The measure of a man

I haven't blogged in about a week because I have been overwhelmingly busy with this writing website that I have been running. Tales From the Crit. I would totally recommend it (and not just because I'm running it.) It has some really interesting issues that pertain to writing being blogged about everyday. Head on over and read back blog posts too. You might see something that you've really been wondering about or struggling with. But the best thing about it, I think, is that it is driven by five very different writers who value different styles of writing and put emphasis on different things. So you're very likely to find a writing soul mate, as it were, to help answer your questions.

But, to get to the real point of this post...One of the posts we had last week is from our paranormal writer Bridget Locke and she mentioned men. Fictional men although real ones can certainly keep us busy for the rest of our lives. The topic seemed innocuous enough but spawned about thirty responses. Apparently heroes are something that writers feel pretty strongly about. Go figure.

And while I was reading and commenting myself I had a thought about the mistake that so many of us make when developing our hero. One dimensional men are just not that interesting. We had to be so careful not to fall into the trap of idealizing with just the things that we want a man to be instead of the reality of what they are really like. I was fortunate enough to be one of those girls who was more often just one of the boys until I was at least seventeen so I think I have a pretty good insight into the average male brain but if you're a girly girl and the best you've ever known a man has entirely to do with the biblical sense and nothing to do with male psyche I recommend that you find a way to immerse yourself in man culture.

Take a crash course and spend some time with men being men. A good place to look would be your local fire station (which is frankly just a good place to look, come on.), police station or enlisted club on your nearest military base. Then make sure you see the other end too. Go to the park and observe suburban fathers in their natural habitat. Seek out some smart but not geeky men and see what they think and do.

The biggest killer for me in a book is when I can't relate to a soulless hero. Some of them are more like Johnny Paper than someone I feel like I could understand why I or any other reader, let alone the heroine, would want to, or at least understand doing so, fall in love with. That is all. Go forth and write yummy heroes.

Song of the Day: It's Raining Men, The Weather Girl's. Hallelujah.

Quote of the Day:

For all their strength, men were sometimes like little children. --Lawana Blackwell, The Dowry of Miss Lydia Clark, 1999

Amber