Creating Memorable Heroes and Heroines

 

What makes a hero and heroine memorable to readers? Often it’s the fire and ice relationships that make for an interesting read. In the world of fiction, as well as real life, opposites seem to attract.

When creating lead characters, writers often choose unlikely combinations. A backwoodsman and a city girl. A rich heiress and a jewel thief. Why is it that makes unusual relationships more appealing to readers?

I can think of 4 great reasons:

It’s Unexpected – Fairy tales are full of princes and princesses who fall in love and live happily ever after. But today’s readers like a challenge. They would much rather read about an international spy who falls for the woman he’s sent to investigate. Unexpected relationships tend to…

Pique Interest – Readers seem to enjoy the back and forth dance unusual love relationships inspire. They keep turning pages, wondering how the author will draw these two unique love interests together. To succeed in this, writers must…

Create tension – A story wields a lot more power and intrigue when the leads have to battle insurmountable odds to find true love. In Romeo and Juliet, true love is hindered by family conflict. In The Westside Story, it’s opposing gangs that bar the starry-eyed youths from happiness. Differences spark conflict and fuel…

Intriguing Plots – The greater the challenge presented in drawing lead characters together, the more intriguing the plot. Compelling characters demand creativity on the part of writers. But in the end, it’s still the happily-ever-after that gives readers the greatest sense of satisfaction.

What do you find compelling in the lead characters of a novel?

Cynthia Roemer is an award-winning inspirational writer with a heart for scattering seeds of hope into the lives of readers.

Raised in the cornfields of rural Illinois, Cynthia enjoys spinning tales set in the backdrop of the 1800s prairie. She writes from her family farm in the Midwest where she resides with her husband and their two college-aged sons.

 

Her Prairie Sky Series consists of three prairie romance novels.
Book One: Under This Same Sky, Book Two: Under Prairie Skies, and Book Three, Under Moonlit Skiesdue to release in September, 2019.

Connect with Cynthia on her Website, FB Author page.
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