{"id":1162,"date":"2017-02-27T20:56:02","date_gmt":"2017-02-28T01:56:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/?p=1162"},"modified":"2017-02-27T21:40:00","modified_gmt":"2017-02-28T02:40:00","slug":"on-alpha-males","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/on-alpha-males\/","title":{"rendered":"On Alpha Males"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you have been writing mostly\u00a0horror but are interested in branching out into urban fantasy or paranormal romance, there are some\u00a0genre conventions to keep in mind. You can get a basic introduction to many of these reader\/editor expectations in my post\u00a0On Urban Fantasy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But I didn\u2019t cover one important character type, a trope who\u00a0mostly doesn\u2019t exist in horror but is hugely important in romance and all its flavors: the Alpha Male.<\/p>\n

He’s a sweet talkin’ stud
\nWho can melt a girl’s heart with his pout
\nHe’s the kind of lover
\nthat the ladies dream about<\/p>\n

He’s got plenty of cash
\nHe’s got plenty of friends
\nHe drives women wild
\nThen he drives off in a Mercedes-Benz
\nHe’s got a long wick
\nwith a flame at both ends
\nHe’s hot<\/p>\n

But don’t let him go
\nJust give him a chance to grow
\nTake it easy, take it slow
\nAnd don’t let him go ….<\/p>\n

\u2013From “Don’t Let Him Go” by REO Speedwagon<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Alpha Male of the romance novel does not exist in the real world. But, because of publishers\u2019 desires to put out books that appeal to the huge romance readership, urban fantasy writers must be aware of him (and his brothers, the Beta Male, and the Omega Male). While precise definitions vary, here are some characteristics of the three to keep in mind:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/td>\nAlpha Male<\/strong><\/td>\nBeta Male<\/strong><\/td>\nOmega Male<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
At the castle, he would be\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\nThe handsome prince of the realm or the fiercely brave captain of the king\u2019s guard.<\/td>\nA steadfast tower guard or a hardworking cook.<\/td>\nA lazy stablehand.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
At the dance club\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\nHe wears the latest understated masculine fashions. His $500 shirt will be torn from his chiseled chest when he rescues a beautiful woman who\u2019s being mugged in the alley.<\/td>\nHe wears a nice shirt and khakis and some Old Spice. He speed-dials 911 or runs back to the club to get the bouncer when he sees the lady in trouble.<\/td>\nHe wears a mustard-stained tee shirt and jeans he\u2019s been wearing for three weeks straight. He watches the mugging from a safe distance, hoping to see something exciting.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
During the zombie apocalypse, he\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\nComes up with a daring plan and leads the survivors to the safety of an idyllic tropical island with a shotgun in one hand and a baby in the other.<\/td>\nIs scared and barely survives, but when the Alpha Male shows up with a plan, he picks up a gun and helps where he can.<\/td>\nTries to cop a feel on a newly-zombified stripper and is eaten. The zombie stripper finds his brains unsatisfying.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
At his father\u2019s funeral, he\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\nIs a pillar of strength for his mother and sisters; he made the funeral arrangements himself and he gives a moving memorial speech. Later, he hunts down his father\u2019s murderer.<\/td>\nTries to be stoic, but he goes through a lot of Kleenex. He\u2019s depressed at the wake, and still can\u2019t believe anyone would want to hurt his dad. He hopes the cops will find the killer soon.<\/td>\nEither shows up drunk or blows the funeral off entirely and stays home drinking and feeling sorry for himself. He does not call his mother until he needs to borrow money.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
If his girlfriend was feeling sad, he would\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\nWhisk her away for a romantic weekend in Paris.<\/td>\nGive her a hug and ask her if she wants to go to a movie.<\/td>\nNot notice because he\u2019s too busy watching cartoons.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
His pick-up line would be\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\nSomething so swooningly romantic that any woman would faint before his masculine glory.<\/td>\n\u201cHi, my name is Joe.\u201d<\/td>\n\u201c*Burp* Hey baby, do you swallow?\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
His flaw is\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\nHe can be arrogant and impatient. He’s often\u00a0promiscuous. He courts danger; it\u2019s hard on those who care about him.<\/td>\nHe\u2019s too eager to please and is a bit boring. He needs to go to the gym more. He\u2019s too shy\/uncertain\/oppressed to go after his heart\u2019s desires. His sin? He\u2019s a normal human being.<\/td>\nHis flaws are many, and his awareness of them almost nonexistent.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
He can be redeemed by\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\nThe love of a good woman.<\/td>\nLearning to be Alpha.<\/td>\nProbably not redeemable, but soap would help.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Alpha Male is as mythic as a dragon, and he\u2019s loaded with pernicious gender and class stereotyping along with negative portrayals of introverts, etc. The problem is that the Alpha Male represents a myth that a lot of people present as being a reality. It\u2019s as if our society still believed, Medieval-style, in unicorns, and the result? The streets are full of jackasses with horns strapped to their foreheads.<\/p>\n

On a more practical note, if romances don\u2019t appeal to you and you find yourself recoiling at the thought of writing a traditional romantic\u00a0sub-plot (as opposed to a realistic relationship sub-plot), it really does help to think of the Alpha Male as another kind of protagonistic monster you must include in the story along with your dragons, vampires, werewolves, selkies, etc.<\/p>\n

Successful fantasy fiction (be it traditional fantasy or supernatural horror) depends on engaging the reader\u2019s imagination but it also depends on suspending the reader\u2019s sense of disbelief. The best way to \u201csell\u201d a reader on otherworldly elements is to ground your characters and setting in the real world as much as possible. If the story otherwise seems like it could really happen, the reader will accept that there\u2019s a werewolf running the coffee shop.<\/p>\n

Gender\/class baggage aside, a problem inherent in the Alpha Male is that while romance readers accept and expect him, he can totally destroy the suspension of disbelief in people who mainly read horror, science fiction, and fantasy. One crucial technique for contemporary fantasy authors is to portray realistic interpersonal relationships; the moment you\u2019ve got an Alpha Male, though, you\u2019re dealing in a stock character and fantasy relationships that you can\u2019t hide behind the expectedly-antique cultural sensibilities of a distant-past fantasy setting. That makes for a challenging balancing act.<\/p>\n

If all else fails, you can partially distract skeptical readers with good world building.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you have been writing mostly\u00a0horror but are interested in branching out into urban fantasy or paranormal romance, there are some\u00a0genre conventions to keep in […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1168,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[65,58,63,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1162","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dark-fantasy","category-fantasy","category-gender","category-writing"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/1672865-e1488246709580.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8qT6f-iK","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":161,"url":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/on-urban-fantasy\/","url_meta":{"origin":1162,"position":0},"title":"On Urban Fantasy","author":"Lucy A. 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Take Tim\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Writing Advice"","block_context":{"text":"Writing Advice","link":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/category\/writing-advice\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/liens_infernaux_1920x1200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/liens_infernaux_1920x1200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/liens_infernaux_1920x1200.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/liens_infernaux_1920x1200.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/liens_infernaux_1920x1200.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/liens_infernaux_1920x1200.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":667,"url":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/rubber-mask-theater\/","url_meta":{"origin":1162,"position":1},"title":"Rubber mask theater","author":"Lucy A. Snyder","date":"July 12, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"\"Ian McKellen was really awesome in that movie, but he's never gonna win an Oscar for it because it's rubber mask theater.\" \"Rubber mask theater\" is slang for any movie or television show in which some or all of the actors must emote through layers of latex or silicone prosthetics\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "genre"","block_context":{"text":"genre","link":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/category\/genre\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":610,"url":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/on-horror\/","url_meta":{"origin":1162,"position":2},"title":"On Horror","author":"Lucy A. Snyder","date":"October 4, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"\"Horror is not a genre, like the mystery or science fiction or the western. It is not a kind of fiction, meant to be confined to the ghetto of a special shelf in libraries or bookstores. Horror is an emotion.\"-- Douglas Winter, 1982 As a literary genre, \"horror\" can be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "genre"","block_context":{"text":"genre","link":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/category\/genre\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"http:\/\/www.assoc-amazon.com\/e\/ir?t=lookwhatifoun-20&l=ur2&o=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":546,"url":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/fantasy\/","url_meta":{"origin":1162,"position":3},"title":"Fantasy","author":"Lucy A. Snyder","date":"March 7, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"The literary genre of fantasy, along with science fiction and horror, can itself be put under the larger genre umbrella of speculative fiction. Thus, the definitions in this article should be considered roughly descriptive rather than prescriptive. There's a lot of genre crossover in some of my favorite speculative fiction\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "genre"","block_context":{"text":"genre","link":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/category\/genre\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1736,"url":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/big-love-island-adventure\/","url_meta":{"origin":1162,"position":4},"title":"Big Love Island Adventure","author":"Lucy A. Snyder","date":"February 24, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"One casual online game I've enjoyed for a while is Fish Wrangler, which you can play via Facebook or at Fish-wrangler.com. In real life, I don't have a lot of interest in fishing, but I do love the ocean, and the game's whimsy, fantasy creatures, and seagoing adventure storylines reeled\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "game"","block_context":{"text":"game","link":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/category\/game\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/cove.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/cove.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/cove.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/cove.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":554,"url":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/on-dark-fantasy\/","url_meta":{"origin":1162,"position":5},"title":"On Dark Fantasy","author":"Lucy A. 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