Alpha Beta Gamma
At least two of those terms are familiar to all romance writers. They describe our heroes, the men we throw in with our heroines, leading the two on a merry chase to find their happily ever after.
The Alphas are those physical, action men, and the majority of romance heroes. Stephanie's are Navy SEALs. Katie MacAlister's are vampires (well, some of them, anyway). Sherrilyn Kenyon has the Dark Hunters. Eve's are aliens. Sheri's have been cops. And the list goes on and on.
These are men who, in real life, I'd happily kick in the shins. It wouldn't hurt them, wouldn't have much effect, but I'd get my point across.
On the opposite end of the spectrum are the Betas. The cerebral men. Not to imply Alphas are stupid, but the Betas are real thinkers. Vicki Lewis Thompson made them an art form in her Nerd series. Daniel Jackson in the Stargate movie was one (he's also the model for my hero in Eye to Eye).
Then we have the Gammas. A delicious melding of the two. Connel, my Eye to Eye hero, starts out a Beta, but digs inside to find his inner Alpha in order to help Braelyn, the heroine. By the end, he's a full Gamma.
The reason I was thinking about this is the show I'm watching on TiVo right now (gotta love my TiVo!). Rescue Me, Denis Leary's show on the FX Network. I started out watching this show because I thought it was interesting and fun. Denis Leary is Tommy, a NY firefighter dealing with his job, his divorce, and alcoholism.
But as I watched the show, I realized it was great for studying the Alpha male. The Tommy character is a complete Alpha. He's crass and unreasonable, yet inside lies a soft heart, a desire to do good. And every once in a while, when he's not careful, it actually shines through.
He also sees ghosts. Although it's a cool twist for the show, that part doesn't really apply here.
Writers take inspiration from everything we see, hear, and feel. For me, Rescue Me is educational.
-----
MUSIC: None. Watching Rescue Me.
PROGRESS: Edited the final 6 pages of IH yesterday. Wrote 2 pages on BMO today.
The Alphas are those physical, action men, and the majority of romance heroes. Stephanie's are Navy SEALs. Katie MacAlister's are vampires (well, some of them, anyway). Sherrilyn Kenyon has the Dark Hunters. Eve's are aliens. Sheri's have been cops. And the list goes on and on.
These are men who, in real life, I'd happily kick in the shins. It wouldn't hurt them, wouldn't have much effect, but I'd get my point across.
On the opposite end of the spectrum are the Betas. The cerebral men. Not to imply Alphas are stupid, but the Betas are real thinkers. Vicki Lewis Thompson made them an art form in her Nerd series. Daniel Jackson in the Stargate movie was one (he's also the model for my hero in Eye to Eye).
Then we have the Gammas. A delicious melding of the two. Connel, my Eye to Eye hero, starts out a Beta, but digs inside to find his inner Alpha in order to help Braelyn, the heroine. By the end, he's a full Gamma.
The reason I was thinking about this is the show I'm watching on TiVo right now (gotta love my TiVo!). Rescue Me, Denis Leary's show on the FX Network. I started out watching this show because I thought it was interesting and fun. Denis Leary is Tommy, a NY firefighter dealing with his job, his divorce, and alcoholism.
But as I watched the show, I realized it was great for studying the Alpha male. The Tommy character is a complete Alpha. He's crass and unreasonable, yet inside lies a soft heart, a desire to do good. And every once in a while, when he's not careful, it actually shines through.
He also sees ghosts. Although it's a cool twist for the show, that part doesn't really apply here.
Writers take inspiration from everything we see, hear, and feel. For me, Rescue Me is educational.
-----
MUSIC: None. Watching Rescue Me.
PROGRESS: Edited the final 6 pages of IH yesterday. Wrote 2 pages on BMO today.
posted by Lynn at
12:05 AM
3 Comments:
Can you imagine a fraternity with those Greek letters and those type of men? *grins* Uh... the stories... It'd make the movie "Revenge of the Nerds" be passe.
By
Silma, at 10:53 PM
I don't "Do" alphas--no puns intended LOL but I have to say writing one was a huge learning experience. What I'd heard in Suz Brockmann's workshop finally clicked.
I hit this spot in ECGTB and a lightbulb went off. My hero could be crass, a bad father, a perv and a tailchaser, but when push came to shove and it was time to "be cool" he pulled it off with such finesse I bawled.
By
Amie Stuart, at 11:44 AM
Silma--LOL! Wouldn't that be fun?
Cece--Isn't it wonderful when everything just clicks? You must have really pulled it off if it affected you that way. I'm jealous!
By
Lynn, at 9:19 AM
Post a Comment
<< Home