So many authors' most prominent flaws are within their characters. They might have beautiful, poetic wording, great flow, good plotlines, but all of that could be trashed by a two-dimensional Mary Sue.
So what's a Mary Sue? It's a character that usually expresses the writer's fantasies by being exactly what the writer wants to be and getting exactly what the writer wants to get. They're cliche, flawless, beautiful, powerful, and usually misunderstood by everyone around them.
You want your characters to grow throughout the literature. You should be able to hear your character in your head telling you exactly what they would do in that situation. For me, the easiest way to make a character real is to find a picture of someone you think would resemble your character and tell their story. It makes them seem more like a good friend rather than something made up.
There are three types of 'heroes' I would like to speak about.
Tragic Hero:
"A man doesn't become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall." The term 'Tragic Hero' was coined by Aristotle to contain many characteristics. He must suffer for more than he deserves. He must be doomed from the very beginning. He must be noble, but also imperfect so he seems more relatable. He must discover his fate by his own actions, not by things happening to him. Hero must see and understand his doom, as well as the fact that his fate was discovered by his own actions. His story should arouse fear and empathy. He must be physically or spiritually wounded by his experiences, often resulting in his death. The hero must be intelligent so he may learn from his mistakes.
Byronic Hero:
My favorite type of hero. The Byronic Hero was named after Lord Byron, whose character displays characteristics such as conflicting emotions, bipolar tendencies, or moodiness. He is self-critical and introspective, struggles with integrity a distaste for social institutions and social norms, is an exile, an outcast, has 'dark' attributes not normally associated with heroes. He has a lack of respect for rank and privilege, a troubled past. He can be cynical, demanding, and/or arrogant. Most often self-destructive, a loner, and rejected from society.
Romantic Hero:
The Romantic Hero is almost a branch off of the Byronic Hero. He displays many of the same characteristics, though he doesn't participate in all. He normally isn't 'dark' but is a loner and rejected from society. The story he is in ciculates more around romantic qualities than actual adventure and action. He can sometimes be the main character's love interest, or a slave to his love for another character, which might ultimately lead to his downfall.
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