Thursday, March 7, 2013

PLOTTING WITH WOUNDED HEROES by Cheryl Pierson

My heroes are all wounded. Not just emotionally, but physically, as well. Being a hero in a Cheryl Pierson story is like being an expendable member of the landing party on Star Trek. If you had on a red shirt when you beamed down to the planet’s surface, you could pretty well figure you weren’t going to be returning to the Enterprise in one piece, or alive.

In my Western Trail Blazer historical western release, Fire Eyes, U.S. Marshal Kaed Turner is tortured and shot at the hands of the villain, Andrew Fallon, and his gang of cutthroats. A band of Choctaw Indians deposit Kaed on Jessica Monroe’s doorstep with instructions to take care of him. “Do not allow him to die,” the chief tells her.

Can she save him? Or will he meet the same fate that befell her husband, Billy? Although Kaed’s injuries are severe, he recovers under a combination of Jessica’s expert care and his own resolve and inner strength.

The injuries he sustained give him the time he needs to get to know Jessica quickly. Their relationship becomes more intimate in a shorter time span due to the circumstances. Under normal conditions of courtship, the level their relationship skyrockets to in just a few days would take weeks, or months.

Wounding the hero is a way to also show the evil deeds of the villain. We can develop a kinship with the hero as he faces what seem to be insurmountable odds against the villain. How will he overcome those odds? Even if he weren’t injured, it would be hard enough—but now, we feel each setback more keenly than ever. He’s vulnerable in a way he has no control over. How will he deal with it, in the face of this imminent danger?

Enter the heroine. She’ll do what she can to help, but will it be enough to make a difference? This is her chance to show what she’s made of, and further the relationship between them. (If he dies, of course, that can’t happen.)

From this point on, as the hero begins to recover, he also regains his confidence as well as his strength.

It’s almost like “The Six Million Dollar Man”: We can build him stronger…faster…better…

He will recover, but now he has something to lose—the newfound love between him and the heroine. Now, he’s deadlier than ever, and it’s all about protecting the woman he loves.

Or, his injuries may give him a view of life that he hadn’t hoped for before. Maybe the heroine’s care and the ensuing love between them make the hero realize qualities in himself he hadn’t known were there.

In my holiday short story, A Night For Miracles, wounded gunman Nick Dalton arrives on widow Angela Bentley’s doorstep in a snowstorm. Angela is tempted at first to turn him away, until she realizes he’s traveling with three half-frozen youngsters, and he’s bleeding.

As she settles the children into the warmth of her home and begins to treat Nick’s injury, she realizes it’s Christmas Eve—“A Night For Miracles,” Nick says wryly. “I’m ready for mine.”

In this excerpt, the undercurrents between them are strong, but Nick realizes Angela’s fears. She’s almost as afraid of taking in a gunman with a reputation as she is of being alone again.

FROM “A NIGHT FOR MIRACLES”

Angela placed the whiskey-damp cloth against the jagged wound. The man flinched, but held himself hard against the pain. Finally, he opened his eyes. She looked into his sun-bronzed face, his deep blue gaze burning with a startling, compelling intensity as he watched her. He moistened his lips, reminding Angela that she should give him a drink. She laid the cloth in a bowl and turned to pour the water into the cup she’d brought.

A killer. A gunfighter. A ruthless mercenary. What was he doing with these children? She’d heard of him, all right, bits and pieces, whispers at the back fence. Gossip, mainly. And the stories consisted of such variation there was no telling what was true and what wasn’t.

She’d heard. She just hadn’t expected him to be so handsome. Hadn’t expected to see kindness in his eyes. Hadn’t expected to have him show up on her doorstep carrying a piece of lead in him, and with three children in tow. She forced herself to respond through stiff lips. “Heard of you? Who hasn’t?”

He met her challenging stare. “I mean you no harm.”

She remained silent, and he closed his eyes once more. His hands rested on the edge of the sheet, and Angela noticed the traces of blood on his left thumb and index finger. He’d tried to stem the blood flow from his right side as he rode. “I’m only human, it seems, after all,” he muttered huskily. “Not a legend tonight. Just a man.”

He was too badly injured to be a threat, and somehow, looking into his face, she found herself trusting him despite his fearsome reputation. She kept her expression blank and approached the bed with the dishpan and the bandaging tucked beneath her arm. She fought off the wave of compassion that threatened to engulf her. It was too dangerous. When she spoke, her tone was curt. “A soldier of fortune, from what I hear.”

He gave a faint smile. “Things aren’t always what they seem, Miss Bentley.”


I hope you’ve enjoyed this peek into what makes my heroes ‘tick.’For these stories and others, see my Amazon page here: https://www.amazon.com/author/cherylpierson

I will be giving away a copy of A NIGHT FOR MIRACLES to one commenter today! Be sure to leave contact info, and thanks for stopping by.

13 comments:

  1. As usual a most interesting post. The more the writer brings the reader into caring the more they respond to the hero/heroines plight. You do it well.

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  2. Thank you, RW! You're so right about the reader having to care--many times that just doesn't happen, and if I get too far into a book and still feel that way, I just put it aside. I'm glad you stopped by today!
    Cheryl

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  3. You make some good points. The wounded hero is also a frequent plot gambit in early westerns, and you can start with THE VIRGINIAN as an example. I have found it used repeatedly as a way to bring the hero and heroine together into some kind of intimate space, often involving a bed. The hero may also get delirious and utter words and phrases that relate to his past or his hopes and fears.

    It was a way of rendering the otherwise self-reliant hero dependent on the heroine--and in a situation where she did not have to compete with his horse.

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  4. Ron, you're absolutely right. Many of the TV westerns used this device a lot because of the very reasons you give--the solution had to be wrapped up in a half an hour or an hour. There wasn't a lot of time for that week's heroine (or female lead) to get to know the male lead over a long time period. Many times it was the best way to let the audience in on the thought processes of the female, because we already knew the male's story. I think what I really like about writing stories like this is, sometimes we don't know any more than the heroine, or female protagonist, knows and are learning it along with her. Had to laugh at your comment about her not having to compete with the horse! Thanks for commenting today! I always enjoy your thoughtful take on things.
    Cheryl

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  5. I love a protagonist who's in a moral dilemma or on a mission of justice. I definitely agree the villain has to have an advantage so the hero has to triumph in the face of overwhelming odds.

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  6. I agree, Jacquie. I love those two plot gambits, too. My villains are always a bit crazy...okay, a LOT crazy. LOL I found my protagonist, Kaed Turner, in Fire Eyes was even a little surprised at what happens, even after having witnessed the villain (Fallon) in action up close and personal.
    Cheryl

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  7. I second all that you said. A wounded hero does get a better insight into his own life and might just want to make a few changes. How he recovers says so much about his character and, of course, the more wicked and cruel the villain, the better the hero is in the reader's eyes.
    Fire Eyes is one of your best stories, but I love them all. LOL

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  8. Sarah, thank you so much for stopping by today. I like that thought of yours--that the hero might WANT to change some things. Maybe he has never really had the chance to be in a position where he is forced to think of that until now. I know you and I both love those wicked villains. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Thanks so much for your support and your kind words! I appreciate you, Sarah!
    Cheryl

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  9. Hi Cheryl,
    Oh yes, wounded and tortured heroes, we can't live without them, and you do them so well.

    regards

    Margaret

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  10. Margaret, it is soooo good to see you here at the Western Fictioneers blog! I'm glad you stopped by. Yes, those wounded and tortured heroes are the "angst power" of the stories aren't they? LOL What in the world would we do if we didn't have them? INVENT THEM! LOL
    Cheryl

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  11. Margaret, you are my winner of A NIGHT FOR MIRACLES! Would you please contact me at fabkat_edit@yahoo.com and I will be glad to get your prize to you!

    Thanks to everyone for stopping by today!
    Cheryl

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  12. I stopped by and commented yesterday, but it got swallowed by blogger- must've pushed the wrong button on that darn little phone screen. Anyways, to recap, I love Cheryl's characters -she sure does put 'em through the wringer!

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  13. Troy, you weren't the only one who had trouble with Blogger yesterday. I've heard from a couple more people who stopped by and wondered why their comment hadn't appeared.

    You've done some damage to some of your characters, too, as I recall. LOL

    Cheryl

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