I’ve really appreciated the examples of beauty that you Voices submitted this week! Here’s a few that really answer what true beauty is:

From Camille ~
When Ian firsts sees Emily, he has a strong reaction on two counts which tangle together and bother him because he intends to avoid involvement. First off, she is not the dumpy little spinster he always pictured her to be, which is very clear right off the bat because she’s young (28 is still thought young, right?) pretty and carries herself gracefully.. First thing he notices after “young and pretty” is her warm smile and soft, warm voice. Something he hasn’t been around for a long time.

(Susie here – that’s a vacancy, and a way that she “fills” it)

After spending a day and a half with her, he finds her intensely attractive. He is drawn to her tenderheartedness, she is very caring. She is quick with a genuine smile, cheerful (when she’s not worrying about someone) and a little playful. Laughs at his wry jokes.

(Susie here – the fact that he crack jokes and that she laughs at them is a sign of accentuating his strengths. He wants to be good natured…and it seems she adds to that).

But the thing that draws him deeper is something that starts off bothering him about her at first.

She is too gracious and forgiving of people who don’t deserve it, he thinks. He resents his late wife’s father and the fact that his wife’s desire to honor his wishes caused him pain, so Emily’s tendency to behave the same way is an issue for him at first.

She is also patient with people who have no excuse for being hard to put up with. He lives with someone who tests his patience daily. Of course, eventually, these are qualities he comes to admire and is once she’s lodged firmly in his heart, and he ends up changed by her influence. He can barely believe her faith when he first meets her, but with time, he is inspired by it.

(Susie’s final thoughts: These are all areas of weakness or vacancies for him, so the fact that she brings this to him, and in the end makes him a better person, reveals her true beauty and makes her irresistible!)

Here’s another great example from Jeannie:

Some of the things that my hero Sawyer finds attractive about my heroine Danielle, is her strength, her courage, her stubborness, and her calmness in a crisis. She may be terrified inside but she holds it together until she’s alone. Her acceptance of him, the like-mindedness they share, and her drive to do anything for her family. He loves the way she makes him feel. Like he can do anything.

(Susie – these are all great examples of accentuating his own strengths. It sounds like she is much like Sawyer – she is strong, even in the face of fear, and she builds on his desire to be a “super hero”)

He is attracted to her for her capability to commit, when he fears it.

(Susie – this is a great example, now of how she complements his weaknesses)

Remember – look at your beholder, and figure out what their vacancies and strengths are….and you’ll be able to determine what he/she will find beautiful.

Next week we’ll be talking using the GREATEST devices to find your black moment…and your happy ending. It’ll be pivotal to figure this out because your Hero is about to start off his journey, and we, the author, need to know into what peril he’s/she’s headed!

I’m skiing in Montana next week, so I won’t be around as much, but Rachel, my co-hort will be around Voices to talk about black moments and happy endings. See you on Monday!