{"id":10820,"date":"2016-01-03T08:25:18","date_gmt":"2016-01-02T22:25:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/?p=10820"},"modified":"2016-01-02T20:13:46","modified_gmt":"2016-01-02T10:13:46","slug":"what-is-a-hero","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/what-is-a-hero\/","title":{"rendered":"What is a Hero?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Zena<\/a>What a thrilling surprise on New Years Eve to discover myself among the \u2018Heroes of 2015\u2019 according to Peninsula Living magazine<\/a>! The article honours inspiring people in the community by sharing their stories, which for me was all about the money I\u2019ve been raising with my Northern Beaches Writers\u2019 Group<\/a> for The Kids\u2019 Cancer Project<\/a>, selling our two books, Scribbles in the Dark<\/a> <\/em>and A Dolphin for Naia<\/a><\/em>. It\u2019s so nice to be noticed and acknowledged! As the group\u2019s leader, a great deal of my 2015 revolved around these two books<\/a>. Though of course I benefited too \u2013 I got to help fund research into childhood cancers (such a good feeling!), and I got to experience the sales side of the book industry. It\u2019s tough out there!<\/p>\n

So tough in fact it\u2019s changing the way I write. I love writing stories where my main characters are stronger than they realise, though also damaged from past experiences. This is realistic for me because everyone has a past and we can all choose whether it controls us or we control it. The moment we refuse to let it determine who we are, we gain greater control over our lives.<\/p>\n

\"Shapter<\/a><\/p>\n

In the same way, a writer can also choose how to represent their characters \u2013 realistically or fictionalised \u2013 and that determines who they become in the reader’s eyes.<\/p>\n

I was talking with a writer buddy the other day, and we both realised that our goals for the day were what I now call \u2018vanilla-ising\u2019 our main characters. Reading 100% realistic characters may not always be a pleasant experience, and most readers read for pleasure, so we\u2019re both now trying to take some of the colour out of our 100% realistic characters to make them more palatable for a modern audience.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a tricky task because of Han Solo.<\/p>\n

\"Shapter<\/a>As most Star Wars fans will know, there\u2019s a scene in the original 1977 movie A New Hope<\/em> where Han Solo is in a Mos Eisley bar<\/a> cornered by a bounty hunter called Greedo, who wants to kill him for the bounty on Han\u2019s head. Han tries to talk his way out of it, but as soon as he knows there\u2019s no point he appears to shoot Greedo dead, before Greedo can shoot him. When that movie was re-released in 1997, director George Lucas was concerned the scene revealed Han to be a \u2018cold-blooded killer\u2019, so inserted a scene showing Greedo shooting first. Some fans didn\u2019t like this \u2013 Han Solo is a scoundrel and we love him for it! We don\u2019t need him to be anything other than who he is! So in the 2004 DVD release, the scene was altered again so that Han and Greedo shoot at the same time.<\/p>\n

Some fans still aren\u2019t happy because these changes alter Han\u2019s character. He\u2019s supposed to be morally ambiguous at the start of the movie, so that his later transition from anti-hero to hero is significant and meaningful. Lessening one lessens the other.<\/p>\n

Of course there\u2019s no pleasing all fans everywhere, and that\u2019s why it\u2019s so important to get the balance right from the beginning. Too much realism and a character can get depicted more unfavourably than intended. Too little and they lose the uniqueness that made them who they are \u2013 a truthful representation of a person, a hero of the everyday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe could be heroes\u201d sings Alesso\/Tove Lo in the song of the same name, reminding us that any and every day we can all make a difference.<\/p>\n