International Man of Mystery: The Alpha Male
In truly unpirate-form, we parlayed about what we’d be blogging about this week, This Week of Love. (Since when do pirates plan?) And I committed myself to writing about great romantic gestures, the kind that makes us fall in love with the hero even though he doesn’t say “I love you.” I know, the topic bored me too.
And then I was reading this lovely article about my beloved Jack (no, not mine), and this highly educated lady laid out the simple formula to me: about what makes any romantic hero sexy.
What, what? you ask.
“It’s a mystery.”
No, no, don’t leave in a huff. I’m not trying to be obnoxious. Much. But there are the obvious things: handsome, noble, in possession of a sense of humor as well as a modest fortune (or at least a job), and the ability to not frighten small children (since that would be handy later.) But then there is The Mystery.
As Marnee pointed out, we love to solve a mystery, whether we realize it or not. And I’m pretty sure Lisa has also opined on heroes with that sense of SOMETHING, but you can’t pinpoint what. You don’t know; it’s a mystery.
Think how boring Mr. Darcy would have been if he’d really been that pretentious jerk. It would have been so easy to loathe him; and yet the more we’re around him, the more we sense a bit of mystery about him. Something that makes us think he’s not quite as he seems, there’s something there beneath the surface if we’re willing to look.
I know we’re not exactly rule-followers around here; and I know that the first rule is: drink rum, then write. But one of the close followers to this rule is: Show, Don’t Tell. Which if anyone has had a gander at my WIP can tell you is easier said than done. I’d say the flipside to this all-important rule is: Show, But Don’t Show Too Much. Show us the 10% to intrigue us, and let us figure out the other 90. Readers want to fill in the blanks *and* we want to be right, so letting us fill in what we don’t know about a character by virtue makes us right. (For a while, at least.)
I think the problem with why Betas aren’t as valued as a sexy Alpha is that Betas don’t have secrets, and thus we know too much about them. Think of Will Turner, another pirate favorite. In the first film, he was Beta-Beta-Beta. He couldn’t have been more Beta if he’d been coached by Opie himself. The handsome blacksmith who nobly faced danger to save the woman of his dreams, with some help from the incomparable Jack Sparrow. The problem was that at the end of that movie: Will Turner was still a Beta—and he was still a blacksmith.
In the second movie, he went a bit more willingly into the danger to save his love *and* his father; and he was slightly more pirate as the movie raged on, but in the end, as he watched his fiancé kiss Jack on the deck of the Black Pearl, all I saw was betrayed blacksmith. You know, the Nice Guy Who Finished Last.
But with the beginning of the third movie, Will had developed this interesting new personality, compliments I’m sure of his loose-lipped fiancé, and he was far more Alpha than Beta in this flick. He was secretive, hurt simmering in the depths of those almost black eyes, and kept his agenda close and his enemies closer. Will was swoon-worthy before he tied on that scarf, simply because he got a bit of mystery about him.
Think about it. Aren’t your favorite romances filled with heroes whose backstories are kept close to the vest, but once revealed (at least partially) make you swoon that much harder for the hero it reveals? No one wants to go on the first date with a guy who reveals all his broken relationships and inability to commit before the dessert is even ordered. (It’s happened.) There is a certain sense of reward you feel as someone who has earned the right to know these secrets, if they’re not revealed until later in the game. That sense that he doesn’t trust just anyone with his darkest secrets; that he trusts you to keep them safe.
Do you like your men mysterious or forthcoming? Any movie or book “dark secrets” you can recall that left you totally floored and made you love the hero even more? Which Will is better: the first film or the last? Anyone have trouble with showing instead of telling like I do?
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49 comments:
I like my men mysterious. But Beta's can be mysterious. My Adrian is a bit of a Beta... okay so in my head he is...
Can't recall anything that blew me away. Not this early on a work morning anyways.
My show vs. tell problem always shows it's ugly head in the beginning of my books. i think it's because I am just feeling my way around the scenes and story that I can't dig so deep in that first try. I usually end up deleting my first chapter because of it. or shall I say optimistically, rewriting the first chapter to show not tell the reader.
I'm sure it will not surprise anyone I like my men more forthcoming. But I totally get the mystery thing. Not the Austen Powers thing - I've never gotten that, but the other.
Think about all the masked guys. Or the superheroes that keep their real identity secret. Lois wouldn't have been near as hot for Superman had she known from the first who he was. Zorro makes a girl feel a little scared but a little hot at the same time. And then there's Spidey.
I understand the concept behind showing and not telling but I can't say I've mastered it by any means. That's why I think it's important to do some research on body language and biological factors of relationships. This kind of stuff gives us the little tips and shortcuts how to show anger, sadness, lust and affection without necessarily saying he was angry/sad/aroused or affectionate.
I'm all about shortcuts...LOL!
Awesome blog Cap'n.
You all know how I like my hero...straight up mystery with a dash of moral code that ventures into the gray:)
Perfect example for your blog. Evanovich's heroes Morelli and Ranger. Morelli's story was all told in OFTM. His character did a nose dive onto the couch after that and has remained there for the last 12 books. Janet wrote Morelli into the corner and has left him there. Ranger on the other hand has evolved. Janet has dropped delicious tid bits all along the way about Ranger, and even in doing so, he still holds the right amount of cards close to his chest.
*swoon*
I think that Amanda Quick/Jayne Ann Krentz writes a wonderful Beta, the kind that still has a little mystery. But, for the most part, I agree about the beta vs alpha idea you set out here.
I have a show don't tell problem, but I've been working on it. I won a critique from Terry Garey on the romance novel blog and she gave me a good hint. She said to watch how many times I use the word she/he because that is usually a sign if you're showing too much. I don't know how well it works yet, but I've been more conscious of it.
And I like all the Wills, but I'm a Will fan. :)
Problem is, Tiff, I've already deleted my chapter 1 already. This is probably the fourth incarnation of the damned chapter and I still tell more than I show. It's so frustrating! *LOL*
And I have to just say: I don't think any of your men are Beta. They couldn't possibly be. *LOL*
*note to self, "No Mystery for Terri, got it."* (And the Austin Powers is just because of the Title, not because he's remotely mysterious. Or attractive.
Am I the only one who hates Spiderman? I *love* Batman though, but I'm much more fond of bats than spiders.
But what's funny about biological factors is that the same physical symptoms of lust (flushing, breathing heavily) are the same ones for ANGER. Not always a good indicator. Just saying. And if you're writing in first person about how you're feeling, do you notice if you're "flushing" or "breathing heavily"?
Lisa, Morelli was so much more interesting until the end of Book 4--and then he got REAL BORING and Beta-esque, though still with that horrible tendency to withhold information at all costs. (I'm still convinced Ranger's the better man; he only withholds information until you ask the *right* questions; Morelli flat out LIES. Where is that heroic?)
Okay, okay, sorry, this is not the Plum Blog...but it annoys me! *LOL*
I totally agree about the man of mystery thing! Even better is when you show him being one way, but he's really another (does that make sense?). I love when you have an alpha behaving as if he's an ass when really he's doing something good for the heroine (this works especially well in historicals). I can't for the life of me come up with an example but I know there are tons of them.
I tell instead of show too and I think I realize why I do it. I think it's because I don't want the reader to dislike my hero or heroine. So when I have them doing stupid or nasty things I feel the need to defend them... endlessly... with tons and tons of exposition.
I always have to make everything about Ranger don't I? *g*
*steering ship back on course*
Will is HOT no matter what movie he's in; but he was infinitely sexier in the third. Moody, broody, keeping secrets and doublecrossing. *swoons*
I'll try to watch the he/she thing--but it's SO hard. *LOL*
Captain - if you're writing in first person you probably wouldn't say you felt the blush crawl up your neck but you would say alarm bells went off in your ears or you saw red or you fought to keep from grinding your teeth when you responded.
Irish - Mr. Darcy! I love when she finally learns all the good he's done and his response is "It was all for you. Surely you know it was all for you." Or something like that. LOL! Matthew. *sigh*
Ranger is too hot not to make it into any conversation about the male species. He's just hotness incarnate. LOL!
As for the Will Turner question... *mumbling so Hellion doesn't quite hear* I haven't seen POTC3 yet so I sorta, kinda, can't really compare...yet.
Irish--*LOL*--that insatiable need to be liked, even your characters! It's hard to hurdle that, isn't it? And I know exactly what you mean about the guy who behaves one way (usually with his gruff conversation), then does the romantic gesture. The Quiet Romantic. (And you're right, historical romances do this alot.)
I think my favorite Quiet Romantic moment of all time (I swoon each and every time I see it) is when Marianne Dashwood is gather reeds for the fire, trying to break off the reeds and not being very successful--and Colonel Branden stops before her, stoops, and hands her a knife without a word. Then he leaves without saying a word. Then she cuts the reed (and it's a sharp knife--so the difference is clear) and she pauses and looks back at him. But he's very very quiet, very broody looking--and not remotely the dashing figure Willoughby is.
And yet, I would trample Willoughby on my way over to spidermonkey Colonel Branden and plant kisses all up and down his body.
Lisa--not your fault at all--after all, when I created the blog about the man of Mystery, guess who the template was? *LOL* It's natural to talk about him; he's such a perfect example of what we're talking about--why not use him?
OMG! How could I have forgotten Darcy?! I just watched part of P&P yesterday, too. That should have been the first person I thought of.
I own the mini-series but haven't watched it all the way through since it came out 11(?) years ago. I forget how fun it is start to finish - such great actors.
WHAT? You haven't seen the THIRD POTC? Are you mad? Have you seen the second one? How could you see the 2nd and not the 3rd? *makes plan to drive to Irish's house to make her watch film*
Good point, Terr, but how is that different from "telling"?
Oooh, Mr. Darcy! *swoons* The Big Romantic Gesture
*tsking at Irish* You know, we don't just watch the movie straight through; we make theme food to eat while we watch it. We'll make scones and some English foods.
Irish - I knew that admission was not going to go over well. LOL!
If I say I had to keep from grinding my teeth when I responded I never once *tell* the reader I'm mad. I have *shown* that I'm trying to control my anger without *telling* it at all.
*stick tongue out at Captain*
LOL about Colonel Brandon, Hellion. Me too!!!!! I just love him in the Emma Thompson version, but that could be solely based on the fact that Alan Rickman is playing him. We'll see if he still holds that power when I watch Andrew Davies new 2-part version coming up on PBS next month.
You could be right, Irish...it could be Alan Rickman *as* Colonel Brandon that makes the difference. After all, if he can make Snape look sexy and jumpable, it's obviously the man and not the role. *LOL*
POTC3 is definitely on my short list. I swear! The DH decided we needed to have a family movie night once a week and started last week with HP1. Since I haven't seen any Harry Potters either and he got his hands on all of them we're going that route!
Thank you. I would bow but I don't trust you enough to take my eyes off you. LOL!
Irish - I haven't watched all the HP's either but then I haven't read a single one of the books. We have some of them and I figure we'll get to them. Someday...
Okay, Irish, you're forgiven. I figure by the time you watch the movies, you'll be so sucked into the world of HP, you'll run out to read the books immediately.
Or I could come to your house and read the books on your couch. Holly said the whole reason she read them was because I laughed all the way through the books. For such dark themes, the books were hysterical!
Fine Adrian is LESS alpha than my other boys...
And for the record I've probably deleted (at this point) like more than 10K off the beginning. So you might just have to delete more to get to the showing...
The soul of integrity?! Hello!!!
PIRATE.
I love my men mysterious! That air of danger. Dark. Drop dead sexy. I try to make all my heroes this way. I love alphas!
I have more of an info dump problem in the beginning on a fic. Too much detail. Too much going on. I gotta learn spacing. So Tiff, I feel your pain.
Pirates have moral compasses, Terr, they just don't always point north.
*LOL* If I deleted 10,000 words off my WIP, I'd probably be at the float trip aspect of the book, which is rather exciting, but doesn't make any sense up till then.
Or I might be at Jake/Lorelei's wedding. *thoughtful look* You know, that *could* work.
Exactly my point about the compass. Which means you are less likely to take the high road (NORTH!) and throw something at me. LOL!
Does being sexy make him mysterious or being mysterious make him sexy? LOL! Just askin'.
Being mysterious makes him sexy. Or at least for me. The less I know, the more I want.
Mysterious makes him sexy. What Sin said. If I know too much, I realize: OMG, another idiot...
And who says the North road is the only one that is the "high road"? Aren't there any mountains in the south?
Hellion, I usually bow to your insight and wisdom, but you are wrong about betas. EJ’s Ewan and JQ’s Colin had a certain mystery—both betas. What about Mary Balogh’s Hartley Wade, MJP’s Stephen Kenyon, Candice Hern’s Simon Westover, or Ruth Wind’s Blue Reynard? They all had secrets and they are betas, every one. Nora Roberts’s Murphy Muldoon may lack secrets, but I assure you that’s the only thing that Renaissance-man hero lacks.
Some writers are particularly good at creating gorgeous betas. I agree that JAK is one of the best. How can any reader not love Harry Stratton Trevelyan’s “finely tuned mind” and his “absolutely, positive” certainty that he wants Molly Abberwick? Georgette Heyer did some wonderful betas: Gervase Frant (The Quiet Gentleman) is probably my favorite. And Connie Brockway—her betas are classic romance heroes. Harry Braxton (As You Desire), Avery Thorne (My Dearest Enemy), Justin Powell (Bridal Favors ). Kathleen Gilles Seidel is another expert beta-maker. Alec Cameron (Again), Joe Brigham (Don’t Forget to Smile), Jack Wells (Summer’s End).
Alphas may be more common, and we all love them. But Romancelandia would be sadly diminished without our beta heroes. Long may they charm the readers who adore them!
I knew I could count on Janga to defend out Beta Boys. Call me crazy but I'll take brains (sensitivity, wit, charm, sense of humor) over braun anyday. LOL!
I'm going to order pins that say "Betas have mystery" for Nationals. LOL!
Go Janga! I bow to your superior knowledge; except for Harry, Colin & Ewan (who wasn't my favorite of the heroes, but boy could he kiss)--I haven't read any of those you sited. I did adore Colin; and I don't think any of JQ's heroes are particularly Alpha. Even her Lords are pretty Beta; with the possible exception of the guy in the last book. Of course, I think he was just a Beta who'd been burned than an Alpha with a dark side.
Maybe we shouldn't label our men. Maybe that's the problem.
And Terri, who's to say the Alphas don't have brains? I don't find stupid Alphas heroic, and I don't think any Alpha-supporters here would say they do either.
The thing I always thought that made the difference between the Alphas and the Betas is that Alphas made a decision and took action (even if it was the wrong action--and they had to change course later); and the Betas do a sort of Hamlet mentality, hemming and hawing and fine-tuning their plans until the woman is so fed up with them waiting to take action, they leave to do it themselves.
But again--with Janga's list of men--those men were full of actions as well.
And Colin, being he embarrassed the crap out of Penelope by shouting he was never going to marry her, couldn't exactly be accused of having any sort of sensitivity any more than an Alpha.
I knew as soon as I typed that someone would make that argument. Yes, Alphas are smart. Or can be. Maybe it's the stubborn streak that drives me crazy. The "I know what I'm doing and I'm in charge so get behind me you fragile, little thing you I will not be contradicted!" thing. That's what drives me crazy. LOL!
Maybe I should have said brains and all that other stuff is higher on my list of priorities.
RIGHT. Because you're not stubborn; and you won't argue about something you believe you're right on.
Go ahead and date the guy who will give in and not argue with you about it. You'll need him.
Patronizing. And there are Betas who can be Patronizing...Patronizing is just a characteristic you want to avoid, regardless of labeling.
Hey! As long as we can argue as equals and he doesn't dismiss me because I'm a woman, then we'll be fine.
You know I could never date someone who wouldn't argue with me?! I'd be miserable!!!
And I prefer the term debate to argue. Just for the record...
Hellion, I think the labels can be a problem. I suspect that many of our favorite heroes are actually more Gamma (to use Deb Stover's term) than fully alpha or fully beta. They combine the leadership and strength associated with alphas with the tenderness and greater openness associated with betas.
I've never heard that hybrid term but I like it better. The hero should really be a bit of both.
Reminds me of the books where we get to the end (often the epilogue) and the heroine is in childbirth while the hero is pacing and swearing he's never going to touch her again. It drives him crazy that she's in pain and he, technically, caused it. But then they see the baby and they go all soft. That's where the combination is so fun.
I do love the term of "Gamma"--I had heard of that term--and it does indeed seem the best of both worlds.
You know, that Madonna-Whore thing we women are supposed to project as well... *LOL*
I have to admit that I don't like the uber macho alpha. I prefer my alphas a little softer.
I guess I'm with the "Gamma" crowd. :)
So Gamma. That's our new Hero-Worthy Dream Guy. I'm all for it then!!! We need to add him to the list of topics to blog about.
I'm an alpha lover, I admit. And everyone is absolutely right. It's all about the mystery of it.
I like this idea of Gamma. We should definitely explore this a little bit.
I love this conversation! Even though I'm coughing up a lung, I feel moved to put in my 2 cents.
I did adore POTC3 Will above POTC1 Will. I have a hard time understanding Alpha/Beta labels, partly because I have a hard time writing a hero who fits neatly into either of the categories. I guess Jeremy, the hero of GOTH, is pretty alpha. He has secret pain and all. My second hero, Gray, is probably more Gamma. He's definitely a natural leader, but less bossy and more emotionally available to his loved ones. The hero I'm getting ready to write, however, is full-on beta - considerate, charming, nice - except in the bedroom. His heroine needs him to be commanding there, so he has to rise to the challenge. :) I'm really looking forward to writing him.
Kris - hey there! Thanks for stopping by. ITA, we need to investigate this type of man further. All in the name of research, of course.
Tessa - Taking charge in the bedroom? Hmmm...you have my attention. LOL! At least I know our long wait will pay off since we'll get to read about all these lovely men in a short time frame. Which is good because if we have to wait any longer, you're going to find us all your doorstep! LOL!
*holds up hand to volunteer for Gamma research* Oh, we're not taking volunteers? Damn.
Kris--great to see you!! (Maybe you can blog about it! We love blogs about men for some reason. Weird.) *LOL*
Tessa, do you need me to send you some Dayquil so you can get back to work on that Beta so we can all read it? *LOL* Takes charge in the bedroom...Yes, that's a fine line, isn't it? We all rather want a guy who takes control in the bedroom, but only if he knows what he's doing...it's a FINE LINE. *LOL*
Excellent point, Captain. Wouldn't want a guy driving the boat who has never bothered to study the map. LOL!
I forgot Tessa is ill. Oh, you poor thing. When you're too ill for TMI you know you're ill.
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