I've just been listening to the riveting tape of coastguard captain De Falco and the captain of Costa Concordia, the liner that sank off the coast of Italy. De Falco is getting hero treatment in most European newspapers at the moment. First thing that struck me was, he has a great voice, I mean he's completely decisive and even the occasional expletive is pretty much textbook hero fashion (at any rate, for romantic novels). He doesn't go up at the end of his sentences (unless it's a barked out true question), he's really in command of what he's saying and doesn't back down once. So, not too many ellipses and question marks when writing out the dialogue. I guess he's also acting in accordance with his training and is very confident about what needs to be done, putting duty first, a bit like whoever that pilot was, Sully something who landed the plane in the Hudson a while back. So that helps. Their family etc say these two guys are pretty quiet and even shy normally, but they still certainly have a kind of charisma to them. Maybe we should bear these types in mind more when we write our heros, and remember that knowing what they are about is perhaps one of their strongest traits? I know that a lot of movies have quiet guys saving the day, but IMO they can't be totally nerdy to be true heroes...just a thought...
I really value having a strong, assertive voice that's confident and in control of your own words. I'm conscientious about keeping that trait myself, and I generally have respect and appreciation for people who display it as well. Sing-songey voices, voices that are way higher pitched than the person's natural tone, sentences that go up at the end like a question, etc. annoy the crap out of me, and I think that people who do it are either extremely insecure/dependent or are trying way too hard to be cute. I'm sure that's not always the case, but that's how it comes across. So yes, if you're trying to create a hero who readers will have a lot of respect for, a confident and assertive voice is important. I love reading characters like this (and writing them).
