Writing Romance: Bad boys or Prince Charmings? Which do you prefer and/or write (but keep it sfw)

Leyelle 2024-08-14 14:36:09 UTC #61

Christopher is neither. He is adorkable and horrible horrible at carrying a conversation even with people he doesn't have a crush on, unless it's about anime or video games lol. However, his visual design IS inspired by the quintessential prince from a fairy tale

Leyelle 2024-09-03 14:26:08 UTC #62

I wonder if there's a third category of male lead that's equally common with "bad boy" and "prince charming." if there is one what category would you say is equally common with the other two?

iamanerd 2024-09-03 14:29:02 UTC #63

I personally think both are fun! I love writing shy characters coming out of their shell and complete jerks who probably need to be knocked down a peg or two.

My story allows me to explore all types of fun characters, The Game We Play, have three princes so I get to have the best of all worlds!

Leyelle 2024-09-22 13:18:30 UTC #64

Verner George leans a bit toward a bad boy in that he's impulsive and flirtatious, but all and all, he's not actually bad. He's loving, responsible and loyal to his wife, he's just also a tiny bit wild

pinkmiss523 2024-09-22 13:58:23 UTC #65

maybe the charming one? with a bit of a teaser and humor sense. also with some brain thanks.
I usually give some brain to my personages like the one i'm currently publishing ( my younger man is a woman) while working on my complexes ones.

Joisarjaydeep11 2024-09-29 06:10:10 UTC #66

Ofcourse, Bad boy with Charm.

The Sun - War of Gods Begins

Synopsis:

In a world where gods walks among the mortals, a young boy named Aryan is unexpectedly thrust into the divine realm, Following an untimely accident, he awakens not as the boy he once was, but as the Radiant Luminary—one of the most being in the world, The sun god- Aurelion Blaze.

As he grapples with his new existence, he uncovers a dangerous truth—gods are not the pinnacle of creation. An ancient race to ascend beyond even godhood has begun, with deities vying to steal each other’s authority.

Amid the chaos, alliances crumble, and a hidden war erupts, threatening to unravel the fabric of the universe. With powers far beyond his understanding and enemies on all sides, Orion must navigate this treacherous path, where even gods can fall. The war of Gods has begun.

Leyelle 2024-10-17 13:52:28 UTC #67

A bit of a cute bad boy moment with Kitty Kattar:

I force myself to smirk, trying to draw him back out again before he recedes entirely into his shadow. I don’t think about anything but the way his gaze seems to drop in increments until he’s just staring at his lap, his hands resting on his legs, but I hear my voice say teasingly, “I’ll give you one hint about what you’re getting. It’s your favorite color.”

“Boo,” he frowns, still not looking up, “the pink chocolates are the worst.”

“I never said I was getting you chocolate,” I start to laugh, this time genuinely, however subtle.

“But why not?” He looks up now, turning his palms upwards and shaking his head mildly at the ceiling like he’s pleading, albeit half-heartedly.

“You said I could get you anything, remember?” I smile, stealing the bag of pretzels from him casually as I sit back on my end of the couch.

“But when I said anything, I meant any flavor of chocolate, that wasn’t a pink one,” he tilts his head at me with just the trace of a pout.

“Well, that’s what you get for not saying what you want,” I grin, and stick my tongue out at him, before selecting a pretzel daintily.

Oh, these look like a combination of milk and dark chocolate…

I’ll leave the bitter ones for Kat.

Kattar smiles, now, just slightly, but sincerely, and I feel a warmth like mild sunshine wash me in comfort, if only for an instant, even as I recognize that sly energy that I pretend not to.

“Fine, do you know what I really want?” He tilts his head with that same subtle smile, crossing his arms over his cable-knit chest.

“What?” I ask slowly, as I cram as much of the pretzel as I can manage into my mouth to try to avoid dropping any crumbs on his couch.

“The other half of that pretzel you’re eating.”

He grins roguishly, and before I can say anything in response, he leans forward across the cushions, and bites off the other half of my pretzel, with a sort of half-kiss that turns my whole face burning red.

“Get your own!” I bluster, embarrassed and flustered in a sort of butterfly-ish flutter as he re-steals the pretzel bag and plops back against his pillows on the opposite end of the couch, “Give me that back!”

“Not on your life,” he grins, placing one of the pretzels between his teeth teasingly. “If you want it, come and get it.”

Oriflamme 2024-10-17 14:53:55 UTC #68

I prefer a Bad-boys over a Prince-charming, however they tend to be harder to do properly.
There is a fine line between Bad-Boy and just a terrible personne. It is something I try to do in my own story: Married to the Duke of the Abyss.

The titular Duke of the Abyss, is built as the archetypal Bad-Boy of a romance-fantasy story with a few curve balls thrown in for good measure to keep the reader on their toes.

aleja.x 2024-10-17 15:29:06 UTC #69

I def like to write and read about good boys, guys that are kind, loyal and sweet. Mr. Bingley from Pride and Prejudice is a good example (although Mr. Darcy is amazing too), also Mr. Tilney from Northanger Abbey is a good example. Bad boys are cool too (Anakin from Star Wars), and I can get behind them, but overall good boys are the best! Someone who is a kind, loving, and sweet guy!

Which is why in my own novel I have a good kind boy who is at first misunderstood!

MelancholicOtaku 2024-10-17 19:50:49 UTC #70

I don’t really have a preference between Bad boys or Prince Charmings. It depends on the story…as long the romantic pair has good chemistry between them then either one is fine for me.

For now I’ll leaning in the Prince Charming with a bit of adorable social awkwardness to him.

Elyn is trying to solve the mystery of her brother’s disappearance while also guiding souls to the afterlife.

Updates every Friday

king-goldfish 2024-10-17 20:24:24 UTC #71

I have a very strong preference for characters who defy the societal status quo in some way, so I guess that falls on the "bad boy" end of the spectrum. But it seems like the term bad boy is used more in the context of romance novels to mean a male character who is an asshole to his love interest and gets into random fights or something, idk. That is not what I like in a "bad boy" character. I just like characters who question the way things are and ask if that's the way things should be. I like rebels and outlaws.

I'm not someone who says those characters shouldn't exist and people shouldn't enjoy that archetype in their romance novels. I think there's room for every kind of asshole in fiction, and I do like finding out what makes assholes tick.

I'm less naturally interested in what makes a Prince Charming character so... nice, I guess? But I'm very interested in characters who start out nice, go bad, and then struggle to figure out who they actually are at the end of all of it.

In the end, we're all some kind of mix of Bad and Charming.

But really, I just want the Bad Boy and Prince Charming to smooch

Leyelle 2024-11-02 15:10:45 UTC #72

He has sharp teeth but I swear he's a good guy lol. A little bit of a flirt, but still good.

Leyelle 2024-11-30 13:46:24 UTC #73

Oh, this flirt has finally made his debut lol