The song I was listening to was "Do You Want to Build a Snowman" from Frozen (Disney songs were the order of the day). That song is my favorite from the film, and I remembered while listening to it how Anna was best friends with her older sister, but then her older sister as good as abandoned her, avoiding her for years.
She could have taken that as betrayal. She could have become mean and self-centered, but instead she continued to reach out to her sister. Anna even went so far as to give her life for this sister, someone who many people would have advised she give up on.
Listening to the song made me realize Anna is a hero of mine. I admire how she loves despite how hurt she feels.I asked my husband who his fictional hero is, and he said it was probably William Thatcher from A Knight's Tale. The reason: Even though life has been unfair to him, he didn't give up his dreams and did everything in his power to achieve them.
By then I had a theory, which I'll tell you about in a minute. Here are three other heroes, from my brother and two friends of mine, respectfully:
~ Cimorene from Dealing With Dragons, because "she doesn't care about following the norms and does what she wants. She's able to defeat the wizards and live with dragons and avoid unwanted princes. She's just really independent and a problem solver."~ Eowyn from Lord of the Rings and Ellie Sattler from Jurassic Park. "Why is because they are feminist bad a**es."
~ Po from Kung Fu Panda, because even though he feels awkward and unable, he dreams big, stays optimistic as best he can and fights to believe in himself.
Notice any trends? Here is one I see.
As everyone knows, we root for the underdog. I think we cheer even louder, though, if it isn't just any underdog and we can relate. Let's go backward with this:
~ The friend of mine who said Po struggles with bipolar disorder and an addiction to pain medication, courtesy of years spent playing sports. She has worked hard to overcome that addiction and the deep depression she falls into sometimes, and she continues to fight and stay positive.
~ The friend who loves the feminist characters is, obviously, a feminist. She will fight for what she believes in, no matter what, and has had to fight her share of battles to protect those she loves and those she thinks need more respect.~ My brother is quiet around our family, though not so much around his friends, from what I've gathered. He's a teenager, so you can guess that while our parents are trying to push him a bit, he's also pushing back. Perhaps it is most telling to say that this brother loves Frozen and the Let It Go song.
~ My husband has great dreams of earning a Ph.D. in physics, but he always feels like the world is against him. Lack of money, dyslexia and a few other things land him squarely in the "I need to change my stars" camp.~ As for me, I had a bit of an abusive relationship with my sister while we were growing up. We still argue if we spend too much time together, but I have put a lot of conscious effort into loving her. She could see it from the other perspective, too; there were a number of times growing up when I would play in our closet and not let her in.
My theory is that our heroes are our heroes because we so closely identify with them. We see their struggles as a form of the struggles we are going or have gone through.
How to apply that to writing? When you are constructing your heroes, give them human struggles. They aren't just fighting a dragon; they are fighting a dragon and trying to overcome personal trials, as well. There should always be a fight below the surface as well as one above.
Ask around your friends and family for their heroes and let me know if I'm right. Then figure out who your heroes are and, if you want a splash of authenticity in your writing, place your own struggles and those of people you love inside of it. Feed your muse your doubts, fears, trials, and other meat from the dragons you have had to fight. Your story will be alive because of it.
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