![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Things That Are Cool - Part 2
Aug. 12th, 2007 08:11 am2) Courageous self-sacrifice
This usually comes in somewhere in any story I write. It is easy to overdo, or do badly, most notably in the new Doctor Who series where it often happens with little build-up or consequence. In many ways, it's a easy way to paint heroism, in the same way that endangering a child is an easy way to show villainy.
On the other hand, done well, it really does define for me what heroism means. It gives my characters a chance to speak with actions rather than words, even if the actions are sometimes a little clichéd.
It also works quite well when the characters themselves aren't aware that their actions are courageous, or if they believe that they're acting for pragmatic or non-heroic reasons.
This usually comes in somewhere in any story I write. It is easy to overdo, or do badly, most notably in the new Doctor Who series where it often happens with little build-up or consequence. In many ways, it's a easy way to paint heroism, in the same way that endangering a child is an easy way to show villainy.
On the other hand, done well, it really does define for me what heroism means. It gives my characters a chance to speak with actions rather than words, even if the actions are sometimes a little clichéd.
It also works quite well when the characters themselves aren't aware that their actions are courageous, or if they believe that they're acting for pragmatic or non-heroic reasons.
