Scrumptious.
Can't get enough of them and that's not a problem when you've got one of these to dip into on a daily basis:
OBSESSION.
'An idea or thought that continuously preoccupies or intrudes on a person's mind.'
Ah, I do like this one.
Any decent alpha male hero needs a touch of this to drive him on, to focus, achieve and become the successful man he is. Similarly, your heroine will need a good dollop to adhere to her principles and fight for what she believes in, in spite of the impossible temptation and choices she is facing.
They both suffer from the bittersweet hold of obsession when they are unable to resist each other and can't shake the need for their perfect mate. They become consumed, obsessed with wanting each other, with fighting that need until it brings them to their knees and speeds them on to their happy ever after ending.
And what about the author? The person who writes their story? Does he or she need to be obsessed to create this storm of emotion? To force them together, tear them apart, crush them and finally reconcile them in a satisfying way?
There's no doubt about it in my mind. If I wasn't so obsessed with writing I'd never have finished writing a book in the first place. Or the next one and a couple more after that. I would never have submitted either.
So, do you agree? Do you have to have a bit of an obsession to be a writer? Or is there another way? My family might want to know at some stage.
Well, here endeth the lesson. Drop us a line if you'd like us to feature a particular word in the future, otherwise I get to choose again (yessss!). But you've been very patient, so as a treat I'm going to share my current hero obsession:
David ...
Sigh. He's been top of the list for a couple of years now, I really think I need a cure.
He's become a bit of an addiction actually. Now there's a good word.
Rachel Lyndhurst is one of our new Embrace Books authors, and will be launching her contemporary romance 'Storm's Heart' in early 2011.
