Regan Black

That sounds like a no-brainer. Female athletes are naturally alpha females, right? Not necessarily.

In my opinion what makes athletes alpha females isn’t the inherent nature of competitive sports…it’s the dedication to the dream those athletes hold inside themselves.

Most athletes – even olympic athletes  – are not household names in their own countries. The world stage – complete with lights, cameras and questioning reporters  – is only a blip in the daily reality of hard work and determination.

The female athletes populating the Olympic Winter games are there because they made a conscious, alpha female sort of decision to put in the time every day to reach the goal and realize the dream.

Those athletes have looked inside themselves, daring to discover their innermost talents and dreams and then gone a step further to assess the price of making it real.

For some, it’s an achievement just to be at the winter games. And with no expectation of reaching the podium, they strive anyway and sometimes they even create the upset.

Such is the nature of a true alpha female in real life or fiction: To strive with decisive action toward a goal no matter the odds.

Most writers – even bestselling authors – aren’t household names either. Any  lights or cameras are only a blip in their everyday reality too. It takes daily, solitary effort and perseverance to put together a book with characters that resonate with enough readers to hit the bestseller lists.

Alpha female athletes, characters, and authors can – and should – inspire viewers, readers, and writers.

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Character interviews are valuable for focusing the writer’s attention on certain details or quirks about the stars of our stories. But what do the questions asked reveal about the writer?

At this particular moment, I’m likely to ask my characters if they’ve had back trouble and if so, what they did to solve it. Working with the replies from my contemporary characters is likely to reveal something different (maybe even useful) than working with my characters from the future.

Then again, maybe one of my futuristic characters will give me a great idea for an invention…

You guessed it! I’m having back trouble. I was ready to be done with it about an hour after the injury. Obviously, I’m not the patient type. As a writer I shouldn’t be surprised if this back pain colors certain aspects of the storytelling.

Case in point: my shoulder was acting up while I wrote my second book – but it wasn’t until the editing process that I consciously realized that I’d put the injury on my hero too.

Why does this happen? Because writing is often both an escape from the writer’s reality and an illustration of it.

Similarly, the questions you ask your characters in an interview can reveal where your head is, your writing style, and your preferred type of conflict.

Do you tend to ask questions about appearance, movies, or music? Or do you trend toward thought-provoking philosophical questions looking to draw out the inner motives of your characters? Do you ask about fighting styles, weapons, myths, or even signs of the apocalypse?

It’s possible that taking a hard look at the questions (and answers) of a character interview will even reveal your ‘author platform’ (issues you’re passionate about) and that’s imperative to promoting your books and connecting with your target audience.

Whatever your style of character interview, dig in and see what the questions (and answers) say about you as the writer – then use that information to your best advantage in the story – and in the marketing.

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Kresley Cole, Lori Handeland, and Sherrilyn Kenyon write wildly different stories using settings within the ‘real’ world we know and recognize. All three of these talented paranormal romance authors have done the research that makes readers feel as if they’ve traveled along with the characters.

Still other authors use an entirely different world for their paranormal romance novels. While this may seem more challenging at first glance, there’s an infinite amount of freedom in the approach.

How do you convince a reader there’s life on the moon? Like maybe a werewolf colony that’s managed to hide themselves from every lunar landing and exploration. Building a brand new world for your paranormal romance can be fun.

The imagination is boundless! Other planets, lost cities, alternative histories and potential futures actually give authors plenty of new, undiscovered blocks to build the special world for their paranormal romance. As long as they stick to the rules of the world they create.

For example, if gravity’s important, explain how creatures cope or defy it. If you introduce a fuel cell, be sure your heroine doesn’t fill up the tank with unleaded on her way to catch the bad guy.

When you’re considering what sort of world to build for a paranormal romance novel, think about the specific strengths and weaknesses of your characters and/or creatures.

Build them a world that will challenge and surprise, as well as assist and comfort them on their journey through the story.

Also, writer know thyself. Consider the things you’re good at. Think about the voice that comes most naturally to you.

Do you have a penchant for the dark and angsty, or would a battle between good and evil land on the page sounding more like a walk through Central Park on a balmy June day?

Whether you’ve got supernatural creatures romping through the this world or humans trying to navigate an otherworld environment, there’s plenty of room for putting your own spin on the world you build for your paranormal romance novel.

Use your innate storytelling strengths as you build the right world for your paranormal romance. It’ll be more fun in both the writing and editing process and your readers will thank you later!

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