Comments on: Tired of the beautiful people. http://www.adelejournal.com/2009/12/tired-of-the-beautiful-people/ Writing & marketing resources for authors of romance, erotica, pulp, and other adult-oriented genres. Thu, 15 Dec 2011 01:29:10 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: admin http://www.adelejournal.com/2009/12/tired-of-the-beautiful-people/comment-page-1/#comment-1606 admin Fri, 09 Apr 2010 10:53:02 +0000 http://www.adelejournal.com/?p=369#comment-1606 Again, thanks for your feedback. I hate to say it, but as a fierce CP I can do no less: a lot of it comes down to being stuck on character types -- not necessarily standard genre stereotypes, but the character ideas that the authors like. Personal stereotypes. You know, "I love a man with light green eyes..." This is fine, but it doesn't translate into real "living characters," as I call them. And that does the story a great disservice. The character type may be intriguing, but if the characters aren't convincingly real, the reader will never fully believe in the emotional truths you're trying to convey in the story. There was nothing hotter than that 60 year old martial artist, I have to tell you. I watched him practice in the snow, wearing only a Speedo. He looked like he was made out of carved, polished wood, and moved in a powerful, but unhurried way that you would not find in a younger man. I've also noticed that most romance characters' ages stop around mid 30s. I would also like to see variety, but I think there's some validity to keeping romance characters young, though -- generally, the drive is much stronger to date/find mates/have sex. However, one's sexuality doesn't stop just because the drive goes down, and I find the mental aspects of human sexuality much more interesting than the physical ones. Again, thanks for your feedback. I hate to say it, but as a fierce CP I can do no less: a lot of it comes down to being stuck on character types — not necessarily standard genre stereotypes, but the character ideas that the authors like. Personal stereotypes. You know, “I love a man with light green eyes…”

This is fine, but it doesn’t translate into real “living characters,” as I call them. And that does the story a great disservice. The character type may be intriguing, but if the characters aren’t convincingly real, the reader will never fully believe in the emotional truths you’re trying to convey in the story.

There was nothing hotter than that 60 year old martial artist, I have to tell you. I watched him practice in the snow, wearing only a Speedo. He looked like he was made out of carved, polished wood, and moved in a powerful, but unhurried way that you would not find in a younger man.

I’ve also noticed that most romance characters’ ages stop around mid 30s. I would also like to see variety, but I think there’s some validity to keeping romance characters young, though — generally, the drive is much stronger to date/find mates/have sex. However, one’s sexuality doesn’t stop just because the drive goes down, and I find the mental aspects of human sexuality much more interesting than the physical ones.

]]> By: valkovalin http://www.adelejournal.com/2009/12/tired-of-the-beautiful-people/comment-page-1/#comment-1602 valkovalin Fri, 09 Apr 2010 03:04:32 +0000 http://www.adelejournal.com/?p=369#comment-1602 Another thought-provoking article! Thanks, Kat, for those links. I can see what you mean here in the same way that I understood your point with the eye article. I think writers need to be reminded to really look and remember the unusual, quirky, real-life details that are beautiful in their own way, because that's the stuff like the sharply intelligent eyes or the braided hairdo and fierce nose that is going to stand out in the readers' memories, and we writers always forget this and do the Ken and Barbie descriptions. In m/m romance, there's a lot of bland perfection as you mentioned, and we readers even have difficulty finding m/m written about anyone older than say ... 38, let alone someone slightly overweight or with thinning hair. Not much diversity unfortunately both in body type and ethnicity. I hope that changes in the future! Another thought-provoking article! Thanks, Kat, for those links. I can see what you mean here in the same way that I understood your point with the eye article. I think writers need to be reminded to really look and remember the unusual, quirky, real-life details that are beautiful in their own way, because that’s the stuff like the sharply intelligent eyes or the braided hairdo and fierce nose that is going to stand out in the readers’ memories, and we writers always forget this and do the Ken and Barbie descriptions. In m/m romance, there’s a lot of bland perfection as you mentioned, and we readers even have difficulty finding m/m written about anyone older than say … 38, let alone someone slightly overweight or with thinning hair. Not much diversity unfortunately both in body type and ethnicity. I hope that changes in the future!

]]> By: admin http://www.adelejournal.com/2009/12/tired-of-the-beautiful-people/comment-page-1/#comment-595 admin Mon, 21 Dec 2009 03:45:59 +0000 http://www.adelejournal.com/?p=369#comment-595 I have more issues with the perfect heroes than the perfect heroines, though they're both disengaging to me. The men are so often presented as what my friend and I call "BDAs" -- short for Big Dumb Animals who are "tamed" by the heroine. How embarrassing! I've read some M/M, back when it was new, but the novelty wore off. M/M is chock-full of beautiful people types as well, but if you're new to M/M, you don't know what's conventional, and what isn't. Soon, I realized that M/M was still just romance or erotica, and therefore subject to the same me-too thinking. I have more issues with the perfect heroes than the perfect heroines, though they’re both disengaging to me. The men are so often presented as what my friend and I call “BDAs” — short for Big Dumb Animals who are “tamed” by the heroine. How embarrassing! I’ve read some M/M, back when it was new, but the novelty wore off. M/M is chock-full of beautiful people types as well, but if you’re new to M/M, you don’t know what’s conventional, and what isn’t. Soon, I realized that M/M was still just romance or erotica, and therefore subject to the same me-too thinking.

]]> By: Jessica Freely http://www.adelejournal.com/2009/12/tired-of-the-beautiful-people/comment-page-1/#comment-594 Jessica Freely Mon, 21 Dec 2009 02:29:43 +0000 http://www.adelejournal.com/?p=369#comment-594 I agree. In fact, I almost never read het romance, because the heroines are always so physically perfect. I can't identify with them at all. I read mostly m/m which does away with the awkward female gender role assumptions, but still, yeah, I'm attracted to interesting people, and I'd like to see more of that in the men I read about. Give me a quirky nose or an imperfect body attached to an active mind over magazine handsome bland any day. I agree. In fact, I almost never read het romance, because the heroines are always so physically perfect. I can’t identify with them at all. I read mostly m/m which does away with the awkward female gender role assumptions, but still, yeah, I’m attracted to interesting people, and I’d like to see more of that in the men I read about. Give me a quirky nose or an imperfect body attached to an active mind over magazine handsome bland any day.

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