mulecolt on Nostr: In a typical hero’s journey, the hero is the least morally ambiguous, which, in ...
In a typical hero’s journey, the hero is the least morally ambiguous, which, in some ways, makes them the least interesting. We’re more drawn in by the hard decisions she must make than by the decisions themselves. We more or less know the decision she’ll make, but we empathize with the raw emotion involved in that decision. Will she leave home? Of course, or there won’t be much of a story. But we know how hard that is to leave what you’ve known and face the unknown.
The characters around the hero are much less predictable. They could leave the journey, betray the hero, turn to evil, be revealed as something other than what we thought they were, etc.
The hero is fresh and new as opposed to supporting characters who have deep rich backstories that we know very little about. The supporting characters often have already made their hero/villain journey. I think it’s why the more backstory we learn on supporting characters, especially villains, the less interesting they become.
As a writer, I think it’s best to know a lot about your supporting characters but only show the reader the very tip of the iceberg. I find it helpful to write deep backgrounds and stories for the characters and just keep it with my notes and read over it from time to time but never share it with the reader. Leak things here and there, but for the most part, let the characters show the reader who they are and what motivates them.
With the hero, on the other hand, you’re pretty much laying it all out there. Doesn’t mean they can’t have mystery in their past, they should, but we’re going to learn a lot more about this person than any other character.
The characters around the hero are much less predictable. They could leave the journey, betray the hero, turn to evil, be revealed as something other than what we thought they were, etc.
The hero is fresh and new as opposed to supporting characters who have deep rich backstories that we know very little about. The supporting characters often have already made their hero/villain journey. I think it’s why the more backstory we learn on supporting characters, especially villains, the less interesting they become.
As a writer, I think it’s best to know a lot about your supporting characters but only show the reader the very tip of the iceberg. I find it helpful to write deep backgrounds and stories for the characters and just keep it with my notes and read over it from time to time but never share it with the reader. Leak things here and there, but for the most part, let the characters show the reader who they are and what motivates them.
With the hero, on the other hand, you’re pretty much laying it all out there. Doesn’t mean they can’t have mystery in their past, they should, but we’re going to learn a lot more about this person than any other character.