Writing Tips
Many of you have written to ask me to please include writing tips on my website as I did a couple of years ago.
Okay, you've got it! From now on, and strictly on an unscheduled basis, I'll include some thoughts about writing. I'm not claiming they'll work for you, only that they work for me, but I'm happy to share them.
And if you'd like to email your thoughts and questions to me, I'll do my best to respond here.
Let's start with the romance hero, specifically the Presents hero ,though we also find him in romantic suspense novels and, increasingly, in paranormals. He is...
The Alpha Hero
Why the Alpha Hero:
He is: Exciting. Sexy. Dangerous. Romantic. A step beyond realism.
Think: Knights in armor. Pirates. Highwaymen. Frontiersmen. Police officers. Secret Agents.
Alphas are: Strong. Brave. Powerful. Leaders.
What Does He Look Like?
I know good-looking guys can be small in stature and heroic in nature BUT Alpha heroes are not built that way
Alphas are: tall, well-built, muscled, lean, ruggedly handsome
Alphas are men who catch the attention of everyone in a room WITHOUT SEEKING THAT ATTENTION
Who Is He?
Better still, Who is he NOT?
Aggressive
Dominating
Cold
Brutal
Abusive
Authoritarian
Arrogant
Who He REALLY Is:
Assertive.
This is the very antithesis of aggressive. A man who is aggressive looks for fights. One who is assertive settles them by stepping forward out of necessity.
Remember, the Alpha hero is very much a solo act. He’s a leader. Leaders cannot lead unless they’re assertive. Belief in cause. Belief in self. Ultimately, belief in heroine.
Demanding.
The exact opposite of dominating. A man may well demand the best of others but an Alpha always demands the best of himself. He never dominates, though he may seem to do so, but there’s always a reason for it AND we should gradually see the reason. So should the heroine as he reveals himself to her. A hero who treats a woman badly for 200 pages and then says he did it because he loved her is NOT a hero, and a woman who accepts such an excuse is a woman looking for a life of trouble.
Contained, not cold.
A man may have many reasons for containing his emotions. Difficult childhood. Bad marriage. Caution because he’s often the object of women who want him for his power or money.
Strong, physically (though not always—what if he’s been wounded physically?) and strong emotionally
But this has NOTHING to do with being brutal or abusive.
Self-confident
Such a man MAY appear authoritative or arrogant but there’s a fine line between arrogance and self-confidence.
He may be wealthy but he is always powerful.
He is a leader among men; an object of desire for women. He is the perfect fantasy lover.
Next: How do you go about creating him?
copyright Sandra Marton