For as long as I can remember, I’ve found people, men in particular, to be fascinating. While the love of the written word has been in my blood for as long as I can remember, the very nature of human nature never ceases to amaze me. And as a writer, I find my male characters, both hero and secondary, enthralling. And I wonder to myself – Just what are they thinking?
The men of our stories, our heroes, are on a journey of self-discovery. In meeting and falling in love with our heroines, they must break one of the cardinal rules of manhood - open up to themselves and their ladies. They must fall in love and actually have the capacity to do so.
There are numerous resources out there to facilitate the research into exactly what men are thinking. We do, after all, want to paint an accurate picture. So what are these resources? Libraries and online sites are filled with books that help spell out for the 21st Century woman exactly what men are thinking. Classic among these is ‘Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus’.
Another gold mine is the internet. I stumbled upon this resource on my way to check in on my writing group VaNo. It’s a Yahoo group and, as such, Yahoo comes up and lists clips on interesting bits of information. On that particular day, they featured an article on four reasons men marry. And I thought to myself, they were able to come up with four? Off the top of my head I could only come up with one. He married because he met the love of his life and could not fathom life without her. Yes, that’s the romance writer in me speaking. So I clicked on it and found my way to ‘Men’s Health’, a men’s magazine in its internet incarnation.
What an eye opener! It’s geared toward men in their twenties and thirties and focuses on men’s health (duh), getting and staying fit and staying at the top of your game. It is also full of helpful hints on how to get and keep your woman – in a very PC, "this is the 21st century" kind of way. It seems, ladies, that what men are thinking is how to please us – in every way. Who knew?! All this time they’ve been concerned about keeping our goals a priority and to keep the lines of communication open.
And then it hit me! Men think just like we do and want the same things we do! And this is exactly how the men in romance behave – once they’ve come to their senses and realized that they are in love and want the whole world to know it. Whether it’s at a ball with the heroine’s favorite urchins surrounding them or while filming a cooking show that everyone from their hometown has come to watch.
So, friends, in your own reading or writing, what are your heroes thinking? Are they listening to what other people are saying to them or do they prefer to drive on through without stopping for directions?
Terrio here - I want to thank Santa (pictured above left with Eloisa James center and myself at the 2007 New Jersey Romance Writer's Conference) for joining us today. This is her first blog ever and what a topic to tackle. To celebrate and in honor of our Foodie guest, one lucky commenter is going to win the Little Cheese & Wine Book by Gregor Schaefer as well as What Men Think About by Patrick Wahl. Now get commenting and good luck!
