Tuesday, September 4, 2012

There's just something about Michael Keaton

I am ridiculously, incomprehensibly, obsessively attracted to Michael Keaton.

It's not my fault.  Go watch him in Batman and Beetlejuice.  You'll see.

Look, logically speaking, I know he's not typically defined as handsome or sexy or hot.  But I've never been the type to listen to definitions.

But wait, Heather.  What does this have anything to do with writing?

Two things: Number 1 - many times, we are attracted to more than just a pretty face, and pretty faces can even turn us off.  Number 2 - chemistry: We can't explain why we're attracted to people, we just are (I'm actually going through this at the moment with a guy at my work - I know, I got a job, say what? - we'll call Poncho).

When I write, I want to be as realistic as possible.  My heroine is smart and pretty and therefore, she's attracted to good looking, intelligent guys.  I have to keep in mind that my readers are living through my heroine, which means not only does the hero have to win her over, he has to win my readers over too.

A lot of the times, my heroes are interesting looking rather than typically attractive.  It's more than just his looks my heroine is attracted to.  For example, in STRANGER, Jane is a smart girl who thinks she's pretty but doesn't know she's beautiful.  Her hero is Nikolai Depogare, a man who is known for being unattractive.  But the more Jane falls for him, the more attractive he becomes.  If I can win you over with Nikolai, get you to be attracted to him, I've done my job as a writer.

What does this have to do with Michael Keaton?

Well, let me just say this: As a reader, hot boys in books start to blur together.  A lot of the times, they're accompanied with bland personalities and even though I get why the heroine falls for him, there's no chemistry between me and him.  The writer didn't win me over.  As such, I'd rather read about a girl falling for an interesting looking guy like Michael Keaton than some faceless hottie.

1 comment:

  1. This article is hope inspiring for me... especially since people have told me I act and look like him since I was 16. A sense of weirdness and personality are much more intriguing than physical beauty alone:) I enjoy your outlook.

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