:: Writing the Hero ::
Written By TrinityLast

You’re writing for Buffy. She’s the hero. She must win. *Nothing* can go wrong. Right?

Wrong.

When you write for a hero, you must remember not to make her perfect. She has flaws. She might stutter, or miss a joke, or forget something important. This does not qualify as character bashing. This is a way to make the person more real.

To be real, she can’t be fake. No one is funny every time she speaks, or gets along with everyone, or is always in the right. No one wins every argument, or knows what to do the minute the problem comes up. She has to be human, so we can relate to her.

The same goes for the sidekicks. BTVS and ATS are unusual in that they have fully developed sidekicks/supporting characters. Please, please don’t break them down to their basic elements and write Xander as an idiot goofball, Willow as a shy witch and Tara as a stuttering hideaway. These characters are all fully rounded people. Try to write them that way. Xander does not always have a joke at hand, Willow is *not* always scared, and Tara does not stutter every other word. Giles *never* wore all tweed all the time, even when the characters themselves teased him about it. Cordy is neither a total bitch, nor a total saint. Despite this last year of ATS, she is an actual person with ups and downs. You may like her, but write her human, ok?

On the other hand, Buffy is also not a scared little girl who suddenly becomes the Slayer when things get rough. She doesn’t cower around Angel or Giles (or whoever you have her paired with) and get scared that she’s lousy in bed. She never did. *Ever*. She doesn’t get a deer in headlights look when someone mentions sex, either. She is not now, nor has she ever been, a ‘meek little nothing’. Please don’t write her as such. She is a fully rounded person who makes mistakes and gets things right, knows who she is a lot of the time, and also gets lost.

So, when you’re writing for our Hero, remember to make her real. She can be funny, she can be smart, but she isn’t perfect. Please don’t make her St. Buffy, no one will believe it. No one believes in Heroes that have no problems, it’s the problems and flaws that make her real and fun to watch/read about.

Buffy Summers is a Vampire Slayer. She is *not* a God.

But that doesn’t mean we love her any less.

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