Tossed Salad

Photo: WANA Commons, Lynn Kelley Author

According to our blog schedule, this month's theme is  LGBQT,so I sat down to write a blog. At first I thought I had nothing to say on this subject, except to be supportive of my fellow writers. I am a traditional woman/man, woman/werewolf, vampire/man, sort of writer. Those are the stories my muse tells me. Then I remembered something, I might not have heroes or heroines who fit the theme, but I do sometimes have more minor (but important) characters that do. I will admit, none of these manuscripts have yet to be published, but I have reason to believe that is about to change.
So why not heroes and heroines? No clue. As I said, those are the stories my muse tells me. And,  I suppose, what my audience expects at this point. So will my readers accept these minor characters who happen to be of a different sexual desire? I think so. My stories tend toward the theme of acceptance and finding one's place in the world. I would hope that whatever differences the characters within the stories my muse tells me have, my readers will be open to at least giving those characters a chance. In my—not so humble—opinion, our world is not that "melting pot" I've always heard about, but rather a salad. And really, what's more interesting, a pot of oatmeal, or a bright beautiful salad with all kinds of colorful fruits and vegetables?

Take care!
Cheryel
www.cheryelhutton.com

Enough, already!

There's always that point in a paranormal romance where the hero/heroine has to tell their new love exactly what they are OR the powers they possess. In standard form, the revelation causes a change in the relationship -- at least temporarily -- and can add to the obstacles faced by the pair.

For example, the heroine discovers her hero is a vampire. There's a time that she can't believe she's fallen for a monster. How can she love a killer? A predator? Will he turn on her when the blood-count is down?

Of course, as the reader we know that acceptance will somehow follow. It has to -- this is romance. ;) But as a writer, this whole revelation/repulsion/fear/acceptance thing isn't always easy to plan. You can't let your heroine accept things too quickly -- the readers won't buy it. But if you drag it out too long it seems you're just doing so to up the word count.

What's a writer to do?

Now I have a complaint, but I'll admit something before I make it: I've become an extremely picky reader since I started writing professionally. Before I had no idea what 'head-hopping' was, let alone 'point of view', 'showing vs telling', etc. Sometimes all this knowledge makes it difficult to just enjoy a book.

However, I'm currently reading a vampire romance -- not a Samhain title -- and I'm finding this revelation/repulsion/etc stage is really dragging down the plot. Dragging it down to the point of me yelling at the heroine:

"Enough, already! Get over it!"

She loves him. She's slept with him, repeatedly. She's seen by his actions that he's NOT a murdering monster. So it seems, from my viewpoint as reader, that the writer is just dragging it out until all the other issues are put to rest.

I feel the writer's pain. It's so hard to know when to move on in an emotional arc. How much angst should the heroine suffer before she gives in to the dark side? How much distrust should there be before the acceptance sets in? How much is really enough? What about her misunderstood hero? How can he accept his own nature?

That's when an author really earns the honor of that title. They have to connect with those characters. They have to really know them; feel their emotions; understand what makes them tick. It's a bit like psychology for the imaginary friend. ;)

But it's only at that point of almost complete immersion that we writers can understand how long the acceptance stage should be. It's different for each story, for each couple. It has to be or the readers will eventually stop buying our books. Who wants to read the same story over and over and over?

Now, back to my current read. I'll keep reading -- grumbling every time the heroine angsts over her lover's undead status. I'll finish the book because the writer is basically good at her craft. I just personally think the heroine should have moved on by now.

Readers: Have you ever read a paranormal where you felt this acceptance phase lasted too long? Or was it too short? Which is most annoying?

Writers: How do you know when a character is ready to move on to acceptance? Do you think you've ever missed the mark?

I'd really like to know because I have this immortal hero and a heroine who, at this point, thinks the man is simply insane.