My other confession. From the start, I've thought, wow, while I do love this whole Elana-Stephan eternal love thing they've got going on, a big part of me wishes she would have fallen for the more tormented brother Damon! I think: She could have saved him! All he needs is her love in order to come over to the good side!
Yeah. This is really bad Real World Logic. Bad boys are not good for happiness, stability, or sanity in general. But ever since Lord Byron and Mr. Darcy (and I'm sure others long before), readers find something delectable about the bad boy. Bad boys. Doing bad things. On the very edge of redemption... but never quite making it. Yet the eternal question remains, taunting us romantics: but what if they could? What if, maybe someday, they will turn from the dark side of the force and be the sexy dark romantic good guy?
There's a bad boy in my debut novel Glitch. He's veritably villainous. And yet, of all my characters, he's the one who keeps me up at night, my heart breaking for him even as I prepare to write the next scene in which he will do what bad boys do. He's also the one that every reader comments about making the most lasting impression!
So, the takeaway from all this? Bad boys make for good fiction ;)
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I am a huge fan of TVD. And Damon? YUMM. Actually, I was thinking of doing a post on him for my post on Thursday! Just goes to show how awesome of a bad boy he is if he's the first one to come to mind for both of us!
ReplyDeleteAnd hearing about this bad boy in GLITCH makes me want to read the book even more. *CANNOT WAIT*
My question is do girls actually want the bad boy? Or do they just have secret crushes on them? Like if they had a choice between him and some strong, but sweet guy who would be chivalrous and kind, and look out for others' interests rather than his own (the hero type)--who would the girl actually want as a lover? I think this kind of dilemma is what makes for such interesting fiction.
ReplyDeleteI am checking out your website!
Heather, you just convinced me to check out TVD. I've been a skeptic, but you sold me just now. Great post - and how long do I have to wait until GLITCH???
ReplyDeleteVampire Diaries has got to be the most popular guilty pleasure around. And while I totally get the appeal of the bad boy, I'm definitely a good guy/true love kind of gal. (I get lambasted by friends for having wanted Joey to end up with Dawson instead of Pacey. I know! Although I did agree that Felicity should be with Ben instead of Noel, so there's hope for me.)
ReplyDeleteSo yes, while Damon is smoking hot, my heart belongs to Stephan. Although this new season promises to be interesting on that front! And this discussion reminds me just how effective a love triangle can be if done well.
I'm not normally one who prefers the bad boy, but I am totally team Damon in TVD!
ReplyDeleteLol, too funny you were thinking Damon too, Jenn!
ReplyDeleteRain - the question of whether girls really want the bad boy. I kind of think that chivalrous and devoted guys win out, at least in the long run.
V - yes, check it out! Guilty pleasure sometimes, yes. But the storytelling, good acting, and perfectly timed melodrama done right, make it absolutely worth it.
Eve- I know! This season! We might finally get a switcherooo on the bad boy thing!!
Lenore - I am totally team Damon too :)
Man, I read the original Vampire Diaries back in the 90s *coughshowingmyagecough* and even in the books I was totally torn between the two. I ended up marrying a Stefan, but I like to think if he'd been a Damon, that might not have been SO bad... ;)
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