The title is a bit of a misnomer. I hope you’ll forgive me for that.
What is a hero, anyway?
Since I write romance novels, you would think this question is easy to answer. I suppose it could be broken down and analyzed by different genres, but, again, I write romance. There are even specific tropes for certain heroes.
Heroes are swoony. They’re tough and loyal. Many know them as Alpha heroes.
Heroes are soft-spoken but know how to get the job done. These are often called Beta heroes.
And let’s not forget our military, police, firemen, doctors, and all the other career heroes. These are our real-life-but-often-portrayed-in-fiction heroes. I love these heroes.
But I want to go in a different direction.
Heroes can be ordinary.
They can get overwhelmed or say the wrong thing. It’s situations like that where the hero can show what he’s made of and bring a little reality to our fictional words. If they were perfect all the time, the story might become a bit too predictable. Then we have the moments when they do the right thing or say the perfect line and we fall in love with them…sometimes for the second or third time.
I married this type of hero. Though he did work as a deputy for 20 years. I suppose that makes him a double hero. At least in my personal book. We’ve been married for 19 years now, and we have gone through many trials together. Through each one, we become stronger and our love grows deeper.
This could be why I love the heroes I’ve written in the Independence Islands books.
When I wrote the heroine, Darcy’s character, I gave her this line.
Afterward, I thought, “You know, they’re still kind of superheroes.”
To love someone is scary. You’re putting your heart out there and praying that it’s the right thing to do.
The “someone” Darcy wants is your average Joe, but her loves her with a fierce and abiding love. That’s a superhero quality. He’s selfless in his love for Darcy and always has her best interests in mind. Sounds heroic to me.
When you hear the word hero, what comes to mind?
Tabitha Bouldin has a bachelor's degree in creative writing/English from Southern New Hampshire University. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and has been writing since 2015. When she's not homeschooling her kids, you'll find her curled up with a book. Tabitha's genre of choice is Contemporary Christian Romance which she describes as: Adventure with heart.
I think a hero or heroine is someone who does the right and Godly thing with everything they’ve got. We all fall short of that at times but as a working definition I think it helps. I have felt like a hero at times but less so lately. Maybe it’s because my “everything” supply has been pretty low. Maybe it’s my choices, though. That raises the issue that heroes are NOT perfect. They ARE making the effort to be the best person they can be, for God and for their loved ones.
This topic reminds me of what it means to be brave. Being brave is not being fearless. It’s having the fear and going on and doing the right thing anyway. So, being a hero is not being perfect. It’s being the best we can be and giving that best to others.
Now, if I could only put that into practice. ;-)
Someone who puts others before themselves.
Exactly my idea of a hero. Just an ordinary guy who loves his family fiercely and does the best he can to support them.
For me a hero can be anyone, from the military person putting their lives on the line for our country to the police officer who doesn’t know what he will face every time he leaves the house each day. ..to the firefighters who run into burning buildings .
My favorite hero would be the ‘ordinary’ guy who rescues a puppy or brings me home dinner so I don’t have to cook…
For me, the hero can be anyone who puts God first, others second, and himself last. He can have a job that’s ordinary, like a geeky IT guy, or he could be in a job that’s stressful like a cop. He could be the guy giving us the news every night. I like the ordinary guys.
A Hero always has your back, they are very caring and they put everybody else before themselves.
Love your explanation, Lincoln! Excellent summation. I was thinking along the same lines as bravery when I typed this up.
OH, yes! I agree.
And what excellent heroes they are!
I love that there’s such a wide category for heroes. And yes, definitely the puppy-rescuing guy. Extra points for not having to cook.
That’s a great way of looking at it, Trudy.
Exactly!
My hubby…I know I’m biased ;)
When I think of a hero, I think of someone who has credibility, honor and dependability. God bless you.
When I think of the word “hero”, I think of someone who will go out of his way for others, would do anything to make someones life easier (or at least smile about it), someone who’s selfless, and puts others before himself. Also, someone who would lay down their lives for others if it came down to it. What I call my husband, the 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 kind of person. I often am more attracted to a character in a book who seems like the ordinary guy & who often gets overlooked, but his heart is big & deserves the love of a good woman just like any other guy.
in a book, the hero is the male lead.
in life, a hero is someone who does an extraordinary act, has courage in the face of strife, and does the act without the regard for personal safety or expectation.
Heroes and Heroines are the writers who write for God and not to become famous, who know that sometimes writing novels with Christian content can annoy some people but they still do it.
Also that person who stays at home to take care of a relative, children or someone sick, although he knows that people evaluate you based on how much “job success” you have.
Bias is good in this situation. Perfectly acceptable!
Those are great characteristics. Love it!
Oh Trixi, thats such a wonderful example!
Yes and yes! “Courage in the face of strife” love that so much
Lilly, absolutely love your comment. Definitely heroes in my book (pun intended). Seriously though, you nailed it.