My Perfect Hero?

Misty grey, gunmetal grey or thunderstorm grey.  Clear like a dawn sky in summer, or the dark, rich blue of water irises. The warm amber of whisky or a deep, melting chocolate brown. What am I talking about? The eyes of my hero, of course! Dreaming up the hero of my story always starts with his eyes.

Alain Delon

I attended a romance writing workshop some time ago where the focus was on how to create the perfect hero. The workshop leader decreed that the hero of a romance novel should not be a nice man who wore a cardigan and who was happy with just holding the heroin’s hand whilst gazing at the stars. All these were definitely the attributes of an anti-hero, a man no reader in her right mind could ever fall in love with..

 

But what exactly did she find so unattractive? Was it the cardigan, or that the man was content with holding the heroin’s hand instead of ravishing her? Or again that he enjoyed gazing at the stars in her company?  

Jacques Dutronc

I remember thinking at the time that the most important quality a hero should have was to make me dream, to make me wish he was in my life for real. If it's true that I am not too keen on men wearing cardigans, they have actually become quite a fashion statement for younger men these past few years. Holding someone’s hand can be a most wonderful and romantic experience. As for star gazing, I only have to think of astronomy professor Brian Cox's soft voice, clever eyes and sexy smile for it to become the most exciting way of spending an evening!   

Brian Cox

So what kind of hero do I write about? I’m afraid he is rather predictable in that he is usually the tall, moody type. He is incredibly brave and confident, determined to carry out some important mission. If he is cynical at times, he does hide a dark, painful and haunting secret the heroin will, naturally, help him overcome. As I write historical romance, he is also a consummate rider and knows how to handle swords, daggers and pistols. And if there isn't a cardigan in sight, that's because they didn't exist in the time period I have chosen - honest!

He is the man I dream about, the man I write about and the man who lives in my head for weeks and months on end – in the case of my current work in progress, one year already!

But whichever country he is from, whatever occupation he has and whatever the plot, the background or the time period, the first and most important step is always for me to picture his eyes.

Robert Hossein

And of course, to get his name right. From the moment he has a name, he is in my life. But the choice of the hero's name is the topic of another post...

 

What about you? How do you create your perfect hero? And what type of hero makes you dream?