what's right because it's right is under terrible goes around inspiring people and turning enemies into allies she fits a lot of the tropes but she's also lonely she never feels like she truly has a home and struggles with the fact her parents have largely rejected her in life Lyra doesn't really struggle with moral issues and she doesn't have a huge character Arc in the book but she does struggle with social issues and grief after the loss of one of her oldest and only friends with betrayal after betrayal because she wants to believe the best and people around her doctor who actually takes the fact that the doctor inspires so many people around them and subverts it by highlighting how it means that people keep on sacrificing their lives for his causes basically the man who abhorses violence never carrying a gun but this is the truth doctor you take Ordinary People and you fashion them into weapons these are people who want to turn their enemies into allies rather than beat them up and being the Paragon how do you live with that being morally right doesn't mean they aren't Reckless and it doesn't mean that they're smart either Labrador Heroes can be a lot of fun idealism can make a character blind to how others are treating them or the true threat at hand and these feelings don't need to be turned into much of an arc but it really does help when they're expressed but even though Paragon Heroes you know like Paddington don't tend to have much of a character Arc this is where the the lines blur between all these terms because I love when they make an exception to that for a paragon sometimes a paragon can be wrong maybe they were tricked they didn't have all the information or their inflexible morality meant they ignored some important context and it led them down the wrong path or some other characters might just legitimately disagree you know your Paragon doesn't have to represent the perfect moralism that you as the author want to dictate to the readers now Aang in The Last Airbender isn't truly a paragon but I love the episode The Southern Raiders where Katara confronts the man who killed her mother and and insists that forgiveness is the only path this is something that a paragon would probably say but what makes that episode so clever is that the story does not tell you that Aang is right like a lot of stories might say the Paragon is right instead it explores how sometimes things can hurt us so deeply they're so traumatic that forgiveness isn't really possible and that that's okay revealing a paragon in a more morally nuanced world that can be a really interesting place to explore them in you know the way they think and why they think the way they do that it can expose some of their blind spots it can develop their relationships with other characters they can have the purest of intentions but sometimes there is no single right path to take and this can cause conflict even in extreme circumstances turning them into the antagonist if say your story is about an anti-hero trying to get revenge there are stories with that's understandable that some people might even say is morally right but it is because the Paragon hero does not typically have a huge amount of character development that the real function they play in The Narrative is part three how the Paragon changes characters around them the doctor from Doctor Who is one of my favorite characters of all time and they are four the most part a paragon type character broadly they do what is right because it is right ceaselessly and without fail there are exceptions I'll say as the Lord of time are mine I they want to pay me but generally they fly around inspiring others to be better they're humble despite being the brightest person in every room they're kind to everyone high and low they abhor violence despite being capable of it and they don't become a god even though they have the power over all of time and space again with exceptions as the laws of time are mine and they will obey me but so much of Doctor Who turns not on how the doctor changes as a person for the better but how he changes the people he meets through sheer force of personality and goodness I mean I'm not even kidding when I say that a huge plot point is how in a dire moment the doctor cries out for help and a million a million planets come to his Aid because he has inspired them all to be better Donna Noble literally starts out as the meme I'm 27 years old I've no money and no prospects I'm already a burden to my parents she's got no self-esteem she thinks she's incapable and worthless but the doctor inspires and helps her to see herself in a new light and for one moment my Shining Moment she was the most important woman in the whole wide universe still is she's my daughter and maybe you should tell her that once in a while character arcs usually involve a complicated web of what a character thinks they want what they truly need and lies that they believe about themselves or the world and the Paragon will usually be able to see through the lie like the doctor knows that Donna is special in fact he believes this so firmly so much that he actually doesn't even realize for a long time that Donna genuinely thinks she isn't worth anything special he he thinks that of course that's not true it's so obvious to him that he doesn't even consider that her self-esteem is really that low sometimes they will be able to see or represent what a character truly needs like the doctor convinces another character Captain Jack Harkness one of those anti-heroes who starts out motivated by money and sex that he doesn't want to be a lone wolf out for himself that what he truly wants what he truly needs is a cause and purpose to be part of something greater so if you're crafting a paragon hero consider how they might fit into the arcs of other characters around them give them scenes to make decisions that other characters will also have to face up to at some point later in the story and then they can remember back to what this character did if another character is about to give up show the Paragon pushing on and let that motivate the other to keep going you know if a character is deeply struggling with something like addiction or loneliness have the Paragon reach out let them empathize let them become the nuts and bolts of other characters arcs this is why the death of a paragon character can affect the story so much they're often the linchpin that brought the characters together they kept them together that change to them and now they have to wonder who they are without this person do they fall back into old ways do they try and live up to the standard they set do they step into their shoes does it Inspire them further Ned Stark's death mind you was basically the inciting incident for a lot of of the other stories in the series like that was pretty much when all of the different perspectives split off all because he died and they're all thinking about him for the books to come and this is why I think in a lot of paragon stories I've noticed the tension the plot the story is often resolved by the other characters around them who do have those character rocks they might play a huge role in their development but in the end it's these characters who have to come together and and solve the story and it's not always the case but it does create some extra narrative thrust to kind of their role in the story that they Inspire and change all the characters around them and then that lets the story resolve itself and it's why Paragon characters tend to appear in group settings a lot more as well you know thanks Superman but there is a problem with them and that is part four the problem with reactive scenes reactive scenes are where something has just happened there's been some sort of conflict and then the characters react to it they feel they face a dilemma and then they make a decision so in Avatar you know Zhao just killed the moon spirit and everyone is horrified they're reacting their name faces delivery doesn't know what to do and he decides to merge with the ocean Spirit the problem is with these three beats where does the Paragon come in because if they typically know what they believe morally then the dilemma and decision beats even if they struggle a little bit aren't going to carry as much weight so I've been looking at it and Paragon reactive scenes typically work best with two things one the reaction beat right you focus on that beat so Lyra struggles don't derail her not not usually they only tend to fuel her desire to do right by others more to go on a bigger better Adventure but we see her Express a myriad of emotions That Make Her relatable and interesting anyway you know grief heartbreak as she meets a kid who has had his soul ripped from his body I'm not kidding and wonders what they would feel like is pretty horrifying you know people process emotions in all sort of unique and interesting ways and that can give characters real Nuance even if they know what they're doing morally so exploring their emotional reaction to Any Given conflicts beat is really really important two the dilemma and decision beats are more often about the decisions of the characters around them so in Doctor Who there's an episode where two characters are on the verge of committing genocide and giving it into their worst Natures after being beaten the doctor pushes them not to do that in a powerful speech about the power of friendship basically and the speech by the way is the doctor's reaction beat it is his emotional reaction but he does not for a second question in whether war or genocide is a good idea there is no dilemma or decision for him here not not really partly because he's seen how terrible both of those are already no his role his emotional response plays a vital part in the other characters facing their dilemma and decision that's the tension in the story and His function in that scene so the tension comes from their decision not the doctors which again feeds into what I was talking about before where often times the Paragon will be the nuts and bolts in their development but the other characters will be the ones resolving the tension but if you do all of these then you're probably gonna have a paragon hero who's pretty interesting who when they do stuff in the plot isn't gonna feel like an extremely upstanding morally wizard did it they're boxes that we have drawn around particular types of characters that I want to be clear are not instructions for writing it's so much more important to write about people and ideas and interesting stories than to try and fit them to some sort of mold and I mean in a lot of stories terms like hero or villain don't really mean much at all you know what what do they mean in something like Gone Girl or or Ned Vizzini's that's kind of a Funny Story You've Got characters who I guess are protagonist and who I guess are good but let's make them a hero I don't know I don't know these are just terms that we're sort of making up and thinking of your characters in terms of tropes rather than as pieces of your art can be kind of restrictive I think just something to keep in mind that stories move people not tropes I've made a video discussing the especially moving story of Frodo and Sam at least for me you know both as Paragon and tragic Heroes what their story means what we can learn from it and it's all part of my Beyond writing series which is a host of videos that builds on what we learn here but can totally stand on its own as well this job is amazing but it can also be unreliable given my entire life depends on one how many views I get and two the demonetizational algorithmic whims of a giant Corporation but nebula means I don't have to worry about that as much because we own it and it supports us directly and it has all all of our content and including all of my Beyond writing series Lindsay Alice has this hour-long video about how they even adapted Lord of the Rings in the first place it's really good and we can make whatever we want I mean I just sunk way too much time and money into this whole video on Japanese war crimes and I wouldn't have been able to take that risk without nebula you know behind me and if you sign up using my link down below you'll get it for as little as like 2.50 a month and you'll be supporting this kind of work and uh me and uh Willow's annoying little face straightly and you get two in one free access to nebula classes where our creators host classes on how to be well you know creators you know Tony Santos teaching you how to edit Sam from Wendover talking about creating compelling viral videos or the business side of things you know great for aspiring creators or folks who just want to see behind the curtain and you'll be supporting me and this kind of work directly and if you do thank you summary with Momo take us away Momo firstly a paragon hero might be right likable and get things done but these characters tend to work better when it is difficult and costly to keep choosing good it creates extra unnecessary objects it damages relationships and creates dilemmas secondly the place and fate of your Paragon hero can carry an enormous thematic and symbolic meaning in your story consider if there is a relationship between being good and winning thirdly Paragons can have struggles and emotions too even if these don't culminate in a big character Rock they help to humanize them and having no moral quandaries doesn't mean that they can't be Reckless or stupid fourthly sometimes it can be really fascinating to make an exception and show the Paragon not being right having them learn something or it being so complicated that they don't know the right path to take fifthly compelling Paragons will usually develop the characters around them even if they don't have an arc of their own think about how they fit into the wants needs and lies of other characters and consider giving them scenes to play into those so sixthly Paragon reactive scenes focus more on the reaction beat and the Dilemma and decisions of other characters around them so drawing tension from other characters here helps and that is US my fellow nerds do you have a favorite Paragon character let me know down in the description below and if you haven't got it yet go pick up on running we're building Volume 2 and volume 1 if you haven't got it but this one is this one is better they're totally separate they have no they don't have anything in common you buy them both anyways stay nerdy and I will see you in the future thank you foreign

Channel: Hello Future Me

Views: 189,413

Keywords: explained, theory, lore, analysis, how to, on writing, captain america, his dark materials, lyra, doctor who, david tennant, fourteenth doctor, waters of mars, RTD, matt smith, marvel, hero, tony stark, spiderman, frodo, sam, lord of the rings, lotr, warner bros, batman

Id: hfqvKeu3smI

Length: 22min 5sec (1325 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 05 2023