WRITERS WRITE... WRITING PARTNERS FEUD ~ Mars and Venus Collide

While writing KILLER DOLLS, we wanted the characters to have depth, a sense of non-conformity yet remain within the distinctive ranks of their gender. We did not wish to misled or lie about what makes them who they are, holding in mind certain humanistic qualities. Being a male and female writing team gave us an advantage. One of us would often tell the other, "A man/woman would not act that way." Once, for the fun of it and to wade into the truth of the yin and yang of the gender diversities, we waded through a list, with a bit of help from Google of ten things that differ between a man and a woman.

· Ask a woman how she stubbed her toe and she'll say she walked into a chair, ask a man and he'll say someone left a chair in the middle of the room. (This is our male character, Rich Longar from LOVE LETTERS)
· An English professor wrote the words, "Woman without her man is nothing" on the blackboard and directed the students to punctuate it correctly.  The men wrote: "Woman, without her man, is nothing."The women wrote: "Woman! Without her, man is nothing." (This personifies the attitude of Lauren Pike from LOVE LETTERS)
· Man has his will, but woman has her way. (Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.) (Letti Noel of KILLER DOLLS can be seen in this quote)A man is as good as he has to be, and a woman is as bad as she dares. (Elbert Hubbard) (This is decisively the presence of Lauren Pike in LOVE LETTERS)
· A man thinks he knows, but a woman knows better. (Chinese proverb) (Once again, this projects Lauren Pike from LOVE LETTERS)
· Men always want to be a woman's first love, women like to be a man's last romance. (Oscar Wilde) (The soul and heart of Elizabeth from CHASING GRAVITAS)
· Men are taught to apologize for their weaknesses, women for their strengths. (Lois Wyse) (This is VeIper from SNAKE DANCE, along with many of his race)
· She says, "He forgets stuff I tell him, so I have to repeat myself over and over again."He says, "She nags me." (Every bit the relationship between Lauren and Rich in LOVE LETTERS)
· Women always worry about the things that men forget; men always worry about the things women remember. (We can see our characters Letti and Taut, from KILLER DOLLS, within this quote.)
· REMOTE CONTROL Female.... A device for changing from one TV channel to another.  Male... A device for scanning through all 375 channels every 5 minutes. (Although VeIper from SNAKE DANCE exists in a fantasy, he was a bit of an obsessive [remote] controller and would most resemble this statement and wRen from the same book was simplistic and practical)

Though humorous, there is a lot of truth in these quotes and thoughts. Men and women simply see life differently. Men are usually more global, women usually live in the details. Yet, there is a commonality when love exists, that special tenderness expressed to the other when no one is around, that first realization that crackles and explodes when one realizes they are in love, the emotions that surround the birth of a child, the ache when there is loss.

Though our stories always have a decisive plot, a story that can almost overpower the romance, the romance is there in truth, in the reality of emotions, in the thoughts and impulses that real men and women experience. We might lie when it comes to that perfect bosom or hips that exists without cellulite, or that tree-trunk thick manly thighs that rarely exists outside bodybuilders and photo enhancement, but we never lie about emotions. Even in our novella SNAKE DANCE where the characters are not human, the emotions are true.

Every day when we write we struggle to keep it real and honest. Because if our characters are unique but believable then we can sell our plots. And if our men are men and our women are women then we can translate the emotions we sense about their possible love.

So the crux of this blog is to celebrate those difference, enjoy them, tease about them but never forget as much as we are different, we are the same where it counts, our love for one another.
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We'd love to hear from anyone interested in what we do. Anyone who writes us at writingteamcw@yahoo.com (Write - Blog Dawn - in subject line) and leaves an s-mail address, we will send you a gift and add you to any future mailings.

Angelica Hart and Zi ~ Vixen Bright and Zachary Zane
www.champagnebooks.com - www.carnalpassions.com - angelicahartandzi.com