Balance
In honor of my post on proactive heroine over at the Sassy Sisters’ site, I’m am going to talk about balance today. 🙂
Getting the balance right between a hero and heroine can be tricky. It’s very important to me that one character doesn’t have all the power. Even if one character has minimal power…it’s important to get the sense that they somehow need something from each other.
I talked a little bit about how I had to revise the heroine for Presents #7 a bit, because she just wasn’t standing up against a hero who ended up being much more full on than the heroes I typically write. But this was an angry man with revenge on his mind. And rightfully so. But it made him a force on the page and initially, the heroine was out of balance with him. She was too timid. My editor pointed out that she looked down a lot. (cue much chagrin on my part)
It wasn’t a matter of changing the hero so that he was less intense. No, his motivations were justifiable, but he seemed more like a bully than I had intended because the heroine was giving him too much ground. She wasn’t putting him back in his place.
So she had to change. She had to get stronger. And that made the book stronger. Because they seemed suited to each other. She didn’t seem at such a disadvantage, or like he might run her over for the rest of their lives because he was so much stronger than she was.
This really makes me think that it really is more about balance than about a heroine who’s too strong, or a hero who’s too strong. It’s about building a couple who compliment each other.
That’s when people want to root for them. That’s when people can see why these people NEED to be together. When they enhance each other, make each other better. Sure, they can have conflict, they can work in opposition, but in all of that they have to grow together somehow, and be stronger for being together than they were separately.
Another reason my heroine needed to…excuse the expression…grow a pair. Because a hero like mine needed someone to push him back. To make him think.
And she became that woman. 🙂 Yay her!
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Yay her indeed, Maisey! I do like a heroine who takes charge, even more so if it’s not natural and easy for her, but she knows that she has to do it, or be untrue to herself. Great post.
And she is a fantastic heroine too. My currently one was a bit like that. She was dragged along behind the hero willy nilly. But that’s becuase I didn’t know what she wanted. And if she didn’t know what she wanted, then how could she take any action or make any kind of stand? Luckily, I’ve given her some goals and that’s made all the difference. 🙂
Sally, thank you! Definitely my preference in a heroine!
Jackie, I’m glad you like her. 🙂 Yes, it’s tricky when you don’t know what they want! In my case, I had overlooked that just because she wasn’t confident in everything, didn’t mean she had to be SO insecure.
Thanks for the great post regarding “What do heroine’s want!” A great learning experience following your posts.
It is so tricky to write a truly alpha hero without overwhelming the heroine. But you hit the nail on the head: that balance of power is the key factor for me as a reader. If the heroine isn’t at least some of the time his equal, I might end up thinking he can do better.
Thank you Nas!
Julia, I really think that’s what it comes down to. The characters being a compliment to each other so that they can emerge as equals who have made each other better.