Every romance hero is not the same. Over time, romance readers have come to identify different types of heroes, each one having his own appeal. You can craft a hero from a combination of these archetypes, and you should use these archetypes as a starting point in creating a hero that feels real. Conflict in romance novels is character-driven, so the character of your hero should be compelling enough to drive your plot forward. In this article, we discuss four hero archetypes common to romance narratives.

The Alpha Hero

Like the Alpha wolf, an Alpha hero is a leader or a person of authority. He takes control of situations and people the minute he enters the room. The heroine may see him as a rigid, annoying dictator worthy of insubordination. Often, the conflict in a romance narrative with an alpha hero involves the heroine being too hotheaded for his control or leadership.

He occupies a position of authority as a CEO, detective, ship captain, politician, head of a legal chamber. He is unlikely to be a teacher, journalist, doctor or chef. He is a doer, an executor who takes decisions and swiftly implements them. And he keeps an emotional distance, especially with women, until he meets the heroine. If he has a past relationship, it may have ended because of his emotional distance or because she used him for his position of power. He sees the heroine as his match, his equal, finally opening up emotionally to her as he sees in her something no other woman before her had possessed.

The Beta Hero

He is the opposite of the Alpha hero in many ways. He is not as rigid and firm as an Alpha hero. A Beta hero does not have an emotional wall around him and has a good rapport with the heroine, even though emotional tension still exists between them. He can be in any occupation, including those an Alpha hero is rarely in, like a teacher, writer, painter, actor and doctor.

He is more likely to have a family; he is a present, responsible father, a loving husband, a friendly, supportive sibling and a good friend. If he is a divorcee, they probably ended things amicably as both of them grew out of love. Or he could be a widower. He is easier for the heroine and readers to understand. His emotional complexities are out in the open, and readers can easily sympathize with him and acknowledge his emotional struggles. And he comes with emotional baggage that constitutes the tension between him and the heroine.

The Bad-boy hero

He is more like a changed bad boy. He used to be the notorious troublemaker in town, a hotshot with a flashy car or a glamorous way of life, the talk of the town with a carefree, reckless attitude. He probably came up with the wrong crowd, but he is not as terrible as people believe him to be. He might have lived a life of crime, but he is not a hardened criminal, just a couple of bad choices away from redemption. The heroine gets to be the one who tames his wild side and brings about his transformation from a bad boy to a knight in shining amour.

The Playboy Hero

The playboy hero is an irresistible guy who has a hard time settling down with one woman. He loves women, many women, and does not seem to have marriage on his agenda. Here, he may be using his physical attraction for so many women as a way of protecting his heart from being broken by any of them. Or he believes a life without emotional ties is better for him, as many marriages are often devoid of love. He could have become a flirt after a previous relationship went south, or he prefers the easy route through life and love.

But once he encounters the heroine, she affects his playboy lifestyle forever. He is no longer satisfied with the sexual relationship with multiple partners, and he is unhappy that the cupid of love has struck an arrow in his heart for her. In the end, he finally embraces his feelings, and he is grateful that she came into his life and exposed him to the bliss of being in love. The heroine wins the highest price, becoming the one who makes all other ladies disappear in the eyes of the ultimate whiz of women. A true picture of a perfect couple.