So I’m Trying To Write (again), But This Time I’ll Be Here Too...

Writing Tropes Well: Chronic Hero Syndrome

A good hero helps those in need, right? So the best heroes help everyone in need!

….Is probably what these kind of characters are thinking, but the reality is a little different. The Chronic Hero Syndrome mainly affects the good and (at least partially) naive protagonist who thinks that every problem around them needs to be solved, usually by them. Some stories like to portray this kind of character in a purely positive light since “always ready to help others” is thought of as a positive trait. Sometimes it works, often because it’s a simplistic story, deals with black-and-white morality, it’s a video game with fetch quests, etc. However, when you look beyond the surface level this “affliction” has some interesting consequences for the character.

(NOTE: This trope shares a similar name with a real-life affliction “Hero Syndrome” where someone intentionally creates bad situations in order to save everyone and appear as the hero. The real syndrome is not the same as the trope!!)

To start, let’s take a look at the trait itself. Mentioned before, the desire to help everyone sounds like a great trait, however by thinking that way you’re boxing in how you’re defining characters. Traits shouldn’t be sorted into “good” and “bad”; they should be lumped together and thought of as “strengths” or “weaknesses” relative to each situation (link embedded). Strengths can become weakness and weakness can become strengths depending on what’s happening. Flaws are circumstantial.

All aspects of a character should have consequences, “consequences” being positive, negative, and even neutral effects from who they are. Most often, those consequences are found in the choices that the character makes. Even a choice made with the best of intentions can have a negative impact, and any character with Chronic Hero Syndrome can’t be making perfect choices 24/7 because nobody can realistically do that.

A protagonist, or any other character, with Chronic Hero Syndrome may see negative consequences like (but not limited to):

Manipulation. It’s easy to take advantage of someone who’s wholly predictable in their choices. The antagonist can easily set up a trap for this type of character.

Sticky situations due to naivete. Though it’s possible for a character to be less naive by critically examining the situations they end up in, just blindly believing and helping anyone who asks for it can land them in troublesome situations.

Consequences of the Law. Sometimes helping others isn’t always legal, though legality does not have a direct correlation to morality. If this character breaks laws then it should be addressed realistically for the story.

Burnout (especially of friends). It takes a lot of time and energy to commit to the level of help they offer and it’s not easy to sustain. A friend or partner may also not be as enthusiastic about that character’s choices as it bites into their time together.

Blunders. Helping doesn’t always mean succeeding. This character can (and should) fail once in a while. Sometimes, even succeeding at a task can have negative effects, especially if the character was tricked or failed to see the big picture.

Potentially incorrect self-image. Let’s be honest, this character thinks that they can help everyone. To reach that conclusion you need to think you’re really the best choice to get something done, which anyone with a healthy sense of self-esteem knows isn’t always the case. The character may point the person in need to better help, but a good chunk of having CHS means the character personally provides aid. In some stories, the “I’m the best option” thought can be justified, especially if the character has an ability that the average person does not, but it takes a level of arrogance, tunnel vision, and/or obsession to genuinely believe you’re the best option to personally help. Even if the character is just “too nice” so they feel like they always have to offer, someone genuinely interested in helping the best way possible would be willing to admit that they aren’t the best choice, and would be willing to pass off the task to someone who is. There’s a reason that Chronic Hero Syndrome isn’t called “person who likes to help others”; the afflicted character crosses the line between reasonable help to an almost weird sense of duty.

All that said– it’s okay if you want to write a character with Chronic Hero Syndrome! This post is meant to get you critically thinking about the character trait, not say that it’s bad to have someone with it in a story. Tropes are not bad, but they need to be understood or else the writer runs the risk of writing a poor story.

When writing a character with CHS, make sure you can address these things about them to make sure they’re well-rounded and interesting (especially if they’re a main character!):

What’s the source of the CHS? It’s one thing to want to help your friends when you can, but a hero with CHS is over-willing to help strangers and maybe even those they don’t get along with. This isn’t a common trait in reality, so it’s best to have an explanation or source of why they are who they are.

Do they genuinely think they’re the best option to help or is the constant desire to help a sign of something else? One character may punish themselves by helping everyone around them, depriving themselves of personal time and fully knowing that it could have been done better by someone else. Another character might be harboring guilt and tries to take care of it by being aggressively helpful to everyone else. Someone else might be obsessed with a certain image of being useful (but they don’t create the situations and then save people from them, that’s the real-life Hero Syndrome).

How does the CHS integrate with the rest of the personality? “I want to help everyone” is not a personality, it’s a choice of values. This character still needs to have thoughts and traits outside of their Syndrome.

How could the CHS cause problems? All choices have consequences, and a character who truly has CHS is probably sacrificing a lot from other aspects of their life. Maybe their partner starts feeling abandoned, maybe the hero tries to help and makes something 10x worse! Every single trait should be free game for causing issues in a story.

Tropes can be a useful part of storytelling, particularly when done well. Because Chronic Hero Syndrome most often affects protagonists or other main characters, writing it well means understanding the reach of the “affliction”. It’s fine to write a simplistic story (a lot of children’s novels do this) where the protag wanting to help everyone is just a sign of a good, helpful person. But if you’re looking to write a realistic story, particularly with character realism, then you’ll need to address the consequences that this kind of character can bring to a story.

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Draco having an extensive amout of knowledge about Harry is my fave thing, like some Slytherins will go "Potter looks too cheerful today" "well, maybe it's his birthday", and Draco is casually like "nah, his birthday is July 31st", and everyone is like "what" and Draco is like "what?". Gryffindors passing him in the courtyard, Neville be like "Harry, wanna some strawberry gum?" and Draco mutters to himself "he's allergic to strawberry, Longbottom, Merlin..", and the Slytherins like "not AGAIN"

Oh my god this is so real and powerful and canon

I love this

Me trying to figure out how to logically ship drarry, scorbus, linny, wolfstar, and jeddy all at the same time.

Is that a threat, Draco

To Be Written

Source: Steven Ingels

The Brightest Witch of Her Age.

remus lupin’s patronus is a wolf are you SHITTING me

like can you imagine him doing it for the first time and finally succeeding and it’s a fucking wolf and all his classmates are like “oh that’s cool” and meanwhile he walks over and kicks a desk

i am begging everyone to watch this video right now

do you ever look at someone and think ‘man, what a work of art’

i’m still PISSED about harry potter leaving draco to die because “oh boo hoo there aren’t enough seats in this minivan someone has to stay behind” like you fool. you fucking fool. i’ve ridden to walmart and back in an 11-person shuttle seating 17 people just bc i didn’t wanna wait to get some skim milk. are you really telling me that you couldn’t put a dude in the trunk for the sake of getting away from a collapsing island? you worried about not having enough seat belts??? people died bc of your poor minivan management skills, harry