What is a hero?

 purchased  from Canstock-- the Green Man

Hero definition from Merriam-Webster dictionary: 

 a: mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability

 b: an illustrious warrior

c: a person admired for achievements and noble qualities

 

d: one who shows great courage

 

If someone is writing an adventure romance, the hero matters very much, if it works or not-- be that any genre. Here is the truth, as I believe it to be from being a long time reader of romances and writer of adventure romances. Characters feel pretty much real, for the most part, but heroes are way above real. They are as the dictionary says-- warriors and mythological. They carry the action of the story and make it all work. In many cases, they make the story fun to write or read.

 

This is where the Hero's Journey by Joseph Campbell can come into play. For writers, I highly recommend the book. He studied the form of the myths that have lasted through time. What about them can be used in plotting a novel for today? Now, I have to qualify this as it's not the critically approved novels. This is about the adventure stories, be the romances or suspense, from Clancy to Robards.

 

The first time the reader meets the hero, he may not seem very heroic. But as the adventure takes off, he will take on the mantle. He will be willing to sacrifice whatever is required to save his people and best the villain at his own game. 

 

Does a hero have to be a man? For my books, he will be, but the heroine (again can that word be used today as it once was?) will also fight for the victory, sometimes even save the hero. She will grow into her own challenges and be much more than a sweet little homemaker, though she might be that also -- or not.

 

I have personally had a hard time writing women that are stronger than the men. I also don't like writing victim heroines, where she is on the run or is in danger from a direction she didn't recognize. It is one of my weaknesses as a writer, that I prefer writing the male protagonists. I have to work to make my female characters more interesting.  I think that's a product of my age-- as in how we grew up with the movies and television shows.

 

One of the criticisms I got when I submitted my books to publishing houses back in the 1990s was the heroines had it too much together. They wanted the heroine to be in danger and then could the hero save  her? If it's a romance, the reader knows the answer, which is part of the appeal in the world of today where in real life, heroes and heroines too often end tragically. 

 

One of the appeals of romances is the difficult life many people are experiencing. A romance novel guarantees a happy ending. Who doesn't want that when life so often does not deliver it? A romance will, and even better if it's a suspense or adventure romance that will take us along for the journey with danger, maybe a few deep breaths or even tears, but it will work out.

 

Back to the hero. While in real life, our life partners may be a hero to our family and life, he is not what we will find in a romance novel. The guys there often appear on covers and they are gorgeous, muscular, often shaved chests and faces.They look like they can take care of any emergency. A popular genre lately has been with them being billionaires. Have you seen most real billionaires? That is not usually on the cover.

 

Of course, since this is a romance, there needs to be a man who knows how to appeal to a woman. If he didn't already know, he will learn. That might sound like fantasy, but it happens in real life too. What would a romance be without romance. When writing such books, I believe don't go overboard with too much lovey-dovey. Other things demand his and her attention. That's the challenge and the adventure.

purchased from Deposit Photos

Many (maybe most) romantic heroes are alphas, but that does not mean brutal or too controlling. Frankly if he is, the heroine will walk away or rise up in power to remind him that's not a good idea. Unless the stories are erotica, maybe, but even then she allows what is happening. Romance heroines are only abused by villains. This was not necessarily the case when these kinds of romances first grew in popularity, but today if any rape happens, it's not the hero doing it.

 

Repeating, real life heroes don't generally look like the books. Readers don't want them to, They are for escapism. When writing, it's part of the fun that you can control what happens. I can think of some real life serial killers that were quite good looking. Don''t make the mistake of thinking beauty guarantees goodness-- in males or females. 

Do writers fall in love with their heroes? I never have, but I do enjoy writing about them and that is true if they are a school principal or a cowboy or a marshal or a billionaire. They are imaginary creations and make writing enjoyable for writers and readers.

 

Personally, I believe we need to know the background of the hero. What led him to risk his life for others? Did he have a happy childhood or was it less than ideal? What he was is not all of who he is, but it has impacted it. The writer should know what it was as again, it's part of the escapism of being a writer that we can create what feels real and yet is exciting in a background sort of way. All that we know about a character does not have to appear in the pages. The emotional impact of it though will.

 

Over the years, I've read  sociological studies on who reads romance novels. What does it do to them? Does it it ruin marriages? Overall, the results seem to be romances are read most by those in high pressure jobs, like say nurses.  Marriages are not damaged by reading those books, as they are escapism, not wanted to be real, just to take a break from reality. They might though hide the covers if on a subway, train or bus as there are a lot of jokes around romance novels and those heroes and heroines :).  

You know men have their own escapes but they are different with suspense or macho heroes like a Tom Clancy book. One way or the other, neither sex want to live these escapes. Their lives are generally pretty good. My experience in talking with men who do give romances a try is they are surprised at the action in them.

Heroes come in many forms from the ones who spiritually save the world, the lovers (not only of women but of life and children) and those who are warriors that believe this is sometimes the only way for a good life.  

 

When you are writing a book, it all takes time to work through what is best and what works for the writer's own life. While writing and imagining what is to come, the world fades away into a new world and characters.

 I bought this image from Deposit Photos because it fits one side of the hero; but then, I worried if it had been made by AI. Is there a way to tell? It would never probably work for one of my book covers, given where my books are set. I can still enjoy the beauty and power of it, the energy that it takes to change the world when all seems going awry. What is a hero willing to sacrifice?

 

 

 

Chasing Characters

 

From 2007, this is a photo that Ranch Boss took, illustrating the inspirations I draw around when writing. In this case-- art (3 prints, 1 original oil), an old saddle, music, rocking chair, and out the window toward the creek. Music needs to be soundtracks with no lyrics to produce energy and not distractions.

Now, comes the next stage for a creative path where it comes to writing fiction, which could lead to short stories, articles, even YouTube fiction, or go onto a novelette, novella or full length novel. When looking for distractions to someone's personal life, where life is less than what they want, fiction writing/reading can be one way. 

Where it comes to creating, I have tried many paths, the ones where I spent the most time were painting, sculpture, and writing-- the latter where I think I've learned the most as I've done it over the most years-- from a kid to at this time of my life. 

My books are not bestsellers; so if that is your goal, maybe look elsewhere. If it is to find yourself carried away from your daily grind and find a creative work that inspires you, read on. I don't have a formula but rather a way of life, a rewarding part of my experiences. My hope is to inspire readers to find that also. For me, it has been writing adventure romances, both historical and contemporary.

People sometimes ask writers if they use real people in their stories. It is one of the risks of being a friend to an author. I do use real people but always mixed in with other aspects. It's nice to create characters a combination of fantasy and reality. Having known a variety of 'people types' through my many years, I can draw on a type, without turning it into a 'stereotype'. 

What to me is interesting about types is how in real life (or what we call real), people can be a type but there are more aspects to who they are. I think this works best in writing also. 

An example, I have one secondary character in my Arizona historicals where he made a great juxtaposition to the hot hero (in my romances all the heroes are hot even if they didn't appear to be on the first sighting of them), who teased about him being his mother since he'd never known a real one. That secondary turned out to make a hero for his own book (a novella), later in time, and readers got to see a second side to him that was there all along and they could reread and find it. Uh, yes, he was what can be considered old at almost sixty, but that didn't mean the fire was out. 

image purchased from Canstock to fit that character as I saw him

Humans have roles they often play in life, and hence it is with characters in books. Making characters feel real but still interesting  (let's face it, a lot of us are not that interesting as we go about our lives) is part of what makes time with those people enjoyable to readers and writers-- maybe escapism, which we can all use now and again. 

As a writer. I spend more time with my characters than any reader ever will-- which is why I want them to be interesting, especially when fleshing out the personalities of secondary characters. Make these people feel they could have lived and through them, we get to experience a different life.

As writers, we observe what is around us, which involves the terrain but also the community. I am very much a dreamer, as in a nighttime dreamer. My dreams are full of characters and experiences over which I have no control-- that I know of anyway. I find it amazing, when I wake up, what my brain or the muse has put together for a vivid night full of activity. Many nights, it's like watching a movie until dawn. 

Rarely do I have nightmares. I think that's because I don't watch horror movies or stories where violence is in the offing from the time I have turned on the remote. I know it can be a very successful genre like with Stephen King type writers. I just cannot spend that long with such danger. On the other hand, I love suspense in my stories and a good villain makes for a very interesting writing experience for me and worthy challenge for the protagonists. I guess there is a thin line. ???

Besides accumulating characters for books, there can be a lot of time between the original idea for a story and beginning to write it. I believe while we want it to feel real, we also want it to be an escape from daily reality. There is that thin line again. 

A big part of that working involves having meaningful main protagonists; for a romance, that means love interests, which my books mean hero and heroine (if we can still use those terms). So, next blog will involve those main characters, the ones that keep people reading and make them feel good for the adventure they just went on.

One of our photos in Montana and another example of what I love out here.Those black dots that you see in the distance are cattle. Up close, it's a herd of antelope. Some prey species travel individually and some in herds or flocks.

Finding A Creative Path

The image of the eagle and a dramatic sky, on an earlier blog, which I had bought some years back from Canstock, is one that inspired me. I had never used it in a cover or trailer for my books, but sometimes we need things for ourselves that help us reach out and up. Old or young, we can do that. 

The one above here is one that I personally found amusing (though likely the one who posted it was deadly serious), and that we took maybe more than twenty years ago. It is another image of the American West that some would find scary or irritating. I've never been in that store because that day we were on our way to Jerome, Arizona, but I've been in others very like it in other places in the West (that I might someday write about (if I can find photos to back up the story). Keep in mind that a creative path might not have in it all of what you expected.

We can pull up memories from our own lives, from earlier years-- especially when going through dark times. I've shown what I look like now. For the blogs to come, I'll share some of my earlier photos and memories that help me with creativity today with the hope it will encourage you to find your own soul places.

No, I am not the woman  in that photo today, well I am underneath some wrinkles and gray hair. About twenty years ago, I was her, standing there with my husband holding the camera, knowing we were staying in the motel just outside the park.

Today, it's holding those memories, not with regret that they are gone, but with joy that they ever were my reality. They can be pulled back in a time when such moments are not possible at my current age. I don't need them to be as I have the creative impulse that stays with me. Also, having been some special place, I can easily pull up the smells and feeling of the breezes, not just the view. I can use that when I write some of my books... or in a blog.

Finding our own creative path is not the same as for others. We should not want it to be, just be glad our path ever existed. The above photo is one of many we took at Monument Valley. I had always wanted to see it since it had been the background in many movies, especially John Ford westerns.

I wanted to learn more about its history, which added to the storage inside my head. I thought I'd be back, but never worked out not because of force but rather other opportunities. 

For the coming blogs, I will share not only the pieces of my life that benefit me today, but also the creative paths I follow today-- some with frustration as I deal with the march of time. 

There are various reasons why I've never set a book in Monument Valley, but I have used country near it. The Valley itself is owned by the Navajo nation, where they control access. Fortunately, visitors can drive the road and stop for many photos as we did. More good memories.

For me, the big thing is not thinking of such moments with regret. Just be glad they ever existed. Some people want to travel to Europe or other places across the ocean. I never did and turned down the opportunity whenever it arose. Ranch Boss has been around the world but always for work.

What I yearned for was to experience the American West, not as it once was, but as it is today. It is still there for those who want to look and are willing to be tough enough to spend time there-- and sometimes it can take some toughness-- to sleep under Western stars like Chris LeDoux sang about. 

We drove into the Wyoming country where LeDoux had his ranch, where Butch Cassidy and his gang had hidden away from the law. Beautiful land. I could never live there due to lack of money and not having been born there; but I could spend time there, take photographs, suck in the fragrances of sage and juniper, look at distant mountains knowing in some of them were grizzlies, black bears, cougars, and smaller predators as well as many mammals, where it is their country. 

 Again, with those memories, I feel lucky and sometimes write a book set out there. All of my books are dominantly set in the American West, the land west of the Mississippi. I've been to the East and the South and seen the beauty there too; but the West is my country, in my blood and what I most want to share with others through my books or this blog.

This link is to one of LeDoux's songs. Really worth hearing if you never have.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SDXnQj_4_4

Creating a book trailer-- hopefully

 

November sunset from Casa Espiritu

When someone writes a book (I've written 30 with one still on the way), that's half the job, the rest (and maybe more) is marketing it through ads and other ways to get that book seen. That doesn't even mean bought as if it's not seen first, it won't be bought. The ads cost money, require some creativity, and can be fruitful... or not so much. It's also possible to write about it in various social media sites, which may or may not work out for sales.

Are sales that important? They are for those who want to be a full-time author without a second job. But even when writing as someone who loves doing it, there is a satisfaction with a sale. It enables paying for other elements of getting it seen and also just the enjoyment of knowing someone appreciated the writer's work. Writing can be a lonely job and seeing that a reader enjoyed a work through a purchase or review can be a connection that keeps that writer going.

There is another way to get a book seen-- book trailers. It is probably a lot less known or used.There are two kinds. One has the author talking about the book, usually 3 minutes but can vary depending on the money put into it. How long will vary on how interesting a discussion and where it's set.

A second type of book trailer, usually lasting a minute, with images, takes three things. First the images, which are usually purchased for the project or earlier feeling they might be of use someday. Some writers can pay for actors to portray some of their plot. In a subject trailer, there is also music. The creator needs royalty free music and images. My music for videos came mostly from JewelBeat, which is no longer active. What is it about the internet that nothing stays the same.  In my case, the rights were under Properties, royalty free, and found on my desktop. I listened to them and chose one that fit.

This trailer was for a book that had been out for a while, but I'd changed the title because the original one was potentially confusing to readers. The process I used is not the only one,possible. I have not watched a lot of book trailers, but I found a pattern that worked for me, cost very little money (other than that which I'd already put out off and on), and got across the key points I hoped to have in my stories. Without giving away the whole plot.

Creating the trailer itself seemed like it'd be easy as it had been before. I wanted it to depict the characters, their issues, and the overall theme. This book had a supernatural element, which made it fun to work with putting backgrounds to the characters. Usually the backgrounds are my photos and in this case in the area where the book was set-- Arizona. Some had been been purchased earlier.

A major oops came when I read that Picasa3, where I can created all my trailers, had been discontinued years ago. It no longer connected to the Internet as it didn't work with the Cloud... What!!! Dang internet and its constant upgrading. I had never used the Cloud but did need to send trailers to sites from my desktop and memory cards.

I still had Picasa3 on my computer but something was different, and I went looking for other video making sources. Nothing was easy enough for this Luddite. I went back to studying Picasa3 and found certain familiar areas.  Might it still work?

Getting my images in a Picasa folder was my first problem. From a standpoint of not thinking so much about the election, since this trailer problem all began on Tuesday, it had some advantages as a distraction. Staying busy with a creative- if frustrating- process took me away from the country's issues. It also helps that I don't watch any television.

I was still unsure that I could use Picasa3 and then I found more of the tools I used to use. With text on the images, it looked good. It went to YouTube perfectly.

Then came more frustration, a grammar error that I didn't discover until the trailer was out there. I debated leaving it but knew it'd bug me. I finally redid it, frustrated again with how it was to get the trailer into my blogger site for trailers. That problem was the Luddite in action again, and easily fixed.

There was one more discovery to pass on with anyone interested in creating their own trailers. Picasa3 is still available thanks to Google. It cannot directly send a trailer to various sites, but once it's on a desktop, it could be sent to YouTube where it is seemingly instantly ready to share. Best of all for Picasa3 is it's free. I though had my own version, which was still functional for creating.

At YouTube, the trailer is:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Xp39filv44

At my Trailer Blog: http://rainydaytrailers.blogspot.com/2024/11/capturing-wolf.html This channel has many of my trailers-- some older versions not as good. I've learned as I've gone.

 

For a Kindle version of the book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KDCI9VG  It also has a paperback with the old title. I might order the new version but for now I've had enough frustration.
 

Contingency Plan -- 3b

purchased from Canstock Images for inspiration and light

When I began this series, I had a list of issues I thought were important. There were more than I knew I could cover before the election, but covered as many as possible with simple essays. Since, I still believe I should go onto something new come November 9th (next Saturday's blog), it was time to stretch my thinking in a different way. I could pick one thing off the list, but...

• health care
• abortion
  
• taxes 
• voting IDs
  
• games/movies
• globalism-- one world government
  
• policing
• legal system
• economy
• divided country
•  environment 

Turned out, though the list still seems important, the new subject is not on it. It is inspired by what I've seen during the campaign through ads and speeches, but also what goes on in a culture as the elite side of a people, try to help the less elite do what is best... or is that what they're doing?

Before I start on the new subject, I want to say that I hope when the election is over we can let be whatever the result is and wait for the new leader to take office and begin to implement their ideas without the vitriol we've seen in recent times. 

I wish I felt more positive regarding that. Right now, I can't, not with all the venom out there, which I have personally run into-- fortunately, not here at the blog but in other social media. It is so important that we have a peaceful transition, as it was meant to be but hasn't always been. 

Having read/heard that one side and then another plans an insurrection if they lose, it looks as though violence is being plotted if loss happens. Some believe that was what the January 6th riot was. I do not think it had enough organization or smarts behind it for it to be more than a riot, which we had seen in cities across the country-- always when something dissatisfied the rioters. If though, a well-planned insurrection happened, could it work? I sure hope not. Even if it helped your side take power, how could that be good for a Constitutional government? Answer-- it could not.

Ranch Boss and I voted already, as Oregon is vote by mail; and in our case, we needed an absentee ballot for being in Arizona for the coming winter. I can't say we were happy with all our choices for ballot measures or candidates. We did the best we could for what we hope will be good for the state, country, and the world. 

It won't be easy, for either side, to not be upset if it goes against how we thought best; but it's the only real hope to continue to live a good life as well as for the community, finding any sort of unification. I don't want to be a hater for the next four years. Life is too sweet to ruin it for something we hurt ourselves more than others. If, we support a well-organized coup, those who take power will run things-- not the voters. Do we like that idea?

Some seem to be calling for a civil war. I have to think they've had no real experience with violence in their own life. Nobody should want a civil war, but instead work harder next time what they regard as a fairer result.

The subject for today, indoctrination, is important for voting wisely-- not only here but around the world as many have or will vote this year on possible change. Do we understand what change will mean? Who will tell us?

Indoctrination can happen not just with elections. Based on the dictionary, it means when an idea or belief is repeated so often it is accepted without questioning. Basically, it becomes dogma at a certain point.

When we look at history, we see what has been declared can be true or a lie-- like the earth is flat. It can lead to freedom or slavery. No one votes to become a slave, but they might give up freedoms when they don't realize it is at stake. 

We come into a season, like the US has just been having, with our own prejudices and opinions. Then, when we see an ad that fits that, watch out that we don't let it swamp any sense of reasoning we might have.

Indoctrination, which can also be called propaganda, is repeated again and again on Social Media, including sites like this one-- though I try hard not to do that. So what is a reader to do? Use discernment and even though we may want to believe an ad, still check it for truth in the supposed logic being used. 

As an example, I will use one of the more controversial issues remaining on the above list-- abortion. The ads I've seen the most frequently are on the side of protecting a legal right to abortion. The subject is emotional and very open to rage on either side. It also involves more than candidates but also ballot measures.

My problem with what I consider questionable logic is when it refers to the argument that the woman has a right to an abortion since it is her body. Yes, it's her body, but once pregnant, another body is also involved. Very tiny to begin, but it's growing and impacting the parent body. It has its own DNA, bones and organs. Does that mean she has no right to what is best for her body? I am not saying she doesn't, but that's the question, not that its our body.

Ads have argued that no man has a right to say what a woman should do where it comes to abortion. This is trying to create division and anger between the sexes.

 The other main point that ads and some politicians make is that the government has no right to impact the woman's body. Here's the problem there-- the government already impacts her body with requiring a helmet when on a motorcycle. It impacts what drugs a doctor can prescribe for her. If she has children, the government can impact her choices after they are born; and it does through social services if they are called in.

What I believe is we have to accept responsibility for making a choice to end an otherwise growing life. I don't consider it murder given the complexity, but I do feel we need to consider what we are doing. We might want to maintain the legal right, which, to me, is logical. But, be honest and not deceptive even to ourselves as to what's going on.

Now, I personally believe in early choice to have an abortion. Later, say after 15 weeks, a doctor should be the one determining the baby is nonviable, say its brain is no longer functioning. If the baby won't survive out of the womb and the mother would likely die, abortion seems a logical option. For many, opposed to all abortions, the arguments are more religious than biological.

Indoctrination does not just involve elections. Sometimes the laws are changed due to things we are told but are not necessarily proven.  When facing indoctrination, people need to think deeply and beyond emotional responses. Dogma can be very powerful.

How do we figure out for ourselves what is wise? It might be by personal experience. Today with Artificial Intelligence, we might believe something that never happened. Remember the old joke. Who you going to believe? Me or your lying eyes? Not so easy to determine right now where speeches can be created for someone who never said them.

There are many issues that we believe because of what we were told. To reach a point of questioning it all can lead to total chaos. On the other hand, to question can lead to wise choices if we look for facts.

Where it comes to indoctrination, I could list a lot more things, where I might agree or disagree with the popular stance, things I've been led to believe or don't, but I feel that's for each person to look at for themselves, as I have for myself once I felt it was okay to question. There are those who tell us to question nothing as it's ignorant or wrong. I was told all my life I question too much. Maybe so, but it's how I am and not likely to change now...

Next week this blog will move from political issues and hopefully something that will lead to more creativity and even joy. Our election will be over (although perhaps still counting or in the courts to determine winners depending on how close) with no discussions here about the results. 

The whining will likely increase, based on what I've seen so far. Will we turn to that and let it ruin our lives or find new things to inspire us? The main thing is, when we have the option, vote, wait for the outcome, then whatever happened. don't be a bemoaner-- that accomplishes nothing except angst or anger. I've voted where I lost and other times where I won for what I had hoped. Sometimes winning didn't turn out as I had hoped either. Life went on either way.