DASHING HEROISM, tragedy, makeouts

Hey, I feel kindof odd doing this because I've never seen you around on dA before and just came across your Avatar stuff. But as a writer, I sortof had to see whether I could, and might as well post it. Reply or not...

A great hero:
1. whatever their age, they don't really match it in mind. A child unusually experienced, a middle-aged or old person unusually skilled.
2. has consistent morals. If they're not going to kill, they don't even want to kill the big bad guy. This especially goes for female characters. If they're not going to give up sex to a random character, they're not going to give it up to the hero without a deeper relationship forming between them either.
3. balances humanity and supernatural or godlike abilities (definitly has to have a cool power.)
4. has a tie to something--their hometown, one of their friends, maybe even to a romantic interest--that keeps them sane when all the supernatural things that are surrounding the hero threaten to overwhelm them. This can be a talisman or a memory, and can be done very badly in fiction, but also very well.
5. just go read "A Cavern of Gray Ice" by J.V. Jones and write down all of Raif Sevrance's traits and put them here. I love that man. I suppose because he's tragic and very human.


A great villian:
1. is keep-you-up-at-night terrifying.
2. someone else said this in their reply to this journal and I really liked it; a great villian thinks they're a hero. I don't see enough of those in fiction.
3. A lot of fantasy villians have some sort of physical quirk that makes them cool, seemingly wounded, and inhuman at the same time--an eye like an animal's is a very cliche example. Something that sets them off. Again, this can be done very badly, but also very well. When done well, it can be a symbol of all kinds of things, such as the degradation of humanity and such.
4. has a characterization arc just like a hero. Gets steadily crazier (or perhaps steadily less villianous? I don't know if I've ever seen that done where the villain still maintains their badass evilness, but it's an intriguing possibility.)
5. badass evilness.

A great adventure:
1. involves both our world and a fantasy world.
2. changes the characters involved in ways specific to it.
3. has an aerial battle somewhere
4. has a cool creature or monster somewhere. (Yes, I am a combination of deep and glib. It works.)

A great romance:
1. Doesn't involve sex, or not much. Maybe I'm one of very few people who'd say that, but I thinks sex really cheapens the whole thing.
2. Leaves the reader actually supporting the pairing instead of wishing they were the one with the guy/girl (depending on your orientation) of the pair. Again, maybe this is just me. I don't write romance much.
3. Involves distance. The two can't be together because of something (not something cliche like "their families hate eachother". Something much more interesting, like "he doesn't know she exists" or "she's trying to kill him".)

A great tragedy:
1. involves revenge. I have a thing for revenge. It's so...full of momentum. And when it fails, it's like a semi crashing into a brick wall. Writers, harness that.
2. involves introspection. It's gradual, so that the tragic hero can muse on how s/he or people in general deal with tragedy. Because everyone has to deal with it at some point. Look, just go read Hamlet and bask in its amazingness.

A great story:
1. leaves you out of breath at the end.