27
Apr
What's the difference between a hero, and a villain?
Easy, right?
The hero is the good guy, the villain is the bad guy.
No.
Not easy at all.
We often write our heroes as guys with many faults, bad habits, a temper.
Thing is, we write our villains exactly the same way. They have flaws, lots of them, but most are inherently redeemable.
Our villains often kill — but so do our heroes. What makes one more acceptable than the other? Nothing. Or rather, perception. If we perceive the hero as having no other choice, then we deem his actions acceptable. We're less forgiving where the villain is concerned, but often only because we don't know his reasons for doing what he does.
I have read books where at the end, I wondered what went through the author's mind when she wrote her "hero". Because, believe it or not – the real hero of the story wasn't the man the author built up as the hero.
The real hero was… the villain.
He was the one who had the most to lose, he was the one thwarted at every turn, he was the one who suffered the most and had the most to gain.
He lost, in the end, bested by the guy he battled the entire length of the book, had to watch that man ride into the sunset with the girl — and I sat there feeling for him. My heart broke for him, because he was more real than the goody goody "hero" who was really the villain of the entire piece.
You need to know where to draw the line. And like genius and madness, this line is so fine, it's difficult not to overstep it.
No person is inherently evil. Everyone has reasons for doing what they do. Even the villain. You need to know your hero, but you also need to know what drives your villain. There has to be a reason, a plausible reason, for his behavior and actions. Just like you need those very same reasons for the hero.
So how do you get your readers to know the difference?
Well, that's the hard part. You need to make sure the line isn't blurred, define their values so the reader can recognize them. Our heroes often start out as villains. A lot of them are bad guys, whose journey takes them from villainy to heroism.
On the other side of the scale, instead of redeeming himself, the villain remains a villain to the bitter end.
That's really the only difference.
Redemption.
Think about it, next time you draft your story.
26
Jun
So you’ve decided on your hero’s name, and it’s Edward.
Edward is a nice name. Just not for an alpha male.
While there are no hard and fast rules about names, and any name should be fine — you’ll soon find it’s not.
K, T and R names are the strongest sounds, hard sounds, making your hero sound tougher.
John vs Jack
Jack sounds stronger, John sounds softer.
Short can be better than long. (Not always!)
Donovan vs Don
Don sounds stronger.
Donovan sounds more reliable though.
Then there is meaning to consider.
You wouldn’t want your hero’s name to mean "Flowerpot" or something, right?
(Or maybe you would… It could be a giggle if he gets pulled up on it all the time.)
Anyway.
As I said, K sounds and the like sound "Strong"..
However, if you don’t want a hard sound at the beginning, try to pick a name with one in the middle.
And, for God’s sake, don’t name them all Jake, or Jack. 
Please. I’m begging you.
Peruse baby name sites (there are plenty out there) and say the names out loud.
See which one sounds strong, and which comes off as soft, or even weak.
On those sites, you will also find the meanings. Check them out too.
Make the name pronounceable.
(I should talk. One of my heroes is called Raxsaixahael. His friends call him Bob – because they can’t pronounce it. He also answers to Rax, however. And I picked this for a reason. 
)
Last but not least — there is fashion to consider.
Some names are eternally popular. Some… well.
Before you name your hero Willard, consider when the story is set. Or have a good reason for choosing an old fashioned name. (Maybe he was named after his Grandfather?)
But if you have no reason for calling your hero Ulysses, or Erasmus, then think about it a little. (I personally like old fashioned names, so don’t let me deter you too much.)
There are a lot of things you can do to enhance your hero, but probably the most important is his name. We make a lot of mental assumptions when we hear a name.
If we are introduced to a Beau, we’d naturally assume he’s handsome, for instance. (After all, that’s what the name means.) His name may be Beauregard, and he could answer to any number of nicknames (Beau, Bo, Reg etc) but the name has to make an impression on us — and it better be a strong one, if he’s the alpha male hero.
I (personally) wouldn’t get a strong impression from a hero named Kenny, even though it’s a K name. The cutsiefying of the -ny takes away the strong sound. I’d have a better impression of Ken, or Kenneth.
Names are difficult, to be sure.
But they are what define your characters.
So choose well.