Unheroic Heroine

AstroFolio

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Hi, guys. So I was thinking. A lot of the Young Adult books I see lately, especially SFF, have a character who's a *hero* as well as being the protagonist. To use some well-known examples:

Harry Potter is chosen to save the Wizarding World.
Katniss brings about a revolution.
Kyla from Slated propels a big anti-government backlash.

This could just be part of the YA dystopian trend where teenagers somehow dismantle the whole regime, but is it okay to have more personal stories without them being 'small'/low-concept stories? It seems like a lot of things have the MC at the head of a whole movement as opposed to a personal goal.

Like, my MC is in a spec-fic world trying to achieve her personal goal, which includes escaping from the cult she was born in. But I don't plan for her to take down the whole system, just to get out of it herself. There's still plenty of action/suspense (well, there should be ;) ) but she doesn't change the world order.

I get that this happens all the time in contemporaries, but...

Thoughts?
 

Jerboa

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I think the problem is that if there's a bigger issue and it's not resolved (even if the hero's own issue is sorted out) then the whole novel can feel unresolved, maybe?

I think a small personal goal is fine, and can work, so long as there's not bigger stuff going on.
 

AstroFolio

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I guess, yeah. Well it's not a small goal *to her* (escaping from cult, having chance at normal/mainstream life). She might be helping some of her friends get out but the thing is that it's not dystopian - you know how we have cults and extremely technophobic societies today? Like that, except it's told from her perspective and for the first part she's *inside* the cult. I mean, you have stories of people escaping from say, Scientology and they don't bring the whole thing down.
 

Jerboa

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I think with something like that, the reader might end up wondering what happens to everybody else still stuck in the cult.

I guess write it and see! You can always re-work the ending to have her save all the people in her cult, even if she's not saving the world, kind of thing?
 

AstroFolio

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Some of them are there voluntarily (the ones who weren't born into it). But yes, I think I'll do something along those lines. Cheers :)
 

JimmyB27

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You could maybe have her joining some sort of organisation that either helps people who have left cults, or that works to raise awareness and combat their influence.
That way, she doesn't have to be a superhero saving the day for everyone and their mother, but nor is she blind to the plight of those she left behind.
 

jaksen

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Is this not what some of those best-selling books do? The first book tends to be a personal one; the ones which follow lead to a war/conflict/eventual downfall of the tyrannical system or government? (Cult or whatever?)

Not saying you have to write a series, but if Book One turns out to be a seller and you gain an audience, then tada! You have a ready-made readership for Books 2 and 3, if you are so inclined.

But I also see no problem with one kid trying to save him/herself. There are very popular, well-written YA books exactly like this. More Than This, by Patrick Ness comes to mind. Now, Ness might be working on a sequel, but so far the book appears to be a stand-alone. The MC saves himself and a couple of friends. That's it.
 

AstroFolio

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I don't see myself writing a series but that is something to keep in mind. Hm, I'm thinking she might inspire a policy change in mainstream society, at least making it easier for people to escape...

Thanks :)
 

Marian Perera

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There's a YA book called The Chosen One where the heroine escapes from a cult like the FLDS, where she was ordered to marry her uncle.

I felt the book finished with some significant loose ends - e.g. what happened to the boy she had a crush on (who was beaten up because of his interest in unclewifey), what happened to her little sister (who was tortured by uncle), etc. It's not that I wanted her to bring down the cult, but I would have liked to see her have more of a long-term goal to help the people she loved, or even a vague plan beyond "get out of cult, survive".
 

hellbee

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I think a lot of what makes a great story is the framing. The Hunger Games was framed as a story about war and revolution and the toll it takes on people. If your story is framed as a story of survival for this one specific person, and the tension and pacing and character development is well-executed, I don't see a reason why it can't work. It depends so much on how you frame and execute it that no one can really give you a definitive answer on whether or not it would work until we've seen the finished project.

That being said, I think a personal tale of escape from a horrible situation can be more than enough for a wonderful story, particularly if it's portrayed with truthfulness. Maybe you could look up interviews from people who were entrapped in some way (domestic violence survivors, abduction survivors, people who escaped from North Korean prison camps, actual cult survivors, etc.) and try to channel that into what you're writing.

I think there's always room for brutally real stories of what it can do to a person just to stay alive in the face of adversity, not necessarily trying to change or fix anything. To be honest, that was what The Hunger Games was about. Katniss never wanted to be a part of the revolution; the entire story all of her motivation came from trying to keep herself and/or others close to her alive.
 

what?

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When you read around what screen writing experts have to say about story, you'll get the distinct idea that Hollywood producers prefer to invest in high concept movies.

So as an author aiming at popular and financial success, you have to ask yourself: how can I write my novel so that it will be made into a movie? And the answer is clear: by adhering to screen writing norms and standards.

If you want to write a book to express your personality and don't care if it sells, then write as you want.
 

katebranden

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So as an author aiming at popular and financial success, you have to ask yourself: how can I write my novel so that it will be made into a movie? And the answer is clear: by adhering to screen writing norms and standards

There are a lot of successful books that are never made into movies, and there are a lot of successful books that would make terrible movies. Having a book made into a film is not necessarily the pinnacle of success for an author, or for a book.

As for whether the story can work without the character being a hero, I think it absolutely can. Yes, Katniss's actions led to a revolution, but by the end of book 1, all she'd survived is the games, and the story was very personal to her and her survival. And in contemp realistic, most of the stories I've read have been personal-only, without revolutions or world-saving.
 

AstroFolio

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I see what you mean. Well, I wasn't exactly banking on it going to Hollywood, but yeah. :p Thing is, it's not *that* brutal, although the punishments can be pretty harsh.

It's just archaic and she feels she has no prospects there, seeing as (a) she's a girl (it's v. misogynistic) and (b) the cult-thing has virtually no economy. And it's set in the future, so mainstream society has all this extreme hi-tech and she feels like she's missing out.

But I see I'll have to add in something at the end, though it won't take up much space. Probably.
 

JimmyB27

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I think the only risk you run is if you set her up with close friends while she's in the cult, and then have her essentially not give a thought for them once she's left.
Which is why I think her joining some sort of existing organisation dedicated to either helping ex-cult members, or to bringing down the cults full stop.
That makes her not any sort of sole saviour, but it helps with the readers' perception of her as a good person by making it clear she's at least trying to help those like her.
 

breaking_burgundy

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Have you ever read Paolo Bacigalupi's Ship Breaker? It's a post-apocalyptic novel, with a world so wrecked that there's literally nothing anyone can do to fix it. The plot doesn't revolve around a revolution or widespread, long-term campaign--it's about the protagonist and his companion trying to reach safety.

So yes, it is okay to have a SF/F story where your protagonist isn't the solution to all the world's problems.
 

Zoombie

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I think you should be fine, so long as the protag has a goal that extends beyond themselves - even if that goal is forced (selfish anti-heroes who are forced into doing something larger than themselves is a grand old tradition.)
 

Wilde_at_heart

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I can't think of all that many books I've read where there is a 'save the world' hero - as a reader I far prefer more personal, smaller scale stakes. I find it harder to suspend disbelief when it comes to larger stakes, especially with teen MCs.

Maybe I'm odd this way, but 'what's at stake' is less important to me as a reader than characters, what happens, the writing itself, and the various twists and turns the story takes. It adds to the tension of course, and there needs to be something at stake or the character has to want something, but they don't have to save the entire universe. I'm perfectly fine with completely selfish goals as well, so long as the MC is relatable.

Let's just say, if your overall writing is decent, I'm more likely to pick up the sort of book you're describing you want to write than the Hunger Games.
 
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