Hmph

[kim1989]

I've been sitting here at work goofing off (which is okay because it's after 5 and I should have went home forever ago) and reading back on old posts. This one is the one I'm currently ruminating on. Cliff Note's version is that I want to write a story where the alpha male romance hero loses the girl to the beta male romance hero. (Alpha is action

Comments

[adventurat]

I haven't followed the link, but are you thinking that the Alpha first GETS the girl, then LOSES her to the Beta hero? Or are they both vying for her affections at the same time? Because I agree, it's hard to make a "gets then loses" thing work without making one guy or other a total douchecanoe.

How does the heroine meet both these guys? Does she meet Action Man in the line of (his) duty? Is Guitar Hero man a longtime friend or neighbour? Could the scenario be that Guitar Hero has been in love with Heroine for a long time, but hasn't made his move for whatever reason? Heroine, meanwhile, falls into Action Hero's ambit, and Guitar Hero sits unhappily back to watch what happens, and see if he'll ever stand a chance with the Heroine. (And possibly, becomes a Person of Interest in whatever scenario throws the Alpha and the Heroine together.) And, in the end, proves more useful, steadfast, resourceful, or whatever, than the Alpha, and the Heroine realizes she loves him, etc.

You could totally write that. I would totally read that.

[kim1989]

I noticed on the way home tonight that since I stopped having a 20 minute commute to and from work, I didn't get nearly as much brainstorming done. The line "scares me to death when she thinks and drives" from that Her Eyes song a couple of years ago could have been written about me

[firesign10]

If Alpha Guy is all busy being Alpha-y, maybe the girl just is wooed by the somewhat softer, more relationship-oriented beta. He's capable of the emotional intimacy she needs, to say nothing of the great sex BECAUSE there's actual emotional intimacy. Like he can still be rock-em sock-em in bed too, but with the CONNECTION that Alpha can't really bring to the table. The Beta is willing to compromise on things like career goals so both he and girl can be fulfilled, while Alpha is all manifest destiny.

[kim1989]

That's the problem though. Alpha guy is off being a hero and being the good guy while his girl at home is snuggling with the convenient guy. I don't like weak-willed girls who don't know how to be alone. Reminds me of a teenager I used to be - uh I mean know.

I just don't want anybody to be the bad guy. I have a vision of the Alpha yanking out cupid's arrow and handing it off to the other guy in a manly, Patrick Swayze in Roadhouse stitching up his own knife wound way. His heart gets broken, but he'll just go kill a bunch of bad guys to get over it and thus get his own book.

My muse wants them to be overreacting to an adrenaline filled meeting and realizing that they have nothing in common just in time. I don't know how to do it yet though. I'll keep thinking.

[signsofsun]

As you well know (I am sure) I am not really a frequent romance writer (more like angst/suspense/adventure/general mayhem and the like) - however - I was thinking that you seem to be focused in that the woman would find some fault with the Alpha male as the reason she would end up with the Beta. What about making it about the woman - extreme for a romance I know huh! Anyway, what about that somewhere along the line the women discovers something about herself or her past that makes her realize her attraction to Alpha was not what it really seemed to be - something triggered in her memory or an event or new discovery about her past or future or her perception of reality etc. Therefore, Alpha male keeps being Alpha male - maybe perhaps even triggered in competitiveness when the woman chooses Beta male - but you don't have to mess with the Alpha male type.

Just thought I would throw that out there.

[kim1989]

Last night I realized this has been written. It's The Wedding Singer. Damn you Adam Sandler!

I don't know what if anything I'm going to do with this idea. I let it sit for a year. Maybe it needs another year. I've hit another writing slump.