by Patricia Bradley
As Patricia Johns and I were emailing back and forth to come up with a blog post, she said, "Why don't we do a Would you rather post." It sounded like a great idea to me. So here we go.
Would you rather go through drama and misery to be with a man who makes your heart flutter, or have a calm and smooth path to a man who is decent and good?
As Patricia Johns and I were emailing back and forth to come up with a blog post, she said, "Why don't we do a Would you rather post." It sounded like a great idea to me. So here we go.
Would you rather go through drama and misery to be with a man who makes your heart flutter, or have a calm and smooth path to a man who is decent and good?
Patricia Johns:
In my fiction, I thoroughly enjoy drama and hardship--and I write it with relish! In real life, though, I like a very bland existence! So if it were just about the drama, I'd much prefer to avoid it. I value calm.
But since the choice is between a man who makes my heart race or someone who (I'm assuming) is very decent but doesn't really excite me, I'm going to have to grudgingly accept some drama to get the man who really makes my heart sing. A lifetime together is a long time to go without a true, deep, toe-curling passion... But only if that drama is going to stop once we're together!
If the drama and misery would continue, passion or not, then I'll take the good and decent man and spice things up myself.
(Confession: In my real life, I went through a fair amount of drama and misery to marry my husband, and he was worth it. But I'm still a little resentful of the drama it took to get us together! LOL!)
Patricia Bradley:
I'm not sure I'm the right person to answer this question...since I've been dating the same guy for almost nineteen years and we haven't gotten married yet. And probably never will. 😏
But here goes: I don't like drama. At.All. Even though like Patricia, I make it really hard for my characters to get together, for myself I'd much prefer the steady, family loving, easy-going guy every time.
So how about you? Which do you prefer?
I'm in Patricia B's camp. I'd much rather experience drama while reading than in real life.
ReplyDeleteI could never endure all the misery we put our characters through!
DeleteAbsolutely Jill. Sorry I'm late answering but I'm on a cruise and the Internet stopped working yesterday. :-)
DeleteWhat a good question. I don't like drama, either, but long marriages or relationships do seem to come with some built-in even if you think you're only there for the "decent and good." I think I'll just say decent and good make my heart flutter and let it go at that. :-)
ReplyDeleteOooh.... I like that, Liz! When "decent and good" makes your heart flutter, it takes care of things, doesn't it? :) I like that position.
DeleteLove it, Liz. Marriage is hard, no matter what. :-)
DeleteI'm sure I couldn't marry anyone who wasn't decent and good, but I wouldn't spend a lifetime with someone who didn't make my heart flutter. On the other hand like Liz indicated, it's rare to get through marriage to anyone without some drama. Probably best not to dive into it at the beginning, though. Torturing our characters is good, not so good in real life.
ReplyDeleteI think there are a lot of things we enjoy reading about that we'd never actually want in real life. For me, the drama is one of those things. I was willing to go through some for one guy, and one guy only. But if anything happened to him, I'd never be willing to go through it again!
ReplyDeleteGood morning, Patricias! I married decent and good, and watching that operate day after day makes my toes curl with passion! Drama is part of life and has to be dealt with, but for the day to day, give me the good and decent man.
ReplyDeleteIt worked out well, Muriel. :)
DeleteOh, wow, what an interesting dilemma you two have created. I married someone I thought was decent and good, and he was -- to everyone except me. I really can't complain, though, it's long over, he was a good father, and I've used all that drama and heartache to create make-believe characters and situations.
ReplyDeleteSometimes we guess it wrong, and there's always a chance of that... I'm sorry you had to go through that, but you're a true artist to use all that for story-telling!
DeleteWe never waste anything, do we Patricia!
DeleteDecent and good beats drama for the long haul, and I agree with Liz, it makes my heart flutter. That's why I love to read. I get my drama in books instead of real life.
ReplyDeleteMe, too, Beth. Drama is so much safer in a book. :)
DeleteAbsolutely, Beth.
DeleteI would have to go with decent and good. A good man is hard to beat!
ReplyDeleteAnd they aren't on every corner, that's for sure!
DeleteYes, Melanie. And good men are few and far between. :-)
DeleteWhile I agree with Roz that I'd never be with someone who wasn't decent, good and I'll add has high standards of ethics and integrity, I would much rather go through the drama to get to a man who makes my heart flutter than to settle for one who doesn't.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Kate! I saw the choice between two good men, but one who made my heart flutter and the other who might have been easier to move forward with, but who didn't make my heart flutter. I'm willing to go through some drama for the right guy. Much as I *loathe* drama in my real life. ;)
DeleteYeah, Kate, a man who makes your heart flutter is good!
DeleteYes! I would much prefer to keep the drama in the books!
ReplyDeleteDrama is much more daunting in real life, isn't it?
Delete