{"id":394,"date":"2022-08-16T22:51:50","date_gmt":"2022-08-16T22:51:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/?p=394"},"modified":"2022-08-16T22:51:50","modified_gmt":"2022-08-16T22:51:50","slug":"gideon-how-to-write-a-flawed-hero","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/?p=394","title":{"rendered":"Gideon\u2014How to Write a Flawed Hero"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We are looking at the story of Gideon, which is found in Judges 6-8. We will be focusing mostly on chapters 6 and 7, so if you haven\u2019t read those yet, head on over to your Bible and brush up on this story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019ve been following this blog, you know that I talk a lot about the importance of having flawed main characters. Well, in Gideon\u2019s story, we find a man that seems far from the courageous, unflinching, comic-book heroes. In fact, Gideon seems downright cowardly at times. But does this make him any less of a good main character? Well, in today\u2019s post, I\u2019m going to use the story of Gideon to offer a few tips on how to write a flawed but heroic MC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Grounded in the Lie<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    We talked about this two weeks ago in the post \u201cThe Lie vs. the Truth.\u201d For a Positive Change Arc, your MC\u2019s flaws will stem directly from their Lie as symptoms. So if the Lie is \u201cI deserve better,\u201d the symptoms might be self-righteousness, indignation at what they think is \u201cill treatment,\u201d pride, or disdain for others whom they deem lowly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Make sure that your MC\u2019s flaws fit the Lie, and that their most major symptoms are directly connected. It would seem a bit out of place if a character whose Lie is \u201cI\u2019m not worth anything\u201d had pride as a flaw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    (Note: Since the major flaws are grounded in the Lie, they will<\/em> be overcome by the end of a Positive Change Arc.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In the case of Gideon, his flaws of mistrust and cowardice ties in with his Lie that the Midianites are unbeatable and he is unable to lead.Also, he appears to have risen past these shortcomings by the time we arrive at the Climax.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    1. According to personality<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      This one is a little obvious, but it does sometimes get overlooked. If your character is generally very brash, bold, and outspoken, it probably wouldn\u2019t make sense that one of their flaws is timidity. Now, of course, that\u2019s a little extreme, but I have<\/em> seen similar things happen in stories before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Just make sure that their Lie and flaws are in keeping with their overall personality. I do understand that people are complex, so things don\u2019t have to be as they seem. It\u2019s definitely plausible to have a character who is outwardly confident, but inwardly struggles with insecurity. But, generally, the flaws your MC has will be outward, anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The bottom line is that you know your character best, so always be analyzing their actions. Ask yourself if they\u2019re staying in character and, if they\u2019re not, get them back in line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Gideon\u2019s story portrays him as someone who\u2019d been raised on the fact that he\u2019s one of the \u201cleast\u201d. He\u2019s a member of the smallest tribe, he grew up in a poor family, and he was the least in his father\u2019s house. So you can imagine that the idea of him leading an entire nation against a huge army would be quite intimidating to him. He\u2019s very unsure of himself, and seriously doubts that he\u2019s capable of leading, as well as that Israel is capable of defeating the Midianites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      His personality and his flaws really just tie into each other. I mean, if our personalities were only based on our virtues, that would be an incomplete picture of us. Our sinful tendencies stem from the personality we were born with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      (Note: This is not meant to be an excuse to sin. While each of us has different flaws that come from our various personalities, that doesn\u2019t mean we should dismiss our sin as being \u201cjust the way we are\u201d. By God\u2019s grace, He will cleanse us from sin, making us new creatures. This means that we will then have the power to rise past our flaws and sinful tendencies.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      1. Not praised<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        I have read countless books where the characters have many flaws. But instead of being recognized as flaws\u2014instead of them being overcome by the end of the book\u2014I find that the flaws are encouraged, praised, and embraced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Above all, make sure that your are portraying your characters\u2019 sins as truly wrong. Your audience should know exactly where you stand on certain issues (if those issues are touched on in the story, that is). And while your protagonist\u2019s flaws should be plausible, make sure you\u2019re not excusing their sins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        In Gideon\u2019s story, we know that his hesitancy is wrong because a Flat Arc character is clearly against it (which is a good way to do it, by the way). This Flat Arc character is God Himself. Note that God helps Gideon along his journey to victory over His Lie and flaws, just as Flat Arc character should.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        <\/div>\n\n\n\n
        1. Give them virtues<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

          Despite any flaws he might have, the hero is<\/em> still the hero. So while you should give him flaws, make sure that you distinguish him from the antagonist. This means that he does need to accomplish some good, or at least have the desire to. Otherwise, why is he the protagonist?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          For example, in the movie \u201cFinding Nemo,\u201d Marlin is an overprotective father who is quite pessimistic and high-strung. While you might think that he would be the antagonist, blocking young Nemo from going out and exploring the world on his own, he\u2019s actually the MC. And the reason we care about Marlin and his story is because we see how deeply he cares about his son.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          And in \u201cA Tale of Two Cities,\u201d we are offered a pretty extensive look at Sydney Carton, one of the supporting characters. Quite frankly, this young man is drunken, lazy, and idle. But we care about him because we know his desire to keep Lucy safe, to make something of his life, and to sacrifice for others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          So, by all means, make your Positive Change Arc hero flawed. In fact, make him very<\/em> flawed. But don\u2019t forget to give him a few virtues to help the audience empathize with him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          One of Gideon\u2019s virtues is his trust in the Lord. Yes, this trust could definitely use some growth, but he did end up obeying God\u2019s commands despite the odds. He could have easily said \u201cno\u201d at any point and walked away from the battlefield. And, while there was definitely a lot of hesitance, Gideon ended up doing as the Lord had commanded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          <\/div>\n\n\n\n

          I hope these points were a help to you, and will aid you as you write your own flawed heroes. In two weeks, we\u2019ll be back to take a look at yet another character in the Book of Judges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          <\/div>\n\n\n\n

          Comment below what your favorite flawed hero is, and feel free to ask questions!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          We are looking at the story of Gideon, which is found in Judges 6-8. We will be focusing mostly on chapters 6 and 7, so if you haven\u2019t read those yet, head on over to your Bible and brush up on this story.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,20],"tags":[31,26,29,56,55,28],"class_list":["post-394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible-analyses","category-the-book-of-judges","tag-bible-analyses","tag-characters","tag-christian-writing","tag-flaws","tag-hero","tag-judges"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=394"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":397,"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394\/revisions\/397"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}