Who’s driving?

I’ve been thinking about the qualities of the alpha males that we all love to read and I’ve been trying to decipher what the most important one is. Of course there are several, so it’s been a tough decision. But the one I’ve decided to blog about today is this: drive.
Our alpha male must be determined, he must have a goal and a purpose. In one novel he will usually be driving towards several goals, which is why I believe this quality is so important. He’ll be driving towards solving the mystery, saving the world, and/or taking down the bad guy. Sometimes there are personal goals with regards to friends, business, or family. And of course, the most important goal he is driving towards is: getting the girl.
It intrigues me because it sort of proves that without that fierce drive pushing him along we wouldn’t see the other qualities. We wouldn’t see his stubbornness or his arrogance. Without the drive being displayed we might not see how resiliant he is, when failure is merely a minor setback to be progressed from.
Usually our alpha male is hotness in a can, so with a perfect physique he must have the discipline required to work out hard, regularly, and push through the pain.
Perhaps the reason this is most interesting to me at the moment is that as a writer we must share so many of these qualities, a part of us must be this hero. We must push through to get the book written and edited. We must keep going despite failure and rejection. We have to continue our lives and fight our personal battles whilst continually maintaining that focus on what’s important and where we’re going. Alphas have to be optimistic and be able to face problems head on and come up with solutions, just like writers must.
I know a lot of us display these qualities in life, we have to, and these traits could be applied to many. But it’s important to point out that writers do write what they know, even if they’re coming at it from a very different angle.

Good luck on your adventures

xSx