Thread: static hero

I am working on writing a novel and I want my heroes ethics and morals to stay the same. I dont want him to be boring, but to have morals of steel. I am nervous about roundin g the character out due to him not being a person you would want to follow in the beggining or losing his determination in the end.

Originally Posted by matsuiny2004

I am working on writing a novel and I want my heroes ethics and morals to stay the same. I dont want him to be boring, but to have morals of steel. I am nervous about roundin g the character out due to him not being a person you would want to follow in the beggining or losing his determination in the end.

As long as that trait is unique to that character, I think it should make him stick out more. What those morals actually are might be more of a factor though. If your novel is going to be really, really, long then it might not be a good idea. If you have something for all your character's to do, then it's not really a problem at all. It's just once you start dealing with character history, and development that it start's to become an issue. If you have too much character development in your story, your non developing character will seem a lot more of a side role than a main character. Which might be okay for part's of novel's, but not for large portions of it. The way Hunter X Hunter dealt with it is they gave the character more than just character. Like special abilities and tricks.

Actually I don't know a damn thing about novel's, but I help where I can, here is me trying to help

People who show no flexibility or ability to change are usually hard to like. Have you considered having your hero question his core beliefs in the middle of the story but ultimately to decide that his core beliefs were right all along? C.M.

Originally Posted by Deyo

As long as that trait is unique to that character, I think it should make him stick out more. What those morals actually are might be more of a factor though. If your novel is going to be really, really, long then it might not be a good idea. If you have something for all your character's to do, then it's not really a problem at all. It's just once you start dealing with character history, and development that it start's to become an issue. If you have too much character development in your story, your non developing character will seem a lot more of a side role than a main character. Which might be okay for part's of novel's, but not for large portions of it. The way Hunter X Hunter dealt with it is they gave the character more than just character. Like special abilities and tricks.

Actually I don't know a damn thing about novel's, but I help where I can, here is me trying to help

Actually he does have special abilities since it is a sci fi novel. He is more like a super hero.

Originally Posted by C.M. Aaron

People who show no flexibility or ability to change are usually hard to like. Have you considered having your hero question his core beliefs in the middle of the story but ultimately to decide that his core beliefs were right all along? C.M.

I have thought about that, but I am not sure if I want to do that. The reason being it takes away the characters morals of steel. My character can influence others to change like one of the villains in the story and another main character that appears in the story.

Originally Posted by C.M. Aaron

People who show no flexibility or ability to change are usually hard to like. Have you considered having your hero question his core beliefs in the middle of the story but ultimately to decide that his core beliefs were right all along? C.M.

I don't think that would be good either, it would be like a complete waste of time. Something should change in your character, if its not his morals then it needs to be something else.

Another thing to remember is that morals are not absolute, so implying someone has morals of steel would perhaps be hard for a reader to believe.

Originally Posted by Robdemanc

I don't think that would be good either, it would be like a complete waste of time. Something should change in your character, if its not his morals then it needs to be something else.

Another thing to remember is that morals are not absolute, so implying someone has morals of steel would perhaps be hard for a reader to believe.

I will consider that, but my character is more like monkey d luffy from one piece except not as dumb. Monkey d luffy never seems to change unless there is something I missed.

Originally Posted by Robdemanc

I don't think that would be good either, it would be like a complete waste of time. Something should change in your character, if its not his morals then it needs to be something else.

Another thing to remember is that morals are not absolute, so implying someone has morals of steel would perhaps be hard for a reader to believe.

would making my character think he is alone as in think he is the only one of his kind work?

Originally Posted by matsuiny2004

I am working on writing a novel and I want my heroes ethics and morals to stay the same. I dont want him to be boring, but to have morals of steel. I am nervous about rounding the character out due to him not being a person you would want to follow in the beginning or losing his determination in the end.

Are you familiar with the Dungeons and Dragons ethics system? There's such a thing as Lawful Evil, where you follow the rules no matter what but aren't a good person. There's also Chaotic Good, which means that your character is always doing what he considers to be right, regardless of what others (even authority figures) think. Both are examples of "morals of steel," yet both are completely different.

Decide exactly what aspect of your character is unbreakable. Is it his belief in himself and his own ethics, or a belief in the ethics of the "system"? Either one can make for some good internal conflict even as your character retains his ethics and who he is.

Originally Posted by Gamer_2k4

Are you familiar with the Dungeons and Dragons ethics system? There's such a thing as Lawful Evil, where you follow the rules no matter what but aren't a good person. There's also Chaotic Good, which means that your character is always doing what he considers to be right, regardless of what others (even authority figures) think. Both are examples of "morals of steel," yet both are completely different.

Decide exactly what aspect of your character is unbreakable. Is it his belief in himself and his own ethics, or a belief in the ethics of the "system"? Either one can make for some good internal conflict even as your character retains his ethics and who he is.

I would say he is chaotic good and belief in himself and his own ethics

Originally Posted by matsuiny2004

I would say he is chaotic good and belief in himself and his own ethics

Well then, the rounding out of his character comes from his interactions with others. You could start by showing him acting seemingly randomly, ignoring laws in some places and following them in others (though unbeknown to reader, he's strictly sticking to his own ethical code). By the time the story ends, the events that have come to pass prove his true nature, and his unshakeable morals. They may alienate him from the world, they may destroy friendships, and they may cause him to be widely hated, but at the end of the day, they're his morals, and that's what matters most to him. The rounding out of the character can be done by revealing his true nature, made all the more poignant by its contrast to the doubts of the readers early on.

Originally Posted by Gamer_2k4

Well then, the rounding out of his character comes from his interactions with others. You could start by showing him acting seemingly randomly, ignoring laws in some places and following them in others (though unbeknown to reader, he's strictly sticking to his own ethical code). By the time the story ends, the events that have come to pass prove his true nature, and his unshakeable morals. They may alienate him from the world, they may destroy friendships, and they may cause him to be widely hated, but at the end of the day, they're his morals, and that's what matters most to him. The rounding out of the character can be done by revealing his true nature, made all the more poignant by its contrast to the doubts of the readers early on.

all right that was helpful, but I have realized one problem which is that this character will either be a spy or soldier of some kind. If he is breaking rules he can lose his job.

It's important to distinguish "morals and ethics".

These could be lumped together into the term "Values".

Values are different from Beliefs. And Beliefs are different from Opinions.

They operate on different levels, and at the center of it all you have the Core Self. It radiates outwards, from the most solidified and resistant to change (Core Self) to the most easily influenced (Opinions). Character change can happen on the Opinion level, and the Core Self remains unchanged (as do the Beliefs and Values). But if something changes the character's Values, for example, then the change radiates outwards and affects his Beliefs and Opinions as well.

Core Self --> Values --> Beliefs --> Opinions --> External World

I can't remember where I learned this from, but I find it very useful to think about. For some people it's simply confusing, and if you are one of these people, then feel free to disregard it : ) . The only reason I mention it is because you can have a character go through "change" without affecting his Values.

Though, as far as I know, the more a character changes through the story, the stronger the impact it tends to have on the reader.

Originally Posted by matsuiny2004

would making my character think he is alone as in think he is the only one of his kind work?

What morals does this character have? If they are inflexible then he may be no use in certain situations. Is it always wrong to kill? To lie? etc, ask yourself these things.

It would be interesting if your character thinks he is alone and you can explore that to the satisfaction of readers, but during the story he must change in some way. Perhaps he must learn to be flexible with his morals.

A couple of possibilities:
1. As someone else said above, moral growth is not the only kind of growth. Can your character grow some other way besides morally?
2. If your main character is incapable of change, perhaps he should become a secondary character. Some other character can take the lead and grow as a result of the quest while the character with morals of steel, is only a helper in the quest.
3. Consider taking Moby Dick as a model. Ahab is a protagonist who does not grow or change as a result of the story. Ishmael, as the narrator, is the one who learns the lesson and experiences the moral growth. Consider telling your story through someone else's eyes other than the character with morals of steel. C.M.