This is something new we are doing on NN. We will have a poll posted on the 18th of every month. The poll will be writing or reading related. This week we will start off with Alpha Male or Beta Male. Which do you prefer? Please leave your vote in the poll box to the right. We would also love for you to comment and let us know why you prefer an Alpha Male or Beta Male. I am crazy about Alpha Males. How about you?
Happy Reading and Writing,
Tabby
16 comments:
Alpha males all the way! I'd walk all over a beta and lose respect for him.
Sheri, I agree with you. I'm a strong female, so I need an equally male.
Sometimes Alphas are too bossy and pushy for me. I like a strong beta - one who is capable but can share the load. :) So, maybe it's the Alpha's with the sharp edges knocked off.
Take charge, know everything, black & white - no blurring the lines-guys are okay in fiction. In real life, I'm the alpha - and one that doesn't care to fight nonstop - so I need a softer personality for balance. Big, strong, capable, but laid back. He'll stand up when it's called for - but he'll pick his battles.
I agree--I love Alphas as long as they aren't too Alpha! Rough edges definitely knocked off.
I looooove alpha males in romance novels, but in my real life, I prefer a strong beta male. I'm a strong-willed woman who hates to be wrong, so if I were married to an alpha I think we would end up divorced.
Now just because a man is beta does not mean he is a weakling who cowers, and just because a man is an alpha does not mean he is a controlling jerk.
The perfect man in my eyes is a combo of the two.
Great poll! I've been doing a lot of thinking about alpha and beta males lately. Usually my heroes are alphas. I don't even know if I could write a beta.
Good point Brenda. I am doing a two part blog on the Alpha and Beta male. I hope to clear that misconception up for some people. I agree Betas aren't doormats and Alphas aren't arrogant jerks. They both have their own way of thinking and seeing things.
I am with you on that one AR. I don't know how to write a Beta male. Not that I am against it but all my male characters come out very strong. So I guess it isn't that I am against it it's just that I haven't had a beta character feel right in my stories yet. But if a character came across to me like a beta I would write one. When I start a story I know what my characters are like and so far they are all alphas. But I also think you write what you like and I love a strong alpha.
I was married to an alpha. WOW - how did we survive 15 years with neither backing down, either in the bedroom or everyday life. Then there was the beta. The previous 15 years had shaped me in making the decisions, and since he passed away, I decides I want something in between. Thirty years later, I am still looking.
Alpha, Alpha, Alpha:)
Beta
Beta. My husband is more of the
beta, and so I use him for my
inspiration in books. He has
Alpha moments at times, but not
strongly.
My hubby is probably a combination of the two...
In fiction, I like Alphas, but not the ones who for the first half of the book is a controlling jerk and then a switch is tripped and suddenly the heroine is the sun in his dark life. Sorry, that's just too unbelievable and I usually dislike the heroine because she comes off mousy.
My heroes have all been strong men who are opinionated and stubborn, but they are also compassionate and honorable. In Westerns there are certain tropes that just can't be overlooked when it comes to the perfect cowboy.
But my heroines are strong women who don't need a man in her life. My heroes have to convince his heroine life just wouldn't be the same without him in it to share the load.
I'm an alpha who married an alpha. We're both about the most stubborn people you'll ever meet, but we agree on most things, so it works well. Plus, I'm willing to admit when I don't really care and let him decide and he's the same way.
I don't like fictional Alpha males who are bulldozers and honestly, I think my heros are a bit of a mixed bag, although I have a real alpha planned for a story and I'm not sure I'll have an easy time writing him even though I'm an alpha living with an alpha.
Lila
Alpha all the way! I've got a pretty self-destructive edge (can't find a better way to put it) and I need a guardrail - that's my Alpha. A Beta wouldn't stand in my way and I migth get to do all I want but in the end it all, and he, wouldn't be good for me.
I find it depends on whats happening in the world at large - The ability of an alpha to protect his home/mate/kids seems to be necessary when the press is all about random acts of violence and natural disasters etc But when the world is at peace, beta's nourish the soul in a way the testosterone fueled alpha cannot.
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