Category Archives: The Fictorians

When I Googled bad boys and anti-heroes for my previous post just to gather thoughts, I came up with a wealth of information. Easy peasy. Then one of our readers (Thank you!) asked about the female counterparts. Good point. One which I then discussed with a writerly friend and we had an excellent conversation on the topic, though finding examples took us a while. But once we got started, it was great and even clarified some differences for me between ‘bad’ and ‘anti-hero.’ So, here I am doing a sequel a year later.

A few things I noticed.

A ‘bad girls’ search only got me to the western movie of the same name. Sad.

When I previously googled anti-hero, all I got were guys, but lots of them. I actually had to google ‘anti-heroines’ (sad) before I got any gals and the resources were limited in substance. Not easy peasy.

I found in the discussions on this topic (online) there was huge dissention about what does or does not make a woman an anti-hero. There were arguments for likeability despite character flaws, arguments that said being annoying didn’t qualify one as anti-hero, and arguments that ‘bad’ and anti-hero’ were the same. Names were bantered about (some I agreed with and others not so much). Some were just crazy (read sociopaths and psychopaths). Not sure how crazy qualifies, personally. Apparently, women anti-heroes seem to be a difficult breed to pin down (and once more I say this is a sad state of affairs), so I’m going with the same qualifications I used for the guys.

As a refresher, they are: Bad Girls/Boys – They are no one you really want to introduce to dear old mom and dad, may wear inappropriate clothing or jewelry, have a disregard or disrespect for authority figures (including the parents), may brood, be rebellious, could be one of those musician types, may ride a motorcycle, and could have a criminal record.

Anti-heroes (Girls/Boys) – They lack conventional heroic qualities, may have a bad attitude, possess both good and bad traits, and while we may not be able to look up to them, we root for them to redeem themselves.

And in both cases, despite all these dubious traits, we want to inspire their redemption or bring forth their better self. And in a romantic world we want to be the cause of that change. Girl or Guy (I don’t care), this is my measuring stick.

I think we find them appealing because we want variety and depth. Like Goldilocks, we don’t want too soft or too hard, we want just right. And sometimes, just right looks awfully wrong at first glance. Like Jessica Rabbit, she wasn’t bad, she was just drawn that way. Or traversed a rocky road to get to where she is now – badly in need of love to help pull her back from the Dark Side.

My favorite is Lisbeth Salander. Rocky Road? This gal was crossing the Grand Canyon with a lame burro. Seriously. Yet she survived. Tough as nails, sought revenge on those who did her wrong and sought vengeance for those who were victims. Did her and Mikael get a HEA (Happy Ever After)? No. But I think Mikael loved her and hoped his influence helped her in some way. And I firmly believe (hopeless romantic that I am) that at some point in her future she found/will find the right gal or guy to help mend her sexy broken self.

What about Scarlett O’Hara? Rhett loved her and fought uphill all the way. She may have looked like a southern belle, but she had an iron will and mind that gave her a whole host of unconventional heroic traits. Rhett saw through all that nonsense and loved her for those very same traits. Arguably, her iron will and mind also drove Rhett away eventually, but as she says, “Tomorrow is another day.”

I have little experience with La Femme Nikita, so I’ll stick to the Bridget Fonda character, Maggie, in the homage Point of No Return. Druggie criminal with a wicked bad attitude, recruited and trained to be an assassin, yet deep (deep, deep) she has a soft side that J.P. brings out in her. She redeems herself to be worthy of him, only to have to leave him in order to survive leaving Bob and the agency for which she kills And let’s not forget that Bob loves her too. He loves all of her cuz he’s seen the real Maggie and molded her into who she is today (except for the gooey soft parts J.P. inspired). I love this character. I love her strength to do what she had to do no matter how hard.

I was waffling on Faith from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the series, NOT the movie – don’t get me started on the movie ….), but I think I will add her here. She was über unconventional, had a bad, bad attitude and wore totally inappropriate (even I am rolling my eyes a little at this turn of phrase) clothing. Yet, we loved to hate her, then we loved to love her and always I think we were rooting for her redemption and hoping some nice guy would come along and soften those very sharp edges. She especially reminds me of Jessica Rabbit for some reason I can’t explain. Also Eliza Dushku is notoriously good at playing this type of character. Could be her dark broody looks lend that impression to begin with so that’s how she’s cast. I dunno.

One new addition is Jennifer Lawrence’s Tiffany on Silver Linings Playbook. She’s a bitter, depressed widow with a lot of anti-social tendencies and a bit of sex-addiction thrown in for good measure. What’s to love? She loves dancing. How bad can she be if she loves ballroom dancing? Pat (played brilliantly by Bradley Cooper) finds a lot to love in her. He’s his own brand of mega-issues. But between them, they find a way to bring out the best in each other and isn’t that what all this is about? I dare say it is. Maybe. Yeah! I think so.

Another new addition is Hit-Girl in the Kick-Ass movies. She was raised to be a vigilante and knows more about weapons and fighting than even the non-average bear. She is totally kick-ass (lol) and I was completely rooting for her and Dave to complement each other’s missing bits – like his lack of real fighting skills and her lack of any kind of normal childhood. To quote Wayne and Garth – “Party Time! Excellent!”

Some honorable mentions (because I’m waffley on their status but I’m open to discussion): Hayley Stark in Hard Candy (such a great movie and Ellen Page is chilling as Hayley – maybe too young to be anti-hero yet, but in the future? with this past?), The Bride in Kill Bill (are we rooting for her redemption or just her revenge?), Aileen Wuornos (real life and Charlize Theron’s movie version – bad or just crazy?), Emma Bovary in Madame Bovary (unconventional or just cold – I dunno), Selene in Underworld (lovable to be sure, but is she unconventional enough? Is being a vampire enough?), Mathilda in Léon: The Professional (another age issue for me – but in the future, her possibilities are endless), Cathy in Wuthering Heights (bad, unconventional or just untterly selfish?), Catwoman from the Batman franchise ( I think you could argue for crazy but she is a bad-ass), two Farrah Fawcett characters – Marjorie in Extremities and Francine in The Burning Bed (in both is she just victim seeking revenge? Or something more?), Lara Croft from Tombraider (I’m not sure she’s unconventional enough but she can be tough).

*I was all over the place on references, metaphors and similies – I thank you for staying with me. 🙂 And now — let the discussion begin.

The Monster Mash: Writing Sex Scenes, Part Two

February 10, 2015

fictorians

A guest post by Joshua Essoe.

In part one we talked about if you should go all the way, how to decide, creating tension in all the right places, and what position you should take. Tonally speaking.

Today, let’s get into some specifics of when you’re trying to verb the adjective noun.

Your characters should inform everything that takes place between them. Who are they? Are they gregarious and shameless? Well then, yeah, a character like that might just throw their clothes off, give strip teases for the thrill of it, and view kisses as fun but meaningless.

Is your character shy? Well that character is very unlikely to just throw their clothes off or have sex in a changing room. Maybe they want the light turned off first, maybe they kiss tentatively, and slowly, maybe they need their partner to undress first.

And let’s not forget about laying down complications, hiking up tension, and stroking inner conflict. Maybe your character feigns confidence and it gets tested terribly when things heat up. Maybe they’re worried about some perceived physical defect. Maybe the character is married or committed to someone else–what kind of inner conflict would that engender? How would that other relationship inform their choices in the romance with someone else? Are they in love with two people at once?

Let’s get deeper into the question of how far you should push.

Just like any other scene, you focus on what you want your readers to focus on. And that is what your specific character would be focused on. What does your viewpoint character find attractive and sexy about the character they are with? Both physically and in their personality, their movements, their smell, the sounds they make. Maybe that shameless character is turned on by having everything articulated. That character definitely likes the dirty dirty. Maybe that shy character is focused on the eyes and minute facial expressions. Use all the senses. What is going to make it interesting and unique are the specific details you use. The more specific and narrow you make your focus, the sexier the scene will be. And yes, sometimes that means you’ll be writing about what parts go where and what that feels like.

The way you inform your readers of that, what words you use, will depend on your characters, the tone of the story, and how you’ve set it up. There should always be some words on your Do Not Fly list. Let me suggest a few:

Turgid, adj
Purple, adj/noun
Fleshy, adj
Wrinkled, verb (If this is an adjective, then please don’t send me this MS.)
Pert, adj
Moist, adj

These are not sexy words. Even penis. Penis is not a sexy word. They accurately describe something, sure, but analytically relating what a thing is, or what a thing does, does not sexy make. Likewise, be careful with the placement of your sexy words because it will be hard, err, difficult to keep from using them over and over. Keep track of those little buggers or everything is going to end up wet, or hard . . . or turgid.

But, like everything else in writing, it is a careful balancing act. Just like any other action scene, don’t go overboard with your descriptions or you’ll bog down your prose, and kill your pacing and interest. When I say focus in and use specific details I don’t mean that you should describe every single movement or action taking place. You can leave some things to your readers’ imaginations. They’ll fill in the blanks.

Be aware of the tropes. There are a lot out there, but here are some common ones:

The woman or man is unattainably attractive.
She has an apparent willingness to have sex with the male protagonist, usually as a means of manipulating him.
The female character is duplicitous, and either secretly evil or forced to act that way for some reason.
Rape. I can’t tell you how tired women, in particular, are of reading rape used as a tool to garner sympathy, or stoke conflict. But that is a separate article.

One final note. It’s worth talking about the actual, physical writing of these kinds of scenes. I heartily recommend your local Starbucks if you want the dude with the Beats by Dre, the man in the pinstriped shirt, and the cute, spikey-haired girl sneaking stares as your face flushes, your breath quickens, and you start to sweat. Just please keep your hands on your keyboard at all times.

Or maybe you should plan to write these things in private. And then you can let your hands do whatever they gotta do.

Wherever you chose to write your dive in the dark, don’t stop, once you start. Going halfway into the scene, then pulling out for a break kills your own tension and takes you out of the flow. It would be like texting with your buddy while you’re bed-pressing with your partner. Just like in real life you want the process to go smoothly without interruption. Write the whole scene in one ecstatic burst. Do not go back to read what you’ve written. Do not count how many times you’ve used the words “moist,” and “pert.” It doesn’t matter, don’t break your rhythm.

That means do not stop to edit yourself! The scene might suck, but that does not matter, just like any first draft, you’ll have your chance to go back and massage it into splendor later.

If you’ve never written a sex scene, and maybe even if you have, you may feel embarrassed, or even scared enough that you can only manage a tag to yourself, “put the sex stuff here.” For those of you that this applies to, take heart. You don’t have to view writing sex and romance as writing a sex scene or writing erotica. You’re just writing a scene. That’s it. You’ll do great. Let your characters guide you, listen to them, just as you would with any other scene, and write.

About Joshua Essoe:

Joshua Essoe is a full-time, freelance editor. He’s done work for best-seller David Farland, including the multi-award winning novel, Nightingale; Dean Lorey, lead writer of Arrested Development; best-seller, James Artimus Owen; and numerous Writers of the Future authors and winners, as well as many top-notch independents. He is currently the copy editor at Urban Fantasy Magazine.

Together with tie-in writer Jordan Ellinger, indie success-story, Michael J. Sullivan, and traditionally published author and NY Times best-seller, Debbie Viguie, he records the weekly writing podcast Hide and Create.

When not editing . . . ha ha, a joke. He was a 2014 finalist in the Writers of the Future contest, and lives with his wife, and three horrible cats near UCLA.

The Monster Mash: Writing Sex Scenes, Part One

February 9, 2015

fictorians

Character Craft & Skills Guest Posts Joshua Essoe Reflection The Writing Life Tropes & Archetypes 1 Comment

A guest post by Joshua Essoe.

This is an intimidating subject, and one I think many authors have a lot of questions about. Should the characters indulge in a little horizontal refreshment? Do they or don’t they? Should I or shouldn’t I?

In loving someone else, we really do discover things about ourselves. The act of sex opens up all kinds of emotional territory for us, and it’s great to show characters discovering themselves through their physical loving of one another.

First, let’s decide if your story needs a love scene. Just like any other scene, ideally, it should do three things–advance the plot, show character progression, and turn you on . . . I mean entertain. If the sex can reveal character, or advance plot, or increase tension, you should consider including a little limb mingling in your story. Especially if the genre encourages it.

I read an awesome quote from Delilah S. Dawson who writes the Blud series:

“Remember in Mallrats, where they were doing the dating show, and the suitors were asked if their kisses were like a soft breeze, a firm handshake, or a jackhammer? Gil answered, “Definitely a jackhammer, I’m in there with some pressure and when I’m done, you’re not the same as before. You’re changed.” And we laughed, because he was a douche. But your sex scene should be like that: it should move the story forward and somehow affect the characters emotionally. Maybe the hero learns to open up, maybe the heroine decides she wants to be more aggressive in her real life, maybe they’re just having what they think is a last fling before a giant orc battle. But it has to mean something, or else it’s just porn.”

So here are some things to consider:

A) Is a character’s personal life necessary to the story?

B) Should the sex be explicit or implied?

C) What genre is it for?

Each genre is going to cook the meat and potatoes a different way, and have different expectations and limitations. Do your research and find out what is required, and what is prohibited. Keep in mind that just because a story has a sex scene in it, it doesn’t make it erotica any more than an action story becomes a romance because there is a romantic relationship in it.

Sex scenes and romances are all about the tension. They’re about building that moment that readers are waiting for. That moment where one thing turns to another. That first kiss after all those “innocent” touches, or all that longing. It’s that slow build to that first moment where the clothes finally come off, or the first time that one character finally admits that they love the other. The buildup is where it’s at. That’s what’s interesting and engaging. The reward of the actual kiss, or the I-love-you, or the sex is nice, but it means little without the buildup of characters and those characters’ desires. Wine and dine your readers before taking them home. Everybody enjoys some foreplay.

Terry Goodkind did a masterful job of creating romantic tension in his first few Sword of Truth books. We really wanted Kahlan and Richard to get together just as much as we were invested in the central conflict being resolved. When they finally kiss and when they finally get together, however briefly, it is immensely satisfying.

Another excellent lesson from that series is that the tension of their love affair decreased exponentially with each new book that kept them apart. With the repetitive pulling apart and coming back together, it became frustrating. You can’t be a one-trick pony, no matter how good that trick is; you have to show your readers new problems, give them new conflicts. There’s only so long readers will be willing to wait, and only so much they’ll be able to stand before getting frustrated or bored and putting your story down.

You have to keep up the cycle of tension, but it has to be fresh tension.

So, okay, the characters really do need to do the pickle tickle. It’s necessary to the story, okay? How do you handle it?

Unless the tone and mood calls for it, unless the characters and the story call for it, don’t be needlessly crass. There are plenty of ways to describe things, and use implied information to inform your readers of exactly what is going on.

In one sci-fi manuscript I read, the writer plunged me into gratuitous sex scene after gratuitous sex scene with no build-up or tonal foreshadowing, and seemingly without purpose besides the writer’s desire to write raunchy sex scenes. It was like having a picnic on a cloudless day that abruptly begins raining frogs on you. It didn’t make sense and was quite jarring.

Language is important. The specific words you use are important. Don’t write a book that has a little flirtation, and then jump into a chapter where one character is practically raping another. Don’t abstain from using any harsh language, and then use all the filthiest words you can come up with when you get to your sex scene. Your story needs consistency and everything must be set up so that you are appropriately managing your readers’ expectations.

Tone is important, but don’t be afraid to have a funny sex scene either. Coming-of-age sex scenes, for example, could be just as much about the humor in the awkwardness as it is about that life-changing event for the characters. You can still do funny, and tender, and sexy all in one scene if you want. Life is nuanced, and so should your sex scenes be.

In part two, we’ll take a deeper poke at how far to go, tropes, and character penetration. Until then, don’t write anything you’ll regret in the morning.

About Joshua Essoe:

When not editing . . . ha ha, a joke. He was a 2014 finalist in the Writers of the Future contest, and lives with his wife, and three horrible cats near UCLA.

All You Need Is Love

February 7, 2015

mary

Character Mary Pletsch The Writing Life Tropes & Archetypes 1 Comment

Love doesn’t always mean romance.

Let me say it again.

Love does not only mean romance.

When I was a kid, I didn’t like the way so many movies and books portrayed romantic love as the ideal be-all and end-all of human existence. I wasn’t interested in romantic love; if anything, I was kind of disgusted by it. I remember feeling disappointed that there were so few heroines who would turn down romantic love in favour of remaining free and unattached, able to take off on another exiting adventure with no need to give notice to a boyfriend or husband. I remember the medieval festival in school, where I was the only girl who chose to be a knight instead of a princess (even though everyone was given the choice between knight and royal), and how I wanted nothing to do with the passive role where traditional romance made the woman into a prize to be won.

I decided that I was going to tell stories about characters I wanted to be. Stories without mushy stuff. Stories without love.

Only that wasn’t what actually happened.

As it turned out, my characters did experience love, even if they weren’t big on romance. Most of them had friends. Some of them had children, adopted or biological. Some of them cared for parents or grandparents or other family members. The most devoted warrior cared for her comrades and her country. The most daring adventurer cherished her belief in knowledge and discovery, and risked her life for that belief. The most dashing pilot loved his aircraft like a child. These characters might not have experienced romantic love, but they felt love all the same.

A character who doesn’t love anything or anyone rarely cares about anything. Love is the strongest form of caring that there is, and strong emotions mean high stakes and dramatic potential. Who wants to read about a character who feels no passion, experiences no attachment, has nothing to lose, and can’t summon any feelings about it? An utterly apathetic character is hard for readers to be interested in, because if the character himself cares about nothing, why should we care about him?

So let your characters love. Let them develop friendships. Let them have families, if the story allows for it. Let them care passionately about a cause. Let them believe in something: a goal, a religion, a duty, another person.

What happens when a character is torn between two things they love? This need not be a romantic love triangle. What if a character has to choose between tending a sick relative and following their dreams? Between their religion and their new friends? Between their two children? Between serving their country and raising their family? These conflicts can create all kinds of tension without involving romance.

Sometimes I think it’s a little ironic that I’ve actually written some romance stories. But even when I’m writing romantic elements in stories, I try to stay away from that old, abhorred idea that “falling in love” meant a heroine giving up her life of adventure for the sake of a man.

Sometimes romantic love means a bittersweet annual liason between a pacifist doctor and a female revolutionary.

Sometimes romantic love means the dashing gentleman pilot and the young man who fixes his airplane falling in love with one another.

Sometimes romantic love means sacrificing everything to save your partner…and failing, and your story is about what you do after that.

Sometimes romantic love means a turncoat and a pirate setting off together to found a new colony in the depths of uncharted space.

Romantic love is appealing to many readers. It’s also an important part of many people’s lives. These are only two reasons why so many stories contain romantic elements, and why romance as a genre is so successful.

I also, though, want to remember the readers who have been burned by romantic love, and want a story about a character who picks himself up and learns to live again. I want to remember the readers who don’t experience romantic attraction and who are looking for characters who represent them and speak to them. I want to remember the readers who, like me, are tired of forumlas and stereotypes and narrow definitions of what romance can (and by implication, should) be.

So let your characters love. Let them love strongly and deeply: family, friends, hobbies, careers, beliefs, and ideas. Let the things they love create conflict for them. If they experience romantic love, let it be as challenging and complex as any other form of human attachment.

Let love in fiction represent the multi-faceted presence of love in real people’s lives.