Fiction Advice that RHYMES

Hello and welcome, O blog reader dear.

What’s with this rhyming? Please do not fear.

Within my writing expanse I enjoy

To take something simple, and then I employ

My bizarre inclination to add rhythm and rhyme.

I thought I’d do it here. Prob’ly only this time.

So, whether or not my rhyming is nice,

You probably came here for some advice.

Today comes an issue that I will address

That has caused my peace some undue duress.

I touched on it once in my other Inkitt post;

And it’s their one trend that upsets me the most.

It appears so often in manuscripts

That every Inkitt visitor trips

Over the topic whenever they visit

Inkitt’s “Most Popular” homepage. What is it,

This popular trend that one can’t help but see?

It's the theme of the “Alpha Wolf” story. Bear with me.

Most fantasy stories today seem to involve

A werewolf hierarchy, which will revolve

Around wolfish romance—“Alphas” finding a “mate”,

Et cetera, et cetera. So why do I hate it when

Someone brings up this whole “Alpha Wolf” tryst?

Simply because it…well, doesn’t exist.

This Alpha Wolf theory we find so attractive

Was based on a study of wolves that were captive.

Within their confines, the wolves form a structure

Where one holds authority over another.

When Schenkel and Mech made these observations,

We were too quick to apply it to human relations.

“If a human’s aggressive, it’s his wolf tendencies

To act as an alpha o’er all that he sees.

And in his love life—” Well, that’s where I’ll drop it,

But many books take it up from where I stop it.

Between captive and wild, though, there is a difference

That seems, in our fictions, not to have its due deference.

Now, when this research was applied to the wild,

It was found the relation was “parent” and “child.”

The old Alpha structure is a family tree,

With two parents exercising authority

Over their younger children. When the parent dies,

Their offspring—with his family—goes on the rise.

The wolfish leadership is not an instinct

For one type of wolf who will make others sink,

But rather a sign of a family head,

Who loses the throne only after he’s dead.

In your writing, this “Alpha Wolf” myth don’t misuse

For I’ll only see characters with daddy issues.

If you’re writing a romance, please do shun the dance

Of feebly, and falsely, excused “dominance.”

In real life, an “Alpha” is kind of a jerk.

So instead, a more human-like romance should work.

Anyway, thank you for visiting this blog.

I know it’s not easy, trying to slog

Through these endless couplets composed just for you

Only one or two days before they were due.

Have fun with your writing! Okay, now I’m done.

(But I’m not gonna lie…this rhyming was fun.)