Friday Five

Another FRIDAY!!!
Can you believe how fast the weeks go?
After today, I have TWO MORE Fridays before I see my husband again.
:D :D :D :D :D :D

So...back to the matter at hand.
Friday Five.
Five Damsel in Distress Scenarios that we all love or hate
1. Your classic, helpless Damsel who needs a Knight in Shining Armor--I can take this sometimes. But of all the dames, this one rubs the worst. She often cries too much.

2. The not-so-classic, kick-ass Damsel--She doesn't need any Knight. Though she's not as annoying as number one, for me she has a tendency to be too strong, too independent. At times even bitchy. She can go so far as to make the hero seem like an idiot. Eh. I don't always like her, but she has some good qualities.

3. Then there's Miss Clueless. She can be sweet or sometimes naive, occasionally strong but more often just helpless. I can like her better if the story shows her growth. She has to gain some commonsense.

4. Miss Smarty-Pants is likely to be taken down a notch or two by the hero. And THAT I like. It makes the banter between the two fun and easy to read. I like her because despite being a know-it-all, she has soft spots and doesn't think less of the people around her, USUALLY. :D

5. My favorite Damsel in Distress is the mix. She's strong yet knows when to rely on a man. She appreciates his appeal and his strengths. She doesn't pretend to know everything but isn't afraid to speak up when what she does know can bring about resolution.

Let's be honest, every heroine has to change and resolve something within herself to make the story come alive. My favorite heroine of all time is Emma McAvoy, Nora Roberts' young heroine in Public Secrets. She didn't just literally grow up in the book, she became a strong, intelligent, street-smart woman who could turn away from pain to love.

Tell me about your favorite heroine. What makes her special?
Then don't forget to visit the other FRIDAY FIVERS, listed in my sidebar. :)

Bottom Lines

Chastity and Charity

After a bible study that featured these two elements, I couldn't help but think of how sexuality and love are such key elements in writing.

Especially in romance, readers are looking for heroes and heroines who are pure of heart. So, what does pure of heart mean? For me, this means, selflessness: doing for others first. Doing for my spouse and for my family and for friends, too. [and just so you know. I fail horribly! ALOT!]

Fitting traits of a lofty nature into your characters is part of the craft.

Let's face it, we're human and so are our characters--for the sake of this discussion, they're human. :D Can't forget those shifters, though! People are not perfect, they're possibly selfish at times, and on occasion, they're downright mean. The key is finding the glimmer of goodness within your character, your hero. Maybe he's harsh and stubborn, yet everytime that kid from down the street stops by, he can't help but give him undivided attention. By the end of the book, the goal is for the heroine to recognize the goodness because it doesn't really matter if he's still stubborn and occasionally rude. She sees the whole picture and loves him anyway.

And that's what we all hope for, someone who looks at us and sees the good in us. Love, the bottom line, the element in humanity that offers hope, and the emotion that pulls us to one person in particular.

Maybe LOVE isn't exactly or always about romance, but romance is definitely about LOVE.
Have a great weekend.
Bethanne