The Quiet Hero

I was lucky enough to have a weekend away working on my next solo project - Betwixt. It was very cool to bury myself away with this story. I really like the characters I'm working with. Dale, in particular, is my favourite.

He's the hero of this story, but he doesn't meet that typical hero persona. He's not the tall, gorgeous guy that all girls fall for. If anything, most girls don't like him. I can't picture him running into battle with a sword and shield. He's definitely not the sporty type.

Don't get me wrong, he's capable, but other than long distance running, he really doesn't like doing PE. He'd rather bury himself in the basement of his house playing drums until his mother can't hack it anymore. Or he'd rather spend hours at his computer losing himself in a game or novel.

Dale's the kind of guy who isn't afraid to speak his mind, has no time for high school dramas and to most, he probably comes across as either shy or grumpy.

But to me, he is a true hero.

You see throughout this story, he puts the one girl that drives him insane, before himself. In my opinion that is the ultimate quality of a hero. Someone who puts other people's welfare above their own. They think of others first and they make sacrifices to help them, not caring what it costs.

Those are the heroes I fall in love with.

People in my story will probably never see Dale as a hero, but that's what he is. He just doesn't make a big song and dance about it :)

What do you think about the quiet heroes?
Have you read a book recently where you encountered one?

Image source: http://www.mbrsociety.org/2011/06/01/real-heroes