Write Good Characters (We Need Them)

You may have noticed a trend in characters in today's media. A lot of them act morally questionable, if not downright awful. Gray characters and antiheroes are more popular than ever.

Don't get me wrong, I love a good moral gray character. But they're one of those characters that are best in moderation, and with the knowledge that they aren't the best person.

Unfortunately, our heroes now fall into that character and we're still supposed to believe that they're the good guys. That's why we need more truly good characters.

What Is a Good Character?

Good= To be desired or approved of.

A good character is someone who makes the right choices. They don't turn away in the face of evil. They don't allow their morals to be compromised.

That doesn't mean they don't make mistakes. That they don't make bad choices sometimes. But they learn from those choices and apologize to the people they hurt or wronged.

To me, the most important trait of a good character is doing the right thing, especially when it's not beneficial to them. Someone like Captain America, who's good for goodness sake, not because he wants to gain something from it.

That's the kind of character I'm talking about when I say good character. (Not so much a well-written character, in this case.)

Why We Need Good Characters

The world is a dark place. There's no denying that. That's why we need wholesome characters that give us hope for humanity. That remind us why we keep fighting. Because if all humans were like the morally gray ones, I might be willing to let the planet go to pot too.

Good characters give us something to strive for. They're flawed, but they're also inspirational when they overcome those flaws to do the right thing. I'd much rather be a Captain America than a Deadpool.

And as a Christian, good characters are important because they're a reminder of the life we're called to lead. A life different than the world wants. Yes, it's hard. Going with the flow would be so much simpler.

But characters that also make those hard choices give us courage and hope to keep going. They remind me to lift up my head and keep living the way I know is right.

To Avoid with Good Characters

Like any type of character, there are some problems that crop up when writing them. So here those are and why you should avoid them.

•Goody-goody kinds. You know the kind. The sickeningly good and naïve kind. Teachers pets, perfect to the point of annoying. And often times, it's a cover for a nasty personality underneath. These kinds of characters ruin the title "good" and make people think all good characters are like this.

•Mary Sues. Similar to the goody-goodies, Mary Sues give good characters a bad name. These characters are perfect. They have no flaws, always do the right thing, and can perfectly perform any task put in front of them. This is not a good character (in either definition of the word).

•Killing them. I could write a whole post on this alone. There's another alarming trend today that whenever there's a good, wholesome character, they're killed off to show that being good is a terrible choice. It's both annoying and wrong.

People like dark characters because it reflects the world around them. Dark characters have way more fun, and they're lots of fun to watch.

But wholesome characters that make right but hard choices are what we need more of.

What are your thoughts on this? Who is your favorite good character? Tell me in the comments.

Suggested Posts:

The Qualities of an Enduring Character

Character Archetypes: The Hero