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Free-for-All Friday: Hero(ine) Edition
 Posted by Shoshana Brown Nov 5 2010, 12:01 am in Free-For-All Friday, heroes, Shoshana Brown, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, Veronica Mars It’s that day again. The day where you get to ask the Ruby Sisters any random writing question that pops into your head. I’ll throw a question out to get things started. I’m in the middle of plotting my next book, so I’ve been thinking about what makes a good hero or heroine. I have two favorite fictional heroines. On the screen, my favorite heroine is Veronica Mars. As season one of the show begins, Veronica’s mother has walked out on her; her best friend has been murdered; and her loyalty to her father, who accused the town’s leading citizen of murder, has lost her the rest of her friends. Veronica has every reason to mope around feeling sorry for herself, but she doesn’t let nasty rumors, wardrobe sabotage, or even her own emotions get the better of her. As she says to a school counselor who is trying to get her to open up about her best friend’s death, “I don’t want to talk away my grief. I want to turn it into something else. Fuel. I know how I’m gonna feel better and it’s not by talking about how sad I am.” And that’s exactly what she does. On the printed page, I love Frankie Landau-Banks, from The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart. It’s hard to go into detail about why I love Frankie without spoiling the plot, but suffice it to say that it’s for much the same reason I love Veronica–she kicks serious ass. Not because she has magical powers or is The Chosen One, but because she’s smart, brave, and she gets things done. And that’s the kind of heroine I’d love to write. Who are your favorite fictional heroes and heroines, and what makes them stand out on the page or the screen? Any other writing questions? Share:
              
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I love Veronica Mars!!! For the same reasons. She uses her savvy and comes up with the most clever solutions to the most impossible problems.
A recurring theme in all of my fiction is “Overcoming the past.” I love the tortured hero and a heroine who is too clever for her own good. One of my favorite heroes is Simon Bassett from Julia Quinn’s THE DUKE AND I. And probably my favorite heroine is Katniss from the HUNGER GAMES series. She is very much like Veronica Mars. Never feels sorry for herself even for a minute. Is so amazingly savvy and skilled. Saves those around her without even thinking twice. Love her!
Great post, Shoshana!!!
~D~
Yes–Katniss is another great example. Love her.
I love bad boys who are tortured, deeply flawed, but 22K gold at heart. I can’t wait for Suz Brockmann’s book with Izzy as the hero to come out. I like him even better than Sam.
Oh, I’m waiting for Izzy too!
I love Izzy too.
In the mean time did you read Infamous?
Yes! I just finished it, in fact. It was fabulous.
Sounds like I have another book to add to the TBR pile.
Brockmann’s written a lot of great heroes, but two stand out for me: Jericho Beaumont from “Heart Throb,” a former box office superstar fighting his way back as a recovering alcoholic, and FBI counterterrorism commander Max Bhagat, Jules Cassidy’s boss, who Brockmann put through a freaking wringer before giving him his HEA in “Breaking Point.”
Hmmm, I’m not familiar with either of these characters. I guess I have more books to be added to the TBR pile. Which is getting bigger by the moment with all the recent successes of the ruby sisters.
Favorite characters: Well, for heroines, you can’t beat Jane Eyre. I read her when I was in 7th grade and she’s still right there at the top of my heroine list. She had so much to overcome and she did it with a quiet grace and deep intelligence and kindness. I never get tired of her story.
My favorite hero doesn’t come from a romance novel. It’s Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird. I think he was recently voted as the #1 hero in movies, too. I can’t divorce the character from the way Gregory Peck played him, but to me Atticus is the quintessential American.
I happen to also love all the old movies featuring Gregory Peck, Gary Cooper and James Stewart. (Did I mention that I like westerns..?) These movie icons practically invented the American heroic trope: the sheriff in High Noon, the lawyer in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence, and, of course Atticus Finch. Strong, silent, stubborn, good men, wearing white hats.
I somehow managed to make it all the way through school without reading Jane Eyre. I’ll have to remedy that.
Oh, you must! you must! Jane is one of the most vivid, quirky, interesting voices EVER.
Okay–it’s going on my kindle. Just as soon as I get my kindle. I wish the holidays would get here already.
Favorite heroine of all time: Sydney Bristow from the TV show “Alias.”
Brilliant, brave, beautiful, passionate, and driven by a compulsive need to keep the world safe, no matter what the personal cost might be. She is my ultimate wish-fulfillment character.
I’m a Sidney fan, too, and one of these days I’m gonna get through all the seasons’ dvd’s I have.
er, Sydney, sorry.
OMG!
How could you stop???
You had me at brilliant and brave. I’ll have to check out Alias.
It’s the BEST SHOW EVER MADE.
That’s right. I said it.
Amazing acting, a wrenching love story, women-driven action, shocking plot twists, and all finished up in five perfect seasons.
OK — season five is a little short, but they DO manage to bring it all together in the end. JJ Abrams may have disappointed fans of LOST by his inability to bring the threads of a story together, but he managed it in Alias just fine.
I have to take exception with the BEST SHOW EVER MADE designation, because I’m afraid that belongs to Veronica Mars.
What’s that you say? I should watch Alias before I argue with you? Okay, fine. It’s in my Neflix queue.
I don’t know Veronica Mars, is this a tv show? If so, what channel, dates, times, etc. I rarely watch tv anymore, the kids always have it on the disney channel, and I don’t care cuz I’m working, but this show sounds good.
It is a TV show. Unfortunately, it’s not on the air anymore, but you can watch the old episodes on hulu:
http://www.hulu.com/search?query=veronica+mars+season+1&st=1
It’s difficult to define. What you like in one genre might be horrible in another. Lee Child’s Jack Reacher is certainly different. Ditto for Stuart Woods’ Stone Barrington. They don’t always do the right thing. But it’s always for the right reason. Veronica Mars frequently acted on the wrong information for the right reason. She did it with style. I guess I like no matter what the reason, the H&H do it with conviction.
>> Veronica Mars frequently acted on the wrong information for the right reason.
I think the “right reason” part is key. It’s all about her intentions.
I think my favorite heroine is Abby from NCIS. Okay, not very deep, but I love a combination of humor, danger, and cliche busting. Did anyone picture a scientist wearing a studded dog collar before her? Especially one who goes around hugging people? I like my heroines to be open and outgoing with a off kilter sense of humor. Perhaps she’s more a mystery heroine than a romance heroine, but I love stories where the two combine.
I love scientist heroes and heroines that aren’t portrayed as geeky to the point of ridiculousness.
I expect the reason scientist heroes are so appealing is because it’s fairly easy to use their “geekiness” as a foil for your typical plucky heroine. It’s a convenient setup for tension and something of a reversal from the timid heroines of yesteryear with their uber-male heroes, thus appropriate for our time. Plus, you get to watch his progression as he steps out of his comfort zone and becomes humanized.
Whether in speculative-fiction space or on real-world Earth, power dynamics fascinate me. I think my favorite book heroine is Brit Bandar, from Susan Grant’s RITA-nominated “Moonstruck.” In this story, the kickoff book of Grant’s Borderlands series, stone-faced Coalition Admiral Bandar is forced to accept Drakken Horde warpirate Finn Rorkken as her first officer in the name of interplanetary diplomacy – and neither of them are happy about it.
They negotiate a balance of power throughout the book – she’s the boss on the bridge, he’s the boss in the bedroom – and it’s absolutely nummy.
I like a heroine who’s the boss in the bedroom. I like when they make the first move.
Sounds like a good compromise.
what about heroine’s who do bad things for the right reasons? does that appeal on any level? as in killing the bad guys, one at a time to make the world a better place.
Absolutely. I think Draco Malfoy is a fantastic character. Without him, Harry Potter would be a milkwater miss. Draco’s very existence is half the reason HP does what he does, and often not for the purest of reasons. Draco is a sympathetic character, interesting in his own right, and critical to moving the story along. He also has his own set of morals. There are numerous characters like him in fiction or otherwise…. think of that crazy dude from No Country for Old Men… evil, but he does what he says he’s going to do-always.
In fiction, that totally works for me. In real life, probably not such a good idea.
On TV – I love Buffy from Buffy the Vampire Slayer – so witty, brave, funny , a perfect girl/woman mix. Hero on TV? Max Evans on Roswell (I’m digging back now) – so honorable, wounded, and sexy.
In Books: Heroine: So many good ones – But, I go back to Stephanie Plum over and over again. I love a scrappy woman.
Hero: Ty Grady in the Urban and Roux books “Cut and Run” and “Sticks and Stones” – fomer marine, FBI agent, sexy, loyal, potty-mouthed and courgeous.
I love Stephanie. And you’re right “scrappy” is the perfect word to describe her.
For heroines… they must be clever…
Veronica Mars (21st century Nancy Drew)
Anne Shirley (Anne of Green Gables)
Hermione Granger (Harry Potter)
Enola Holmes (Sherlock’s little sister)
Violet Baudelaire (Series of Unfortunate Events)
Couples:
Nick and Nora Charles (Thin Man)
Heroes:
Atticus Finch (To Kill A Mockingbird)
Percy Blakeley (Scarlet Pimpernel)
I’m sure I could think of more….
I love Hermione. The way Harry would rush off into danger without much of a second thought always aggravated me. I know he’s supposed to be brave, but there’s bravery and then there’s stupidity. Hermione was brave when it counted.
And, okay, I love Harry too, but Hermione is definitely my favorite character.
I love Hermione, too, and I may be a bit too much like her sometimes (academic geek and occasionally annoying know-it-all
). But to my everlasting sadness, I don’t have a Time Turner.
I definitely need a time turner. Especially today.
One of the things I love about Hermoine is that she’s teaching a generation of young girls that it’s OK to not only be smart – but to be a braniac.
Temperance of Bones as a heroine and hero Jack Bauer of 24 I love both these characters. Their flaws and passions make them unforgettable.
Seely Booth can park his boots under my bed anytime. *sigh*
And he also fits with my definition of heroic — a cop of course.
Oh, I so agree. YUM.
I’m going to have to check out 24. I feel like I’m the only person in the world who hasn’t ever seen the show.
Okay, I haven’t seen ANY of the shows you’re talking about, and almost none of the books (except Jane Eyre and Harry Potter.)
Some of my favorite heroines, though: Claire from Diana Gabaldon’s OUTLANDER series (she’s strong, smart, brave, loyal, but also very human and vulnerable), Anne from Patricia Gaffney’s TO LOVE AND TO CHERISH (deeply flawed but really smart and wry and fully human and deeply passionate), and Annique from Joanna Bourne’s SPYMASTER’S LADY.
Then you must try Veronica Mars. It’s the BEST SHOW EVER MADE. (Just don’t tell Jamie I said that.) But seriously. Season 1 is amazing, both in terms of the viewing experience and in terms of writerly lessons about plotting, pacing, and character development.
And I’ve heard great things about the OUTLANDER series. That’s definitely going into my TBR pile.