Inquiring minds
want to know: for you authors—do you have an easier time writing your heroes or
your heroines? For you readers—do you relate better to the heroes or the
heroines in the romance books you read?
It’s been said
that readers should want to be friends with the heroine and fall in love with
the hero. I’ve got the falling in love with the hero part nailed down.
Writing the
hero is much easier for me than writing the heroine. I fall in love with each
of my heroes as I’m writing his story. I love getting into my guys’ heads. My
men are always tortured in some way, yet they are vulnerable, and despite
everything they’ve been through, they are willing to open their hearts to take
a chance on love. And they aren’t afraid to fight for the women they love. Readers
fall in love with my heroes too.
My heroines not
so much.
I struggle to
write heroines. I like them to be vulnerable also, and independent and strong. Women
who can stand on their own and take care of themselves. But, according to a few
reviewers/readers, my early heroines were a little too stubborn. One reader who
reviewed my first published book disliked my heroine through most of the story because
this reader felt the heroine took too long to appreciate the great guy who was
head over heels for her. I’ve had some readers defend my heroes against
perceived slights from the heroines.
My heroines
have been hurt in the past and steel themselves against getting hurt again.
Because of that they are a little wary of losing their hearts. And, yes, maybe
a little stand-offish, at least at first, for some of them. On the other hand,
I’ve written heroines who have been too mushy and googly-eyed toward the hero,
according to my critique group. They have me make her resist the hero more. See
what I mean about struggling to write the women?
I suspect my
problem writing heroines is that each one has a little bit of me in her. I’m
stubborn (to a fault my husband would say), and I don’t like anyone telling me
what to do. Although these can be good traits for my heroines, I’ve had to
learn to dig deeper into their minds to show their inner struggles so readers
can understand them better, and to make them the kinds of women readers would have
for friends.
Readers tend to
like the heroines in my later books. But not as much as they love my heroes.
As a reader, I
asked myself the same question as above. Who do I relate to better? Hero or
heroine? Many times it depends on the book and the roles the characters play.
But looking back, I like most heroes a tad better than the heroines in the
books I read. Why? Is it just a woman thing, and we all fall in love with the
heroes?
Here are a few
of my heroes and why I love them.
Logan Tanner
from Logan Logan was raised
on the mean streets of Philadelphia .
As a teen, he was forced to flee. Now he’s back, but his past still haunts him.
He puts his life on the line to protect the woman he loves, the woman he’s
always loved.
Franco Callahan
from Franco’s Fortune (Redemption Book 2).
Franco went from a spoiled child of privilege to a wealthy playboy. But
Franco’s player façade hides deep wounds. It takes a spitfire of a woman,
ex-military, to break down the wall around Franco’s heart.
Luke Corrado
from Luke’s Temptation (Redemption Book 3).
A hotshot FBI Agent who doesn’t always follow the rules, Luke carries his guilt
like a loaded Glock. Because of him, a woman he’d loved was murdered. Now, on
special assignment, he has a chance to redeem himself by saving the life of
another woman, a woman who tempts him to love again.
Nick Radford, from
Cursed Mates, former Duke of Radford,
now a powerful werewolf. Nick is a tortured soul who’s lived for over 500
years. To save the world and the woman he loves, he’ll sacrifice his own life.
All three books in The Redemption Series are in a boxed set for your reading convenience.
I agree I find heroines harder to write too. Thanks for the post.
ReplyDeleteThat's pretty much the same for me too. The heroes are easy. Great post. :)
ReplyDeleteI love writing about my guys but the girls tend to come to me as well very strongly. They are bossy about wanting to find their love!
ReplyDeleteI tend to have a harder time with my heroes. I have to take time to write a full description in every detail and have a total image of him and where he's headed. Once that long process is done, he fits right in.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jeanine, Rose, Melissa & Judy. Interesting how we find it easier to write one than the other. I'm working on my heroines. Still love writing those heroes, though,
ReplyDeleteI do love writing about both, but like you I do have a predilection for the heroes, which is strange because it should be more difficult to get into a man's mind and heart!
ReplyDeleteI love my heroes, but I *adore* my villains. I always fall in love with my villains and then root for my heroes to kill them... ;-) I prefer writing heroes to heroines, and I find there is always more "me" in the heroes.
ReplyDeleteIt depends on the type of romance I'm writing. In THE DEVIL AND DANNA WEBSTER, a YA paranormal romance, the novel is written from the heroine's point of view solely and she has her share of flaws, but so do the two hot guys she's attracted to. No perfect people in my novels. This is true of my historical romance THE CHEVALIER as well, although the heroine of TEA LEAVES AND TAROT CARDS is very sympathetic and appealing.
ReplyDeleteIt depends on the story. Sometimes I can write the heroine more easily, other times the hero. Like Mariana, I love writing villains. Maybe it's personal therapy!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Marie. It is strange that we would like writing the heroes more and getting into the guys' heads. But we do.
ReplyDeleteMariana, thanks. Writing villains is fun. I enjoy them too.
Jacqueline & Gemma, true that it can also depend on the story. Some of my heroines have certainly been easier to write than others.
I enjoy writing villains, too. I have to focus on the heroine when I write her, and I have to focus on the hero when I write him. I do breaks for each character, so that makes it a bit easier.
ReplyDeleteI worked in departments where I worked with all men and all women, so I have a good understanding of both.
Hi, Cara! I write heroines because I write first person. I can get in their skin in first pov. What they see. What they feel far more intimately. Heroes I like to write, but work harder at.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sandy and Vicki. Sandy, I like the way you focus on each one at a time. Vicki, I do like writing first person, and you're right that first person allows the reader to get closer to the character.
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