What’s the secret to creating characters readers love? There must be a secret, right? Some magic formula that will make readers fall as madly in love with our characters as we have with other writers’ larger-than-life heroes and heroines.

You’re probably thinking I’m going to say, “Sorry, no, there’s no magic formula. Just hard work and luck.” But, actually, that’s not so. Actually, there is a magic ingredient to creating amazing characters.

And that is bravery.

Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight V. Swain (affiliate link)

Readers adore courageous characters. We’ll forgive characters just about any other flaw, but rarely endemic cowardice. In the words of Dwight V. Swain’s immortal Techniques of the Selling Writer:

Don’t try to make virtue take the place of courage. Admirable qualities are fine as subordinate characterizing elements. But fascination is born of valor, not virtue…. A saintly character … may fall ever so flat—not because he’s saintly, but because he doesn’t, in addition, challenge fate.

6 Types of Courageous Characters

Dreamlander (Amazon affiliate link)

In writing my portal fantasy novel Dreamlander, I got to explore six different kinds of bravery:

1. Heroic Bravery

When we think of heroes these days, we generally think of those who qualify for heroic bravery.

What Is It?

This kind of bravery makes a character do crazy dangerous stuff, either to protect others or to advance a cause in which he passionately believes. He’s not a fool. He knows what he’s risking, but he believes the danger is worth it.

Examples: Spider-Man, Captain America, Indiana Jones, Luke Skywalker. The vast majority of blockbuster, action-adventure, and fantasy heroes qualify for heroic bravery.

Spider-Man represents a “heroic” courageous character. (Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Sony Pictures, Marvel Studios.)

2. Steadfast Bravery

Steadfast bravery isn’t as flashy as heroic bravery (although it may exhibit bursts of heroism), but its patient doggedness challenges fate every single day.

What Is It?

This is the kind of bravery we see from someone enduring a bad or dangerous situation day in and day out. A POW, a soldier in the trenches, or an informant in enemy territory will probably exhibit steadfast bravery.

Examples: Courtney (in the WWI movie Dawn Patrol), like so many soldiers on the line, grits his teeth and holds fast in the face of death every single day.

Courtney (Eroll Flynn) in Dawn Patrol represents a “steadfast” courageous character. (Dawn Patrol (1938), Warner Bros.)

3. Quiet Bravery

This one is perhaps the least flashy of any type of bravery. To the casual observe, it can even occasionally be mistaken for cowardice.

What Is It?

Quiet bravery gives a character the courage needed to endure bad situations with grace and patience. It’s an offshoot of steadfast bravery, but it surfaces in situations that are less physically dangerous. Cancer patients, overworked single parents, and trod-upon servants who maintain their sense of self-worth and hope all exhibit quiet bravery.

Examples: Literature is full of plucky orphans who endure their hard lots with a smile. Amy Dorrit (in Little Dorrit) and Sara Crewe (in A Little Princess) both qualify.

Amy Dorrit represents a “quiet” courageous character. (Little Dorrit (2008), BBC / WGBH Boston.)

4. Personal Bravery

Not all brave characters will face death or save the world. Sometimes the bravest thing a person can do is take a chance to advance her own lot in life.

What Is It?

Personal bravery demands characters reach for the stars and chase their dreams. Instead of remaining in a bad situation and taking it and taking it, they risk everything for a chance at a better life. Personal bravery is perhaps the most common kind of bravery of all, since it’s something every single one of us chooses to exhibit at one point or another in our lives, whether it’s in dreaming of a better education, a better career, or just a life-changing trip around the world.

Examples: Jane Eyre, Jo March, and David Copperfield, among so many others, challenged their unappealing fates by braving the world and forcing themselves into uncomfortable positions with the hope of creating better, more fulfilling lives for  themselves.

Jo March represents a “personally” courageous character. (Little Women (1994), Columbia Pictures.)

5. Devil-May-Care Bravery

Here we find the domain of the anti-hero and the fatalist.

What Is It?

Devil-may-care bravery isn’t bravery so much as a cynical realization that death (or whatever the worst-case scenario may be) will come no matter what we do, ergo let’s meet it with arms stretched wide. Characters who have nothing to live for can often exhibit insane courage even though they’re doing it from a place of negativity.

Examples: Durzo Blint (from The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks), Riddick in Pitch Black, and my own Marcus Annan from Behold the Dawn all fall into this category. They’re powerful in their own right and they don’t care too deeply about what happens to them, which makes them recklessly and dangerously courageous.

Riddick represents a “devil-may-care” courageous character. (Pitch Black (2000), Universal Pictures.)

6. Frightened Bravery

Finally, we have the most dichotomous, and often the most compelling, bravery of all.

What Is It?

Frightened bravery finds the hero a knee-shaking, gut-churning, terrified mess. But he rises above it. He enters the fray in spite of his terror, and, in so doing, becomes the bravest of all characters. Frightened bravery can go hand in hand with any of the other types (save perhaps devil-may-care bravery), since the very act of overcoming fear is what makes a character brave.

Examples: Harry Faversham (in The Four Feathers) is a particularly good example, since his entire story is about his wildly courageous attempts to blot out his own cowardice. The Youth (in The Red Badge of Courage), Lee (in The Magnificent Seven), and Danny (in The Great Escape) would all qualify as well.

Harry Faversham represents a “frightened” courageous character. (The Four Feathers (2002), Paramount Pictures.)

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None of these categories are exclusive. A character may well exhibit all six types of bravery during the course of your story, and often you’ll find the categories overlapping. In creating strong characters, it’s important not only that they qualify for at least one of these types of bravery, but also that you identify which is the strongest category, so you can further strengthen it on the page. Once you’ve done that, it’s almost a cinch readers will find your characters fascinating.

Wordplayers, tell me your opinions! Which type of courageous character does your protagonist predominantly qualify for? Tell me in the comments!

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