Ways to Torment a Heroine Challenge

What happens when a fame whore of an ex drops a famous ballerina on a popular reality T.V. show, breaks her ankle, ruins her career, then blames her average-sized chest for it all?

I love reading stories where characters are put through the ringer, where a laced up heroine ends up face down in the mud, where characters learn about themselves through situations they least expected.

In my debut novel, KNOCK OUT, releasing on December 2nd, Logan Rettino is forced to make a 180 degree career change, hanging up her ballet slippers for an MMA ring card–which takes some getting used to, especially with six-feet-two of oh-so-sexy MMA fighter standing between her and her future plans.

I thought it would be fun to list ten “torment the heroine” challenges I think would be horrible for any character to face, and yet a hilarious to read.

                                                                                                          

Ten Horrible Circumstances a Heroine Should NEVER Encounter

1. Get Trashed by an Ex – “Oh, no, he didn’t!”  All the juicy details of their relationship abuzz on every social media outlet, where he looks like the injured party and she looks downright ridiculous.

2. Give Up a Career She Loves for One Less “Suitable” – Like poor Logan, who one minute is dancing at the Lincoln Center and is the most beloved contestant on America Gets Its Groove On, and the next minute–viola!—an MMA ring card girl. Really?

3. Be Forced to Eat Brussel Sprouts – Sautéed, baked, mashed, barbequed, incognito or plated in any fashion.

YUCK!

4. Have the Hero Discover Her Wearing a Headless Beaver Suit – This one is a shout out to the fabulous Susan Elizabeth Phillips, where her heroine in A Natural Born Charmer is discovered wearing exactly that. Hilarious!

5. Have Her Sexy Lingerie–or Worse, Her Very Unsexy Lingerie—On View for the World To See – Whether she’s wearing it or its strewn along a major interstate highway like a naughty trail of breadcrumbs. I’ll keep you posted on the status of this one!

6. Wake Up Next To “What’s His Name?” – Her house, her bed, and so not her boyfriend, ex, or guy she last remembered talking to before that final shot of tequila kicked in.

7. Sit Through Dinner With Mr. Obnoxious – You’ve heard how he dislikes fat chicks, how much he pays in taxes—a substantial amount because his salary is THAT enormous—how impressed he is with his wonderfully humble-like-a-pit-bull self.

8. Have the Date of Her Dreams Only to Discover An Unidentified Object Wedged Between Her Teeth – Every woman alive can relate to some version of this one!

9. Leave Unforeseeable Evidence Behind As She Makes a Fast Exit – Empty shot glasses, a broken heel, her leopard print undies. She’s in too much of a hurry to make it out of his bed before he wakes up.

10. Faster than A Bullet Train, Have Fame Twist into Notoriety in Five Seconds Flat – In Knock Out, Logan’s ex makes her out to be the most notoriously buxom ballerina to ever grace the stage—why else would he drop her? The lying cheat! It’s a story about heroine’s struggle to survive the low blows in life, and who comes out a better person because of it. And, don’t worry, Logan plans on getting sweet revenge.

So, how would you torment a heroine? What is the most HORRIBLE circumstance she has to overcome? Everyone is invited to comment!

Until next time, have a wonderful, disaster-free, month while I continue working on putting another heroine through the ringer.

For more information about my debut novel, KNOCK OUT, please visit my website: www.michelemannon.com

 

Posted by Michele Mannon on October 27, 2013

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