Let's Keep It Real
The heavy, dumpy woman in the mirror stared back at the
middle-aged Dana Rice. "Don't understand why Mrs. Smythe hired
me over those younger women, but glad she did," she mumbled to
herself before turning to grab her purse.
After her husband's desertion for a new wife, a trophy wife,
Dana needed to work, but the position as executive assistant to
Jason Smythe of Smythe Electronics surprised her. Even though
she would meet her employer for the first time this morning, she
knew about his company. However having his mother not only hire
her but train her was a shock. "Maybe she understood that even
if all my northern hemisphere has slid south, that didn't take
away my mental abilities and skills," she voiced aloud as she
drove to the office.
The preceding paragraphs to a story give the reader a realistic
introduction to the main character. We know that Dana is no
longer young and that she doesn't have the sleek body so often
found in the heroine of a story. We get the background needed to
know how the company owner's mother hired and trained her. We
discover that Dana has yet to meet her employer.
The minute Dana entered her office to discover the
dark-haired, young Adonis waiting for her, she knew why a young
woman hadn't gained the position: Momma bear wanted to protect
her cub.
Okay, we still have a believable story. However, if we continue
with a twist in the later part of the story:
Jason wrapped his arms around Dana. "I tried to forget you,
but I can't." He lowered his head to capture her mouth with
his.
Most readers would snort and toss the story aside. Few, if any,
would believe that a young, handsome man would fall in love with
an older, pudgy woman.
Yet, when we read male-lit, rather than chick-lit, we find men
with flabby muscles and big bellies attracting young nymphs.
Unless the men are rich, why or what makes that picture
acceptable to readers? The idea of an older, out-of-shape woman
being romanced by a young stud is no less real than the idea of
the reverse happening. Why do "male" stories seem to contain
such unbelievable romance?
According to Elaine Viets, InSinC December 2005 as
reprinted from the Lipstick Chronicles blog from August, "Too
many men have this touchingly naive belief that beautiful young
women will love them for their flabby bodies and fine minds.
Even smart men fall for this fantasy."
We, as writers, need to keep the plot real for the readers. If
attractive younger people should fall in love with unattractive
much older people, there should be reasons that are covered in
depth so that readers can accept those reasons, since the
likelihood of such a thing actually happening is unlikely.
The example given might be considered extreme, yet we find lack
of realism in stories too often. Making the stories real takes
work, but the result is well-written stories that help hold the
reader's attention. So let's keep it real.