  Romance/Love
This week: Types of Romantic Heroes Edited by: PartyBee  
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Happy New Year to WDC! I hope your year is off to a GREAT start!
Continuing my theme on romantic heroes, they come in all shapes and sizes. James Bond is the ultimate alpha hero. Ashley Wilkes from Gone With The Wind embodies the beta hero. If you're a romance writer, or even a reader, it's good to be aware of these 'romantic types.' |
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The Alpha Male
Superior. Powerful. Assertive. Masterful. Those are just a few words that describe the alpha male. I remember reading Rebecca Brandewyne's "Upon a Moon Dark Moor." Draco was the quintessential alpha hero. He was silent about his feelings, yet steadfast in his desires. Draco possessed a ruthless nature, but he was passionately in love with the heroine, Maggie. An alpha hero is one who owns the company and runs it himself. Like James Bond, he's dangerous to the bone. An alpha male is very determined and won't hesitate to charm the heroine into changing her mind if their wishes aren't the same.
An alpha hero thrives on confrontation. He's serious, rarely laughs, and captures a larger than life presence. His peers believe he's the toughest guy around and the alpha male thrives on the recognition.
The Beta Guy
He's the good-looking affable, family type guy. He's got a lot of friends unlike the alpha and omega men. A beta guy doesn't care for a confrontation, but he won't back down from one either.
Beta guys have a great sense of humor and are down-to-earth. Beta guys own companies too, but they put the capable guys in charge so they can enjoy their leisure time.
The Omega Man
The omega man is the toughest guy on the block, like the alpha male, but unlike the alpha male, he cares little for the recognition. He's confident in the fact he's tough, smart, and strong.
The omega man isn't a "joiner." He has no desire to join or belong to a group, and he usually has one or two intimate friends. The omega man doesn't care to have acquaintances, but the alpha male thrives on them. For the omega man, he's much more subtle than the alpha. The alpha male is "in-your-face," where the omega man isn't.
Motivations
Each hero type must have a motivation. If he wants to prevent the heroine from doing something (conflict) he better have a good reason or he'll come across as a control freak or a stalker. All hero types need to have enough character introspection to help the reader understand why they do what they do.
Next: Imagining your Heroes - contemporary and historical.
Reference: On Writing Romance, by Leigh Michaels, F&W Publications, 2007
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Here's some feedback from my 11 DEC 2012 Romance/Love NL:
Bikerider 
Hi, I enjoy your newsletters. I'm a retired police detective, (South Florida).
Here is one of my favorite romance short stories, that I think contains the HEA concept.
Tip of my hat to you for your law enforcement service. I'm looking forward to reading the story. 
Steph
Quick-Quill 
My all time favorite romance is Shanna by Katherine Woodiwiss. She wove romance, mystery, two strong characters with a simple goal, "You promised me one night with you in exchange for my name." From there we have goal, motivation and LOTS of conflict. This is a well crafted book beyond what is written today. Just because vampires and supernatural creatures are what is hyped today, doesn't mean you can't craft a GREAT story.
I've heard a lot about Woodiwiss, but I haven't read her. I'll have to see if the story is available for my Kindle. I know vampires and paranormal creatures are hyped, but I agree - there are a lot of romantic stories there. I enjoy a good historical or romantic suspense as well.
Molly Andrews 
I am new to Writing.com, so just navigating my way around the site...was not sure about putting my writing on such an open forum so be gentle with me..it's a precious little thing :) Molly
Molly, thanks for writing in. I'm looking forward to reading your item.
medieval_angel
I like what you have to say, but I don't agree that the main characters always have to have likeable traits or that the story has to have a happy ending. The world isn't naturally like that. I like to write realistic stuff, and I know I've done my job when people email me and tell me that I've moved them to tears. However, this is just my opinion. A lot of people do like to write happy stories.
Thanks for writing in. I agree - not all stories need main characters that are likable or have happy endings BUT those stories are known as mainstream fiction. A romance is guided by "the rules." Nicholas Sparks is a great example. Romance is a part of his story, but ultimately there's heartbreak it's how the character deals with that pain and loss which proves their worth. His stories may have "romantic elements," but they aren't considered romances, but more mainstream fiction.
D. Thorsson
I wrote the original of this tale long ago for the now defunct Alice's Curiosity Shoppe contest. It was done in a hurry and was pretty rough. It didn't win, of course but Alice asked me to flesh it out and she would give me an honorable mention. This is the end product.
I don't know if it is in accordance with your romance rules, but it is definitely about love. Everybody says they enjoy it, but they don't write romance.
I wonder if you could have a gander and let me know what you think. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you in advance.
I'm looking forward to reading it.
PartyBee is a 911 Dispatcher for LAPD. Her novel, Victorian Scoundrel, won 2012 Romance of the Year at Deep in the Heart of the Romance.
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Romance/Love: January 08, 2013 Issue [#5450]
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