R.W. Richard's Blog, page 28
February 14, 2016
Does an Alpha Hero like Strong Willed Women?
Some called them kick ass heroines, when they’re spies, detectives, military.
Some say they know what they want and how to get it. These women are successful in business but are they successful in matters of the heart?
The younger you ask the guy, the more likely he picture his future unknown mate as a nurturing, affectionate, loving, kind soul, gorgeous and sexy (naturally), totally dedicated to loving him (toss in—makes him laugh). Someone he could have and hold, love and protect. Nothing wrong with that. This preconception stems partially from stereotypes with a dose of insecurity typical to a boy turning man. He enters a confusing world of adult responsibility and the propagation of the species.
My Renaissance man can be alpha, beta or gamma but always knows a good woman when he meets one. He’ll shuck off his immature ideas of the ideal woman when he gets to know her. Perhaps she’ll save him from financial ruin, rescue him from terrorists; teach him the value of love. It doesn’t matter. A real hero has no fear of who is boss in any given situation, in fact, he thanks God he found her, because they make a great team and he finally understands the true meaning and can feel, love.
Last night, Hallmark premiered, Valentine Ever After, starring, Autumn Reeser, Vanessa Matsui and Eric Johnson. In the movie, the writer adeptly explores these concepts and how they change people. (30 second promo)
Some say they know what they want and how to get it. These women are successful in business but are they successful in matters of the heart?
The younger you ask the guy, the more likely he picture his future unknown mate as a nurturing, affectionate, loving, kind soul, gorgeous and sexy (naturally), totally dedicated to loving him (toss in—makes him laugh). Someone he could have and hold, love and protect. Nothing wrong with that. This preconception stems partially from stereotypes with a dose of insecurity typical to a boy turning man. He enters a confusing world of adult responsibility and the propagation of the species.
My Renaissance man can be alpha, beta or gamma but always knows a good woman when he meets one. He’ll shuck off his immature ideas of the ideal woman when he gets to know her. Perhaps she’ll save him from financial ruin, rescue him from terrorists; teach him the value of love. It doesn’t matter. A real hero has no fear of who is boss in any given situation, in fact, he thanks God he found her, because they make a great team and he finally understands the true meaning and can feel, love.
Last night, Hallmark premiered, Valentine Ever After, starring, Autumn Reeser, Vanessa Matsui and Eric Johnson. In the movie, the writer adeptly explores these concepts and how they change people. (30 second promo)
February 10, 2016
Welcome our guest host: Joel Dorr
I'm happy to introduce a recent addition to RWASD, a great writer and another male point of view, Joel Dorr:
Real Men Write—and Read Romance
How often have you picked up a novel to find all the male characters were as vanilla flavored as a Carnation Instant Breakfast? They have no purpose other than to be a man prop character to push the story along. You’ve read them, the boyfriend who cheated on our heroin for unknown reasons or how about the doting, layered fiancé who works all the time, leaving our leading lady alone wanting more sex. Vanilla characters have their place—getting the back story out and even as a dialogue dummy for our main character, but how do we add a little flavor to the same old boring breakfast?
As a male and writing from a male perspective in romance, I find it helpful to develop comical and quirky traits that make us laugh at these Y chromosome characters. Perhaps it’s the funny way he suddenly breaks into a sweat whenever he spots someone’s mini-wheat adorably licking an ice cream cone and fumbling it through their five year-old fingers within splattering distance of his Michael Jordon Nikes. Or the uncontrollable, yet nerdy predictable way, his head spasms to the right craning up to look at ceiling tiles, whenever a pretty Asian gal tries to start a conversation with him. These idiosyncrasies not only build an interesting male character, but the quirkiness is also relatable to the audience and memorable. Can’t you feel the anxiety of a child nearly dumping his ice cream cone on your $300 pair of shoes? What do you do when someone you find extremely hot walks up to you?
Let’s use that as an example and dig into the neuroses of a character --let’s call him Bob, the same name as the host of this blog--and discover what makes him avert his attention away from..let’s say attractive Asian ladies. Some writers might naturally toss out the cliche explanation of a childhood crush on a sexy Asian teacher… Would anyone like a little dry toast with your Instant Breakfast? Every character has the potential for a shareable moment that moves the story along and adds some flavor. One method I use is to think like the readers of grocery store tabloids, searching out the juiciest and most ridiculous of possibilities.
In my imagination, Bob’s issue would look more like this:
While Bob was a tween of fourteen, he was chasing after an errant Frisbee, overthrown and clearing the fence, landing in the petunias under the bedroom window of the grumpy next-door neighbor. As Bob rummaged around looking for the Frisbee, careful not to trod on the old Asian woman’s flowers and get grounded again, he glanced inadvertently into the window. Sleuthiness turned into horror as he was frozen like a character in a Stephen King novel.
The old Asian woman was nearly naked!
Unable to move he stared at her, clad only in her stained bra and grannie underpants, pulled up over her large, double tummy roll.
Bob had never seen anything so revolting—well, there was that two-headed baby on the cover of the Enquirer Magazine, but this was real life. She screamed and Bob forgot about the Frisbee, making a beeline for his home, hoping she was so shocked or too old to realize it was him. Unfortunately for poor Bob, that image would be burned into his retina, an unwanted visual recall for a lifetime.
Ding dong, Bob’s days are numbered the doorbell seemed to chime. As predicted, the old woman came to the front door and he awaited her trumped up, stalkerish tale of their encounter. Bob mumbled under his breath, “If I were going to be a peeping Tom, why would I be looking in her windows, when we have two MILFs in the neighborhood?”
“Robert?” Bob’s parents called in unison and he marched toward them trying to get his explanation straight for a reduced sentence. Using his full name was never a good sign.
“Mrs. Wong brought over this package for you. It seems the postman made a mistake and accidently left it at her home. She was hoping to give it to you in person, but I didn’t know you were home.”
Maybe she didn’t realize it was Bob. Or perhaps she didn’t see him. Whatever the case, he was home free. Or was he? The next afternoon while playing Frisbee in the front yard Bob saw Mrs. Wong on the front porch. She turned catching his eyes and…sent a wink! Yes, definitely a knowing wink confirming the events of the previous day. He would never forget the image of hospital-issued underpants pulled up over human fat inner tubes. And that disgusting discomfort would stay with him forever, tied to any encounter with an Asian woman, beautiful or not.
Ok, now which explanation is more fun and interesting? Crush on a pretty teacher or old woman in granny undies? And even if this is your main character, it makes him human and kind of adorkable, for having such a silly quirk. If it’s a character you don’t particularly want your reader to like in the first place, then your layers make him even more of a pathetic, loser-like jerk. Either way, chasing the laugh may help you enjoy adding some personality to your male character making him much more interesting. And come on, we can all relate, to some ridiculous idiotic tick we’ve manifested as a result of a simple, yet traumatic event, which happened long ago, so wouldn’t your reader?
I used this technique a lot when writing my new romantic comedy Those Crazy Notions of Otherwise Intelligent People . Yes, it’s true, real men also write romantic comedies along with the ladies. I have the “real man” pedigree growing up in Montana and Wyoming, where as a young boy, my brothers and I raced by horseback across the grass pastures of my grandfather’s ranch. There is no video game that can match the exhilaration of riding full speed on the back of a galloping horse. With a full access nature pass, I swam, rafted and fished many of the lakes and rivers of Wyoming. Early inspiration hit when I located and walked down the same dirt path Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid used to hunker down in their Hole in the Wall hideout. My brothers and I carried fishing poles, instead of guns, that is when we didn’t have a pretend posse chasing us. I was able to put myself through college playing basketball, getting degrees in Theatre and Broadcasting. Later I began writing and developing stories for film and television, until 2006 when I became the Editor of Dramabiz Magazine, a theatre business management monthly.
How does a writer describe himself--with a story, of course? About 20 years ago, I flew to Wyoming to visit my family. Seated next to me on the airplane, was a gentleman with long, white hair, pulled back in a ponytail wrapped in leather ties with beautiful beads. We fell into an easy conversation telling each other our “stories”. He spoke of his tribe, their history and traditions. I countered with my clan, cowboys and Irish and German ancestors. In true “cowboys and Indians” fashion, the conversation turned to the Battle of the Little Big Horn and “Yellow Hair”. Generations of Dorrs living in Wyoming and Montana heard the stories—and not the kind you read in history books. We had much disdain for George Armstrong Custer, the great injustice the U.S. Government put on the native Indians and the fiction portrayed as historical fact. Finding common historical ground, the gray haired man shared how this too is a story passed down through the generations in his family, in fact some of his relatives died as they fought the American encroachment led by “Yellow Hair.” At the end of our trip, my new friend revealed that he was the official storyteller for the Oglala Sioux Nation. He expressed honor in meeting another tribe’s storyteller, which struck me. He said that I, just like him, was destined to be a storyteller, and that it was my responsibility to pass down my tribe’s history. Years later, I have come to realize what he meant. I have always felt a need to tell stories, as did my father and his father. Ironically, as I reflect back, I remember that I wrote my first play after my father took me to the battlefield at Little Big Horn and explained the truth behind the Indian Nations last great victory. I was in third grade. Who am I? My name is Joel Michael Dorr and I’m a storyteller from Wyoming.
Thanks so much, Joel, but did he have to be named Bob? The elderly lady I saw was dancing naked under the moon. Oh, I almost forgot.
Real Men Write—and Read Romance
How often have you picked up a novel to find all the male characters were as vanilla flavored as a Carnation Instant Breakfast? They have no purpose other than to be a man prop character to push the story along. You’ve read them, the boyfriend who cheated on our heroin for unknown reasons or how about the doting, layered fiancé who works all the time, leaving our leading lady alone wanting more sex. Vanilla characters have their place—getting the back story out and even as a dialogue dummy for our main character, but how do we add a little flavor to the same old boring breakfast?
As a male and writing from a male perspective in romance, I find it helpful to develop comical and quirky traits that make us laugh at these Y chromosome characters. Perhaps it’s the funny way he suddenly breaks into a sweat whenever he spots someone’s mini-wheat adorably licking an ice cream cone and fumbling it through their five year-old fingers within splattering distance of his Michael Jordon Nikes. Or the uncontrollable, yet nerdy predictable way, his head spasms to the right craning up to look at ceiling tiles, whenever a pretty Asian gal tries to start a conversation with him. These idiosyncrasies not only build an interesting male character, but the quirkiness is also relatable to the audience and memorable. Can’t you feel the anxiety of a child nearly dumping his ice cream cone on your $300 pair of shoes? What do you do when someone you find extremely hot walks up to you?
Let’s use that as an example and dig into the neuroses of a character --let’s call him Bob, the same name as the host of this blog--and discover what makes him avert his attention away from..let’s say attractive Asian ladies. Some writers might naturally toss out the cliche explanation of a childhood crush on a sexy Asian teacher… Would anyone like a little dry toast with your Instant Breakfast? Every character has the potential for a shareable moment that moves the story along and adds some flavor. One method I use is to think like the readers of grocery store tabloids, searching out the juiciest and most ridiculous of possibilities.
In my imagination, Bob’s issue would look more like this:
While Bob was a tween of fourteen, he was chasing after an errant Frisbee, overthrown and clearing the fence, landing in the petunias under the bedroom window of the grumpy next-door neighbor. As Bob rummaged around looking for the Frisbee, careful not to trod on the old Asian woman’s flowers and get grounded again, he glanced inadvertently into the window. Sleuthiness turned into horror as he was frozen like a character in a Stephen King novel.
The old Asian woman was nearly naked!
Unable to move he stared at her, clad only in her stained bra and grannie underpants, pulled up over her large, double tummy roll.
Bob had never seen anything so revolting—well, there was that two-headed baby on the cover of the Enquirer Magazine, but this was real life. She screamed and Bob forgot about the Frisbee, making a beeline for his home, hoping she was so shocked or too old to realize it was him. Unfortunately for poor Bob, that image would be burned into his retina, an unwanted visual recall for a lifetime.
Ding dong, Bob’s days are numbered the doorbell seemed to chime. As predicted, the old woman came to the front door and he awaited her trumped up, stalkerish tale of their encounter. Bob mumbled under his breath, “If I were going to be a peeping Tom, why would I be looking in her windows, when we have two MILFs in the neighborhood?”
“Robert?” Bob’s parents called in unison and he marched toward them trying to get his explanation straight for a reduced sentence. Using his full name was never a good sign.
“Mrs. Wong brought over this package for you. It seems the postman made a mistake and accidently left it at her home. She was hoping to give it to you in person, but I didn’t know you were home.”
Maybe she didn’t realize it was Bob. Or perhaps she didn’t see him. Whatever the case, he was home free. Or was he? The next afternoon while playing Frisbee in the front yard Bob saw Mrs. Wong on the front porch. She turned catching his eyes and…sent a wink! Yes, definitely a knowing wink confirming the events of the previous day. He would never forget the image of hospital-issued underpants pulled up over human fat inner tubes. And that disgusting discomfort would stay with him forever, tied to any encounter with an Asian woman, beautiful or not.
Ok, now which explanation is more fun and interesting? Crush on a pretty teacher or old woman in granny undies? And even if this is your main character, it makes him human and kind of adorkable, for having such a silly quirk. If it’s a character you don’t particularly want your reader to like in the first place, then your layers make him even more of a pathetic, loser-like jerk. Either way, chasing the laugh may help you enjoy adding some personality to your male character making him much more interesting. And come on, we can all relate, to some ridiculous idiotic tick we’ve manifested as a result of a simple, yet traumatic event, which happened long ago, so wouldn’t your reader?
I used this technique a lot when writing my new romantic comedy Those Crazy Notions of Otherwise Intelligent People . Yes, it’s true, real men also write romantic comedies along with the ladies. I have the “real man” pedigree growing up in Montana and Wyoming, where as a young boy, my brothers and I raced by horseback across the grass pastures of my grandfather’s ranch. There is no video game that can match the exhilaration of riding full speed on the back of a galloping horse. With a full access nature pass, I swam, rafted and fished many of the lakes and rivers of Wyoming. Early inspiration hit when I located and walked down the same dirt path Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid used to hunker down in their Hole in the Wall hideout. My brothers and I carried fishing poles, instead of guns, that is when we didn’t have a pretend posse chasing us. I was able to put myself through college playing basketball, getting degrees in Theatre and Broadcasting. Later I began writing and developing stories for film and television, until 2006 when I became the Editor of Dramabiz Magazine, a theatre business management monthly.
How does a writer describe himself--with a story, of course? About 20 years ago, I flew to Wyoming to visit my family. Seated next to me on the airplane, was a gentleman with long, white hair, pulled back in a ponytail wrapped in leather ties with beautiful beads. We fell into an easy conversation telling each other our “stories”. He spoke of his tribe, their history and traditions. I countered with my clan, cowboys and Irish and German ancestors. In true “cowboys and Indians” fashion, the conversation turned to the Battle of the Little Big Horn and “Yellow Hair”. Generations of Dorrs living in Wyoming and Montana heard the stories—and not the kind you read in history books. We had much disdain for George Armstrong Custer, the great injustice the U.S. Government put on the native Indians and the fiction portrayed as historical fact. Finding common historical ground, the gray haired man shared how this too is a story passed down through the generations in his family, in fact some of his relatives died as they fought the American encroachment led by “Yellow Hair.” At the end of our trip, my new friend revealed that he was the official storyteller for the Oglala Sioux Nation. He expressed honor in meeting another tribe’s storyteller, which struck me. He said that I, just like him, was destined to be a storyteller, and that it was my responsibility to pass down my tribe’s history. Years later, I have come to realize what he meant. I have always felt a need to tell stories, as did my father and his father. Ironically, as I reflect back, I remember that I wrote my first play after my father took me to the battlefield at Little Big Horn and explained the truth behind the Indian Nations last great victory. I was in third grade. Who am I? My name is Joel Michael Dorr and I’m a storyteller from Wyoming.
Thanks so much, Joel, but did he have to be named Bob? The elderly lady I saw was dancing naked under the moon. Oh, I almost forgot.
January 31, 2016
Writer's Handbook
Last night on the Hallmark premier of Dater’s Handbook, the writer or writers painted themselves into a corner. Meghan Markle played the heroine. She is dating two men using techniques prescribed in a doctor’s bestseller on dating. One of the men left a note when he left her that the dog knocked over to the floor. Her sister said, quoting from the dating book, that the lack of a note (etiquette) was a deal breaker.
Shortly after the sister scene, she rejects by phone the suiter. We are left wondering if the lack of a note caused the breakup.
As a guy and a writer, this bothered me, especially when the note was never mentioned again. In spite of it, I enjoyed the movie. It also bothered me because the note was lying on the floor of her home and to think it wouldn’t have been picked up day after day is absurd. Every house cleaner, if she had one, knows not to throw away personal notes. No, the dog would not have eaten the paper note. That would be a case of dog ex-machina.
As a guy (and this blog is about guys and the way they think and act), we want to identify with the hero, to see him validated, not settled for. Many thoughtful men in the hero’s shoes would want to understand what caused the rejection so that he may set the record straight or know how to improve. None of that happened. Yes, the hero was happy-go-lucky. And yes, the conversation probably would occur off camera.
I know time is valuable in a two hour movie, but 20 seconds could have been invested in her waving the note and saying she had made a mistake, not only because the note went missing for a while but because she was following the book’s advice and made some mistakes.
You may say, that I as a writer am over analyzing this. Nop. My wife brought it up. She reads romances voraciously and knows when something is missing.
All that being said, Hallmark is putting out premier after premier, still (and it is so wrong) employing all white people in the leads, but still enjoyable and almost always impeccably written.
Promo for Dater's Handbook, 2016:
Shortly after the sister scene, she rejects by phone the suiter. We are left wondering if the lack of a note caused the breakup.
As a guy and a writer, this bothered me, especially when the note was never mentioned again. In spite of it, I enjoyed the movie. It also bothered me because the note was lying on the floor of her home and to think it wouldn’t have been picked up day after day is absurd. Every house cleaner, if she had one, knows not to throw away personal notes. No, the dog would not have eaten the paper note. That would be a case of dog ex-machina.
As a guy (and this blog is about guys and the way they think and act), we want to identify with the hero, to see him validated, not settled for. Many thoughtful men in the hero’s shoes would want to understand what caused the rejection so that he may set the record straight or know how to improve. None of that happened. Yes, the hero was happy-go-lucky. And yes, the conversation probably would occur off camera.
I know time is valuable in a two hour movie, but 20 seconds could have been invested in her waving the note and saying she had made a mistake, not only because the note went missing for a while but because she was following the book’s advice and made some mistakes.
You may say, that I as a writer am over analyzing this. Nop. My wife brought it up. She reads romances voraciously and knows when something is missing.
All that being said, Hallmark is putting out premier after premier, still (and it is so wrong) employing all white people in the leads, but still enjoyable and almost always impeccably written.
Promo for Dater's Handbook, 2016:
January 24, 2016
Save The Cat’s Nine Lives
The classic, Save the Cat!, was written by Blake Snyder as a book on screenwriting technique, but it’s principles apply to all fiction. Its title means that moment, generally in the first scene, when the writer humanizes a character. The writer uses shorthand or a quick beat(s) to establish a more likable character, i.e. usually someone the reader/movie goer can begin to identify with. The writer doesn’t need to save a cat, although it has been done. In a story I wrote, right on the first page my heroine, in interior monologue, denigrates the hero (her opponent). But in a moment’s thought worries if he is all right. Injured, he had survived an assassination attempt.
There’s a common misunderstanding about this moment. The save-the-cat moment never ends with one beat or one moment or one character. One should never forget to humanize a typically flawed character who is on a journey of change. Change is the essence of good fiction and change for the better is the essence of all happily-ever-afters. This means the writer should not drop the cat once the technique is shown. The character grows from the beginning, through the middle and to the end. It ain’t over until the fat cat meows, and we go to black.
But don’t get preachy unless it’s an inspirational. In any case, show, don’t tell.
Saving the cat is like moving a subordinate phrase to the beginning of a sentence, ahead of subject, predicate and object. That is to say, before the reader/movie goer knows much at all.
Don’t overuse the technique, but don’t forget it. Always plowing straight ahead can cause a monotonous, somnambulistic effect on a dwindling audience.
Some recommend counting to ten, before letting go of your manuscript. Just count to nine.
An excellent example of saving the cat at various strategic moments by both hero and heroine and throughout the story occurs in the Hallmark movie, Unleashing Mr. Darcy, which premiered last night. The movie is a modern take on Pride and Prejudice.
There’s a common misunderstanding about this moment. The save-the-cat moment never ends with one beat or one moment or one character. One should never forget to humanize a typically flawed character who is on a journey of change. Change is the essence of good fiction and change for the better is the essence of all happily-ever-afters. This means the writer should not drop the cat once the technique is shown. The character grows from the beginning, through the middle and to the end. It ain’t over until the fat cat meows, and we go to black.
But don’t get preachy unless it’s an inspirational. In any case, show, don’t tell.
Saving the cat is like moving a subordinate phrase to the beginning of a sentence, ahead of subject, predicate and object. That is to say, before the reader/movie goer knows much at all.
Don’t overuse the technique, but don’t forget it. Always plowing straight ahead can cause a monotonous, somnambulistic effect on a dwindling audience.
Some recommend counting to ten, before letting go of your manuscript. Just count to nine.
An excellent example of saving the cat at various strategic moments by both hero and heroine and throughout the story occurs in the Hallmark movie, Unleashing Mr. Darcy, which premiered last night. The movie is a modern take on Pride and Prejudice.
January 17, 2016
It’s a Bad Day to Die
When James Bond is about to die at the hands of a female antagonist, he finds a way to turn the tables, and delivers some pun or quip related to her sex. When it’s a guy the remarks, although puns, are just about business, loyalty to Country, right over wrong.
Did he take time to think about his quip and ignore—for even a second—the threat to his life? No. We are all endowed with massive brains that never stop assessing/multiprocessing all incoming sensory details, whether conscious of them or not. The need to survive is closely tied to the need to mate.
Is what he says fiction? Yep. Just like what you write for eager readers. But is there truth in his actions and words? We can’t all be ready with one-liners but our heroes and heroines can. They represent the best within us.
Why do we have a need to survive and what are we surviving for? We survive to celebrate the true meaning of life. Congratulations romance writers, you are on top of this. No other genre is more poignant. Although Bond tries to avoid commitment, he sports a perfect excuse. His job is too dangerous, so we forgive him. Maybe, we hope, he secretly yearns for a normal life and someone to love.
There’s a hero and heroine on a motorcycle, in a jungle, with hardly any clothes. She’s clinging to his back. Bullets are flying. Remembering how she looked when he rescued her and how she feels now, he’ll mutter. “It’s bad day to die.”
You may ask how can he think about sex at a time like this. He’s not really. He wants to save her so he can mate her, and so life goes on. Of course, heroes and heroines save for other reasons, but they all spring out of a love of live and a need to share.
Do women assess men when in danger? Of course. They’re hard wired, in a different way than men. They may not know it consciously, but it’s there in your interior monologue, if only for a fleeting moment.
Did he take time to think about his quip and ignore—for even a second—the threat to his life? No. We are all endowed with massive brains that never stop assessing/multiprocessing all incoming sensory details, whether conscious of them or not. The need to survive is closely tied to the need to mate.
Is what he says fiction? Yep. Just like what you write for eager readers. But is there truth in his actions and words? We can’t all be ready with one-liners but our heroes and heroines can. They represent the best within us.
Why do we have a need to survive and what are we surviving for? We survive to celebrate the true meaning of life. Congratulations romance writers, you are on top of this. No other genre is more poignant. Although Bond tries to avoid commitment, he sports a perfect excuse. His job is too dangerous, so we forgive him. Maybe, we hope, he secretly yearns for a normal life and someone to love.
There’s a hero and heroine on a motorcycle, in a jungle, with hardly any clothes. She’s clinging to his back. Bullets are flying. Remembering how she looked when he rescued her and how she feels now, he’ll mutter. “It’s bad day to die.”
You may ask how can he think about sex at a time like this. He’s not really. He wants to save her so he can mate her, and so life goes on. Of course, heroes and heroines save for other reasons, but they all spring out of a love of live and a need to share.
Do women assess men when in danger? Of course. They’re hard wired, in a different way than men. They may not know it consciously, but it’s there in your interior monologue, if only for a fleeting moment.
January 10, 2016
A Wash and Wear Heroine*
Is your hero a pragmatist or realist? Or a mixture? It’s important as it relates to love (or any story). An idealist will do everything he can, every moment he is given, to insure the success of the relationship. This type of hero is also more likely to think his gal is 100%. He doesn't needlessly worry about her feelings or commitment but always nurtures them.
A realist will except the divorce rate, and hope and work for the best. He won’t think about mystical concepts like soul mates. He too will tend to do reasonable things to keep the relationship going and growing. There’s good in both positions and most people are a mixture of both. The mixed hero may treat the love match as something eternal while worrying about his partner’s dedication.
On the negative side of these philosophies, the idealist may lose touch with reality. The pragmatist might not feel enough to save a faltering relationship.
Before writing reactions that show these philosophies, it’s important to decide who your hero is down to his core and why and how (backstory) he got there.
*The title refers to someone who is easy to relate to or low maintenance. Which hero is more likely to think of or be attracted to a heroine because she's low maintenance?
A realist will except the divorce rate, and hope and work for the best. He won’t think about mystical concepts like soul mates. He too will tend to do reasonable things to keep the relationship going and growing. There’s good in both positions and most people are a mixture of both. The mixed hero may treat the love match as something eternal while worrying about his partner’s dedication.
On the negative side of these philosophies, the idealist may lose touch with reality. The pragmatist might not feel enough to save a faltering relationship.
Before writing reactions that show these philosophies, it’s important to decide who your hero is down to his core and why and how (backstory) he got there.
*The title refers to someone who is easy to relate to or low maintenance. Which hero is more likely to think of or be attracted to a heroine because she's low maintenance?
January 3, 2016
Guys don’t wear make-up so why should you?
I’ve written about this before from a slightly different perspective and not covering the following nuance.
Women sometimes dress, put make-up and act to attract men. But most guys basically don’t care. Sure they’ll notice, but are you their type? I’ll venture to say that every man has preferences and sometimes getting to know a woman trumps that.
Let’s say you’re a busty Barbie-doll blonde when the guy you’ve set in your sights on, secretly prefers skinny Asians. That guy can’t help but turn his head to take you in because that’s his base physiology. To put it another way, it’s instinct or it’s the way God made man.
The only way you’ll get anywhere with this particular guy is to show off your life values and personality. He may very well fall in love, but he’ll never tell you you’re not his type. Why, because he loves you and he doesn’t want to hurt your feelings. From personal experience, I can tell you that he will enjoy you, very much.
This particular guy may pay attention to the blonde and appreciate her femininity, but he’s unlikely to pursue her.
There’s a difference between noticing somebody’s beauty and really being attracted to her.
Here’s a funny way of looking at this: Guys don’t wear make-up. They may be wearing two different colored socks, so why would they care about your eye shadow or short shorts.
I realize that many women dress to please themselves, but we are talking about the male POV in a romance or other genre. So, if you are writing a male character keep in mind how they perceive God’s most beautiful creation even if the beauty before them is not their cup of tea.
December 27, 2015
Some alphas are family men by training and/or inclination
Many think sports-stars are solitary alpha males. Well alphas, they may be. But solitary they are not. They learn everyday they play or practice to rely on others. You may see them make the big play but they work as part of the team and know it. They will often credit their teammates when being interviewed and they ain’t kidding.
They may start their career carousing with the boys and taking on as many groupies as their health will allow, but as they mature, they make excellent family men because the best play for the team. These heroes you want on your character team.
Have you cared to describe this type of arc when writing your sports hero including back-story? Excellent at this and a good example for all writers is of course, Susan Elizabeth Phillips.
Quarterback Philip Rivers on Faith and Family:
They may start their career carousing with the boys and taking on as many groupies as their health will allow, but as they mature, they make excellent family men because the best play for the team. These heroes you want on your character team.
Have you cared to describe this type of arc when writing your sports hero including back-story? Excellent at this and a good example for all writers is of course, Susan Elizabeth Phillips.
Quarterback Philip Rivers on Faith and Family:
December 20, 2015
Sometimes you just have to let go
I’m often a perfectionist, when it comes to publishing product. But life is only so long or short. Rather than making a vow to release by such and such a date, I took a different course. I was inspired by a new RWA chapter mate. A guy like me, dared to join the hen party that is RWA San Diego. He has published many non-fiction books and wants to give romance novels a go. I’ll be the first to buy his stories. Our new mate, Gregory Godek, has written the nationwide best seller, 1001 Ways to be Romantic (A Handbook for Men — A Godsend for Women). He has written twelve books. BTW, he’s a great conversationalist and good guy.
This brings the conversation back to my stuff. I’m sitting on three books, basically, to add to my five. I need to stand up and give my creations a little air.
First, my try at non-fiction, is this blog over the years.
Inspired by Greg, I stopped editing after I got to the 101th post and decided the rest would someday comprise the next 101 tips on the how to write male characters (primarily for romance novels).
Fini.
That is, except for formatting and choosing a title.
Any help here is appreciated.
HELP!
101 Tips on Writing Male Characters???
101 Tips on Writing the Hero in Romance???
What I want to say, and it doesn’t have to be in the title, is that there are some misconceptions about how men think and act. There are also renaissance men, I call them, who can be alphas and betas who can be Navy Seals, etc. The tips are not all fascinating little gems commonly missed or common mistakes made by some romance writers, but include my take on writing using the typical “Harlequin” tropes and I do mix in general comments on writing (that include the heroine).
So, please, please, title advice.
Next up: I’ve been sitting on a bunch of short stories. Out they go by Christmas, in one collection, for two reasons.
1. I’m clearing the slate.
2. The lead off story is called Wings by Christmas (a take on the Jimmy Stewart classic, It’s a Wonderful Life). In short, I want my wings.
I’ve been sitting on and fiddling with my first romance novel for years. I’m tired of guessing whether it’s good enough. I’m going with my gut. Out it will go, sometime in January, no matter what. Angel’s Eyes.
So, at the end of January, I’ll be able to get back to writing Seven Boyfriends which has been stuck on page 89 for a long while. Then I’ll have something fresh to pitch to the wonderful agents and editors I have met on my RWA and life journey.
Does this all sound rational to you? Call it my New Year’s resolution (on both sides of the year’s end) if you like. But it really a different way of mixing promises and action.
What are you doing with your writing?
HAPPY HOLIDAYS
This brings the conversation back to my stuff. I’m sitting on three books, basically, to add to my five. I need to stand up and give my creations a little air.
First, my try at non-fiction, is this blog over the years.
Inspired by Greg, I stopped editing after I got to the 101th post and decided the rest would someday comprise the next 101 tips on the how to write male characters (primarily for romance novels).
Fini.
That is, except for formatting and choosing a title.
Any help here is appreciated.
HELP!
101 Tips on Writing Male Characters???
101 Tips on Writing the Hero in Romance???
What I want to say, and it doesn’t have to be in the title, is that there are some misconceptions about how men think and act. There are also renaissance men, I call them, who can be alphas and betas who can be Navy Seals, etc. The tips are not all fascinating little gems commonly missed or common mistakes made by some romance writers, but include my take on writing using the typical “Harlequin” tropes and I do mix in general comments on writing (that include the heroine).
So, please, please, title advice.
Next up: I’ve been sitting on a bunch of short stories. Out they go by Christmas, in one collection, for two reasons.
1. I’m clearing the slate.
2. The lead off story is called Wings by Christmas (a take on the Jimmy Stewart classic, It’s a Wonderful Life). In short, I want my wings.
I’ve been sitting on and fiddling with my first romance novel for years. I’m tired of guessing whether it’s good enough. I’m going with my gut. Out it will go, sometime in January, no matter what. Angel’s Eyes.
So, at the end of January, I’ll be able to get back to writing Seven Boyfriends which has been stuck on page 89 for a long while. Then I’ll have something fresh to pitch to the wonderful agents and editors I have met on my RWA and life journey.
Does this all sound rational to you? Call it my New Year’s resolution (on both sides of the year’s end) if you like. But it really a different way of mixing promises and action.
What are you doing with your writing?
HAPPY HOLIDAYS
December 13, 2015
Study finds no difference in male vs. female brains
According to a study that examined sex differences in the brain as a whole, there is no "male brain" and "female brain."
Hamilton Spectator by Allie ShahAlso reported by the Star Tribune (Minneapolis) DECEMBER 13, 2015
The brain, it seems, is not part of the battle of the sexes.
There is no such thing as a "male brain" and a "female brain," according to a study that examined sex differences in the brain.
Scientists at Tel Aviv University analyzed MRI scans of more than 1,400 brains.
They concluded that the brain does not reflect a clear dichotomy based on gender differences in the same way that — say — sex organs do.
Instead, human brains are unpredictable mash-ups of "masculine" and "feminine" traits. Researchers also found no distinction between men and women when it comes to grey matter.
"Brains with features that are consistently at one end of the 'maleness-femaleness' continuum are rare," the authors wrote this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"Rather, most brains are comprised of unique 'mosaics' of features — some more common in females compared with males, some more common in males compared with females, and some common in both females and males."
Bob your blogger writing here; I was completely surprised and delighted by this study. It helps me continue the argument that a good writer (even of romance) is a good writer, no matter the sex of the author.
Since the article above is meant to challenge pre-conceptions, perhaps a trip back to that ground we thought we all stood on would be appropriate. If you remove brain function and topology (that is, each brain whether male or female is unique!) from the argument below, you end up with a much stronger case for cultural, social, historical, generational influence and imprinting to explain why we do all the silly things we do to drive each other crazy.
Are There Differences between the Brains of Males and Females?
Renato M.E. Sabbatini, PhD
That men and women are different, everyone knows that.
But, aside from external anatomical and primary and secondary sexual differences, scientists know also that there are many other subtle differences in the way the brains from men and women process language, information, emotion, cognition, etc.
One of the most interesting differences appear in the way men and women estimate time, judge speed of things, carry out mental mathematical calculations, orient in space and visualize objects in three dimensions, etc. In all these tasks, women and men are strikingly different, as they are too in the way their brains process language. This may account, scientists say, for the fact that there are many more male mathematicians, airplane pilots, bush guides, mechanical engineers, architects and race car drivers than female ones.
On the other hand, women are better than men in human relations, recognizing emotional overtones in others and in language, emotional and artistic expressiveness, esthetic appreciation, verbal language and carrying out detailed and pre-planned tasks. For example, women generally can recall lists of words or paragraphs of text better than men (13).
The "father" of sociobiology, Edward O. Wilson, of Harvard University (10), said that human females tend to be higher than males in empathy, verbal skills, social skills and security-seeking, among other things, while men tend to be higher in independence, dominance, spatial and mathematical skills, rank-related aggression, and other characteristics.
When all these investigations began, scientists were skeptical about the role of genes and of biological differences, because cultural learning is very powerful and influential among humans. Are girls more prone to play with dolls and cooperate among themselves than boys, because they are taught to be so by parents, teachers and social peers, or is it the reverse order?
However, gender differences are already apparent from just a few months after birth, when social influence is still small. For example, Anne Moir and David Jessel, in their remarkable and controversial book "Brain Sex" (11), offer explanations for these very early differences in children:
"These discernible, measurable differences in behaviour have been imprinted long before external influences have had a chance to get to work. They reflect a basic difference in the newborn brain which we already know about -- the superior male efficiency in spatial ability, the greater female skill in speech."
But now, after many careful controlled studies where environment and social learning were ruled out, scientists learned that there may exist a great deal of neurophysiological and anatomical differences between the brains of males and females.
Bob again: In the doctor’s last sentence, he writes “may exist.” The problem is the doctor didn’t know. But now we do.
Go write, ladies and gentlemen.
Hamilton Spectator by Allie ShahAlso reported by the Star Tribune (Minneapolis) DECEMBER 13, 2015
The brain, it seems, is not part of the battle of the sexes.
There is no such thing as a "male brain" and a "female brain," according to a study that examined sex differences in the brain.
Scientists at Tel Aviv University analyzed MRI scans of more than 1,400 brains.
They concluded that the brain does not reflect a clear dichotomy based on gender differences in the same way that — say — sex organs do.
Instead, human brains are unpredictable mash-ups of "masculine" and "feminine" traits. Researchers also found no distinction between men and women when it comes to grey matter.
"Brains with features that are consistently at one end of the 'maleness-femaleness' continuum are rare," the authors wrote this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"Rather, most brains are comprised of unique 'mosaics' of features — some more common in females compared with males, some more common in males compared with females, and some common in both females and males."
Bob your blogger writing here; I was completely surprised and delighted by this study. It helps me continue the argument that a good writer (even of romance) is a good writer, no matter the sex of the author.
Since the article above is meant to challenge pre-conceptions, perhaps a trip back to that ground we thought we all stood on would be appropriate. If you remove brain function and topology (that is, each brain whether male or female is unique!) from the argument below, you end up with a much stronger case for cultural, social, historical, generational influence and imprinting to explain why we do all the silly things we do to drive each other crazy.
Are There Differences between the Brains of Males and Females?
Renato M.E. Sabbatini, PhD
That men and women are different, everyone knows that.
But, aside from external anatomical and primary and secondary sexual differences, scientists know also that there are many other subtle differences in the way the brains from men and women process language, information, emotion, cognition, etc.
One of the most interesting differences appear in the way men and women estimate time, judge speed of things, carry out mental mathematical calculations, orient in space and visualize objects in three dimensions, etc. In all these tasks, women and men are strikingly different, as they are too in the way their brains process language. This may account, scientists say, for the fact that there are many more male mathematicians, airplane pilots, bush guides, mechanical engineers, architects and race car drivers than female ones.
On the other hand, women are better than men in human relations, recognizing emotional overtones in others and in language, emotional and artistic expressiveness, esthetic appreciation, verbal language and carrying out detailed and pre-planned tasks. For example, women generally can recall lists of words or paragraphs of text better than men (13).
The "father" of sociobiology, Edward O. Wilson, of Harvard University (10), said that human females tend to be higher than males in empathy, verbal skills, social skills and security-seeking, among other things, while men tend to be higher in independence, dominance, spatial and mathematical skills, rank-related aggression, and other characteristics.
When all these investigations began, scientists were skeptical about the role of genes and of biological differences, because cultural learning is very powerful and influential among humans. Are girls more prone to play with dolls and cooperate among themselves than boys, because they are taught to be so by parents, teachers and social peers, or is it the reverse order?
However, gender differences are already apparent from just a few months after birth, when social influence is still small. For example, Anne Moir and David Jessel, in their remarkable and controversial book "Brain Sex" (11), offer explanations for these very early differences in children:
"These discernible, measurable differences in behaviour have been imprinted long before external influences have had a chance to get to work. They reflect a basic difference in the newborn brain which we already know about -- the superior male efficiency in spatial ability, the greater female skill in speech."
But now, after many careful controlled studies where environment and social learning were ruled out, scientists learned that there may exist a great deal of neurophysiological and anatomical differences between the brains of males and females.
Bob again: In the doctor’s last sentence, he writes “may exist.” The problem is the doctor didn’t know. But now we do.
Go write, ladies and gentlemen.
