Genevieve Graham raised an interesting question on her blog:

Do men and women write differently when it comes to sex? Can you tell the gender of the author from the way they write?

She has posted five short exerpts (all describing the same scene) on her blog and invites commenters to tell her which was written by which gender. Check it out, it's interesting.

We don't have men in our critique group, so I can't really duplicate her effort. I do think men and women approach writing about sex or first encounters differently. Women are more inclined to get into the emotions of the characters, while men tend to have a more earthy, visual, approach.

I'm guessing the difference in psyche is also the reason why men often refer to romance novels as "mushy" – even if they like what they read. (Not many will admit they enjoyed it, and I don't know any man who would openly admit to reading – and enjoying – a romance novel. At least not in front of other men.)

I sometimes shove exerpts — even the whole story – at male friends of mine. While they know I write, and I even tell them I write paranormal romance, they're willing to just read and give me impressions.
I appreciate the feedback greatly, because if they tell me "Great read, but no guy would ever (insert action of choice)…" then I learn something no woman writer can teach me.
I get insight into the male psyche every day at work, because I'm the only woman here. While helpful in a caveman / MCP kind of way, if I wrote a guy the way they really behave, no woman would like my heroes lol.

Men think differently, act differently and have different values. It reflects in their language and use of words. I'm sure if a man writes romance, he finds it much harder to write for a female audience than a male one. I also think it will read differently.
I don't doubt men can (and do!) write romance, but it will not read the same as a romance written by a woman.

I'll be cruising back to Genevieve's blog to see if I got it right, when she reveals the answers.

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…hush hush hide away…

So how do you tell if someone is attracted to you — and why should you, the writer, know about this?

Body language is important, even in writing.
You can convey a lot, with just their posture.

The tilt of a head, the diluted eyes, leaning in a little… it all indicates attraction.
Long, lingering looks usually establish who dominates — and it's not always the guy.
Someone attracted to you will often nod along to your conversation.
The closer two people stand to each other, the better they like each other. Personal space is important to us, even if we're not aware of it. Get too close and we instinctively move away — unless we want you there.
A guy who is attracted – believe it or not – often struts. I've seen it. They straighten their backs, inhale, chest out… oh yeah. Just watch 'em stalk around. It's a primal instinct, they are probably not even aware they are doing it, but it's a way to portray dominance and strength.
Women are more likely to employ widened eyes and a coy smile.
Next time you're in a pub or bar, watch the men. Hands in pockets, back straight and a long lingering look… well guess what? They are saying "Lookee what I got (hands in pockets draw attention to the groin), I'm da man! I'm strong, able, available. It's all yours, come get it."
Widening of eyes is usually quite a submissive gesture, but it indicates "I need protecting and looking after." (Which is really attractive to the male of the species. See "I'm da man" above.)
Tilting the head is a means of exposing the neck and throat, vulnerable areas. I means you're putting trust in the other not to hurt you.
And when we like something, our pupils dilate. We generally find large pupils more attractive – not surprisingly, because if those pupils are dilated at us, it means they like us.

Take a look into body language, it can be useful when you're trying to make a shy character indicate they are interested, or it can play into the story when you don't want to make a song and dance about how they feel. Let them do the dance, instead.

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What's the difference between a hero, and a villain?
Easy, right?
The hero is the good guy, the villain is the bad guy.
No.
Not easy at all.
We often write our heroes as guys with many faults, bad habits, a temper.
Thing is, we write our villains exactly the same way. They have flaws, lots of them, but most are inherently redeemable.
Our villains often kill — but so do our heroes. What makes one more acceptable than the other? Nothing. Or rather, perception. If we perceive the hero as having no other choice, then we deem his actions acceptable. We're less forgiving where the villain is concerned, but often only because we don't know his reasons for doing what he does.
I have read books where at the end, I wondered what went through the author's mind when she wrote her "hero". Because, believe it or not – the real hero of the story wasn't the man the author built up as the hero.
The real hero was… the villain.
He was the one who had the most to lose, he was the one thwarted at every turn, he was the one who suffered the most and had the most to gain.
He lost, in the end, bested by the guy he battled the entire length of the book, had to watch that man ride into the sunset with the girl — and I sat there feeling for him. My heart broke for him, because he was more real than the goody goody "hero" who was really the villain of the entire piece.
You need to know where to draw the line. And like genius and madness, this line is so fine, it's difficult not to overstep it.
No person is inherently evil. Everyone has reasons for doing what they do. Even the villain. You need to know your hero, but you also need to know what drives your villain. There has to be a reason, a plausible reason, for his behavior and actions. Just like you need those very same reasons for the hero.
So how do you get your readers to know the difference?
Well, that's the hard part. You need to make sure the line isn't blurred, define their values so the reader can recognize them. Our heroes often start out as villains. A lot of them are bad guys, whose journey takes them from villainy to heroism.
On the other side of the scale, instead of redeeming himself, the villain remains a villain to the bitter end.

That's really the only difference.
Redemption.
Think about it, next time you draft your story.

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I got a bit slack with the blog.
Sorry folks.
Life, and all that.

Yesterday someone said to me "Oh you're a typical Pisces!" (No, I'm not.)
I'm born Aries. (And no, I'm not.)
I'm really both. Which makes for an interesting war in my head at times.
But it got me to thinking about (and looking up) personality traits. Quite interesting, and quite useful for writers.
Take a Pisces for instance.
This is what it says on Pisces.com:

Pisces are sensitive, humane and often idealistic. People born under this sign react emotionally to everything making them compassionate and sensitive to those around them. Rather than taking an analytical approach to life, pisces react to the feelings of others and as a result can be very influential when they choose to be. In the right situaltion a Pisces can be capable of incredible deeds. The positive nature of a Pisces and the fact that they are tuned into the feelings of others makes them socially popular.

Being able to read and react to situations makes Pisces one of the most adaptive signs in the Zodiac. They are very intuitive and as a result can be flexible and prosper in many different situations. The intuitive nature of Pisces also makes them a very creative and imaginative sign. Pisces are often artists, writers and dreamers. The strong intuition of a Pisces can also mean that they are very spiritual.

Now throw that Pisces in with a Virgo.

The Virgo person is practical, industrious, efficient, thorough, methodical, detail-oriented, observant, critical, work and service oriented, pragmatic, modest, health and cleanliness conscious, mentally active, and flexible. They can also be fussy, nervous, pedantic, petty, and over-critical. Virgos sometimes get a bad reputation with astrologers and are thought of as fussy or narrow-minded. But a shining Virgo can out match any other sign. A confident Virgo is the most successful, structured, and creative of all the signs.

They are practically completely opposite, and there are bound to be fireworks.
So occasionally looking at the personality traits of star signs does give you a rather nicely rounded character.

Try it some time!

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We all love a good hero. The more alpha he is, the more we love him, usually.
I'm partial to them, and most (probably all) my heroes are alpha males. That doesn't mean they are identified as such from the first page. Some of them are sneaky blighters and hide that alpha streak rather well. So much so, one of my critique partners (who always try to sneak off with my heroes) told me point blank she won't be fobbed off with "the gay one".
Oh she has NO idea. He may appear very beta in the book she saw him in, but in his own… oh my. There would be no mistaking him for a beta male. Nor would anyone think he might be gay. (Not that there is anything wrong with a gay alpha male, but I don't write gay romance.)
My heroes always come across as strong. I have to work hard at it so they don't overpower the other males in the story, because they like to dominate too.
Oddly, there is one of them who refuses to be cowed into taking a backseat when he crops up as a supporting character. All my girls want him, every reader so far wants him and falls in love with him.
I don't know why. I just know I have to keep knocking him back, because he likes to take over.
He's a toughy, but he has a sense of humor, too.
I've given him some not-so-endearing qualities  — he's a womanizer, arrogant, presumptous, pigheaded, holds a grudge like you wouldn't believe — and STILL they are all after him.
He's no mouse, that's for sure. When he's around, you know about it, you sit back and take notice.
But is it so bad to have a hero who is a mouse?
Can't there be some beta heroes?
Do women not like a beta?
We do. In fact, if those alpha males in our stories were real, we would hate them. Truly and absolutely hate them. We'd loathe every aspect of their personality and character, while the beta gets the girl.
Odd, isn't it? We fantasize about the ultimate tough guy — but if he came our way and actually noticed us (he's likely too preoccupied with himself), we'd run screaming in the other direction. Or straight into the arms of that beta we don't want in our stories.
In real life, we'd have an affair with an alpha, but we'd likely be in love with a beta.
So there's hope for all the beta guys out there. Yeah, your girl might drool over that alpha hero in her novel… but she wouldn't swap him for the real thing.
Maybe for a day.
God help any alpha male who runs into an alpha female. Their egos will most definitely clash. It'll either end in tears (his, most likely), bloodshed (his, most likely) or there will be a dead body at the end of it. (Yeah. His.).
It works well in a story, where you need conflict.
Real life?
Take it from someone who didn't put up with crap from an alpha male: Not so much.
I think he learned the concept of "I am woman, hear me roar" rather quickly — and the hard way.
It didn't last. We were both too stubborn and too set in our ways to compromise with someone so much like us.
Gimme someone I can compromise with, any day.
(I have the greatest guy already, but damn… I do miss the arguments sometimes!)

My conclusion?
Alphas make for great conflict-driven writing – but I wouldn't want to live with one.

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Do you like Vampires? Demons? Werewolves?
I do. Well, I like the stories, not the monsters. I don't think I'd want to ever encounter a real vampire, or get bitten by a werewolf.
Kinda not my thing, the whole blood and pain deal.
Writing about it? Sure.
There is plenty of blood and gore in my books, my heroes get stabbed, shot, tortured… even killed. (Yes, I have been known to kill off the hero about 1/4 into the story…)
But it isn't always a bad guy doing the stabbing and shooting, it's not always a monster doing it, either. Sometimes it's an average Joe, who feels threatened enough to defend himself by any means possible.
When we speak of monsters, we inevitably picture Nosferatu, Frankenstein, or something like Predator. We never think of the man next door, who may be perfectly nice when we meet him in the street — but who secretly buries people alive in his back yard.
Sometimes human monsters are worse than supernatural ones.
Take Elizabeth Bathory for example.
Born in 1560 in Hungary, she managed to kill over six hundred girls in about thirty years. No one stopped her, until she made the mistake of killing noblewomen, rather than peasants.
People knew about this, but because the girls were peasants, no one did anything.
It wouldn't surprise me if those (of her own standing) who met her saw a very different woman to the murderous monster the peasant girls got to meet.
The human race definitely has its own monsters, and sometimes they are scarier than anything we can make up.
So next time you find yourself stuck for something to write, and reach for the werewolf or the vampire — consider turning that innocent looking elderly man next door into a monster.
Then ask yourself… What if?
 

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So you’ve decided on your hero’s name, and it’s Edward.
Edward is a nice name. Just not for an alpha male.
While there are no hard and fast rules about names, and any name should be fine — you’ll soon find it’s not.
K, T and R names are the strongest sounds, hard sounds, making your hero sound tougher.
John vs Jack
Jack sounds stronger, John sounds softer.

Short can be better than long. (Not always!)
Donovan vs Don
Don sounds stronger.
Donovan sounds more reliable though.

Then there is meaning to consider.
You wouldn’t want your hero’s name to mean "Flowerpot" or something, right?
(Or maybe you would… It could be a giggle if he gets pulled up on it all the time.)
Anyway.
As I said, K sounds and the like sound "Strong"..
However, if you don’t want a hard sound at the beginning, try to pick a name with one in the middle.
And, for God’s sake, don’t name them all Jake, or Jack.
Please. I’m begging you.

Peruse baby name sites (there are plenty out there) and say the names out loud.
See which one sounds strong, and which comes off as soft, or even weak.
On those sites, you will also find the meanings. Check them out too.

Make the name pronounceable.
(I should talk. One of my heroes is called Raxsaixahael. His friends call him Bob – because they can’t pronounce it. He also answers to Rax, however. And I picked this for a reason. )

Last but not least — there is fashion to consider.
Some names are eternally popular. Some… well.
Before you name your hero Willard, consider when the story is set. Or have a good reason for choosing an old fashioned name. (Maybe he was named after his Grandfather?)
But if you have no reason for calling your hero Ulysses, or Erasmus, then think about it a little. (I personally like old fashioned names, so don’t let me deter you too much.)

There are a lot of things you can do to enhance your hero, but probably the most important is his name. We make a lot of mental assumptions when we hear a name.
If we are introduced to a Beau, we’d naturally assume he’s handsome, for instance. (After all, that’s what the name means.) His name may be Beauregard, and he could answer to any number of nicknames (Beau, Bo, Reg etc)  but the name has to make an impression on us — and it better be a strong one, if he’s the alpha male hero.
I (personally) wouldn’t get a strong impression from a hero named Kenny, even though it’s a K name. The cutsiefying of the -ny takes away the strong sound. I’d have a better impression of Ken, or Kenneth.

Names are difficult, to be sure.
But they are what define your characters.
So choose well.

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