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Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Five Secrets to Writing a Great Desire:Secret Three
Secret Number Three unfolds...
From Melissa:
3)Create an original and flawed heroine. No one is perfect, and that is especially true for the Desire heroine. She needs to have some faults in her back story, a bad love affair where maybe she did some injuring instead of always being injured. A moment of bad judgement that’s still making her pay for her mistakes. But make sure the Desire reader can also like her. Remember, however, that no one likes the perfect girl because who can really relate to her?
From Barbara:
This is especially interesting, Melissa. While I have a tendency to write a flawed hero (Heathcliff, where are you?) it's a bit more difficult to add that extra dimension of imperfection to a heroine. A moment of bad judgment could certainly be the one night stand or night of passion, maybe a bad marriage. Then there are those heroines who are intentionally outrageous to hide their fear of never being loved. Then there was Sugar Beth in "Ain't She Sweet." Lord, talk about flawed. Maybe a bit over the top for me, but the idea is the same. Definitely something to think about as we create heroines the readers can relate to.
So we've covered conflict, heroes, and heroines. And what will tomorrow be...hm?
Bio: Senior Editor Melissa Jeglinski is a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After receiving her Bachelor's degree in English, Melissa relocated to New York City and began working at Harlequin Books. During her years with the company, Melissa has discovered over fifteen first time authors, worked on almost every line the company publishes and sorted through more than her fare share of manuscripts. Melissa currently resides in Queens with her girls—two cats named Esmerelda and Tallulah.
posted by Barbara McCauley at 7:08 AM
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11 Comments:
Monica said...
Yes ...... imperfect heroines are way better than the perfect ones. Like you said Barbara, Sugar Beth was one mean little witch (maybe you didn't say that exactly) but man did I love her. Someone with depth and faults and a long ways to redeem her awful personality from her youth. Ain's She Sweet was a great read and if Desire publishes more books like that I will be forever happy. I can not wait for Ms. Jeglinski next secret!
1:33 AM
KimW said...
I like a flawed heroine. I definitely can relate better to that than someone who appears to be perfect. LOL
4:06 AM
CrystalG said...
I also like a flawed heroine. No one is perfect and it is easier to relate to a heroine who isn't perfect.
5:13 AM
Dena said...
Flawed heriones is my preference too,nobodies perfect and I want my stories to reflect real life that way there more believable to me.
5:17 AM
Charlene Sands said...
Yes, I just finished Nora's Blue Dahlia, Black Rose and Red Lily trilogy and my favorite heroine was the young girl who arrives on the scene 8 months pregnant. She admits to making the mistake, didn't blame the man who really wasn't a bad guy at all, and we see her deal with it through a wealth of emotions. But when the adorable baby is born, no one thinks it a mistake anymore! Wonderful series, full of flawed women, even the ghost ... but I say no more!
Charlene Sands
7:36 AM
Jennifer said...
I like flawed heroines as well. Like everyone has said, nobody's perfect....makes her more realistic and relatable.
9:49 AM
Carol said...
I agree with everyone. We aren't perfect and the heroine shouldn't be either. It makes for a better story.
10:58 AM
Playground Monitor said...
I just read "Ain't She Sweet" and Sugar Beth is the gal you love to hate and then the gal you hate to love. My reactions to her were all over the board -- dislike, pity, and everything in between. Being from the south, I've known a few Sugar Beth's in my life.
Marilyn
2:35 PM
Barbara McCauley said...
I so agree with what you are all saying. And Marilyn P--I love the way your phrased "you love to hate and hate to love." Man, was that ever true. I haven't read the NR's books yet, though I picked a couple of them up, Charlene.
2:51 PM
KarenG said...
Thanks for revealing the secrets. They are right on target for the kind of books I like to read.
Karen
6:26 PM
kim h said...
any story i like. i like these blogs
6:57 PM
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