He's Just Not That Into You - Women Scorned and Exes by Alison Henderson

Our topic this month, He's Just Not That Into You, got me thinking, but not about the movie. Since I've never seen it, I had to think of something else. I let the words of the title roll around in my brain until they could make a connection of some kind. Here's what I came up with: He's Just Not That Into You made me think of a woman scorned (like Sharon Stone in Fatal Attraction) and also the whole idea of Exes.

Both these themes can make juicy fodder in romance novels, but I've never used either in my stories. I wonder why. They both provide excellent built-in conflict. The woman scorned could be either the heroine or an antagonist. If she's the heroine, she could have been dumped by the hero or another man. How would that make her feel and behave? If she is the antagonist, does she come after the man who dumped her (the hero) or his new love interest (the heroine)?

An ex-lover or spouse can be either a villain, a comfortable old friend, or something in between. Having a past with someone can add elements of jealousy, regret, or outright fury. 

Since I have no personal experience writing characters like this, I'm going to take a little poll. Please chime in and share your ideas.

1. Have you written a story that included a woman scorned? Who was she?
2. Do any of your favorite books include this theme? How did the author use it?
3. Do you like to write about ex-lovers or ex-spouses? Do you like to read about them?
4. What do you think is the most effective use of an ex from a character standpoint?

I've clearly been missing the boat. I need to add a character like this to my WIP. Hmm. I wonder who it will be.

Alison
www.alisonhenderson.com
http://alisonhenderson.blogspot.com 

I Hate Conflict by Alison Henderson

This month we’re talking about love and hate at The Roses of Prose. Love is easy, but I’ve always shied away from writing about hate. It’s a powerful emotion, but poisonous to the soul. I have never afflicted even my antagonists with true, deep hatred. Perhaps if I wrote dark, serious literary fiction, I might plumb those depths. But I don’t. I write romance, and I write it for a reason—I am at heart unquenchingly optimistic about life and about people.

Perhaps that’s why negative story elements give me such fits. I know all good stories require conflict—the more, the merrier. A few years ago, I attended Donald Maas’s wonderful Writing the Breakout Novel seminar. In it and the accompanying workbook, he urges writers to amp up every element to create more compelling characters and stories. Take every situation and make it worse, then make it worse again until there’s no way the characters and their relationship can survive. That’s the path to high drama, high stakes, and big sales. He’s right. I know it. But I have trouble putting his advice into action.

That’s one reason I enjoyed writing Unwritten Rules so much. Because it’s a romantic suspense, the main characters’ relationship did not have to shoulder the entire burden of conflict for the story. Although the hero and heroine struggled with relationship issues, outside forces were also at work, continuously increasing the threat level and raising the stakes. It was almost as though the villains did the heavy lifting for me. I may have finally found the answer to my conflict dilemmas.

Unwritten Rules was my first venture into suspense, and it certainly won’t be my last. Based on the comments of Amazon reviewers, I may have blundered into a “formula” that works for both me and the readers. Yippee!

Alison

www.alisonhenderson.com
http://alisonhenderson.blogspot.com