Shanna Swendson's Blog, page 205
April 10, 2013
The Other Side of the Story
We had an equal number of men and women in ballet class last night, which is really rare for an adult class. However, we didn't get to do any pas de deux, because we'd probably kill the poor guys with flying elbows. At least, I would. Not intentionally, but sometimes I struggle with remembering what to do with my arms while I'm worrying about what to do with my legs and my feet.
Now, back to the ongoing romantic comedy discussion as we lead up to the release of book 7, in which I have some fun with romantic comedy tropes in a wacky fantasy way. While I was curled up on the sofa, watching bad movies during my weekend cold, I thought of yet another reason why some of the more recent romantic comedies are failing. There's a failure to consider both sides of the story.
To me, a romance is more satisfying if both characters have a story arc, if there's stuff both of them have to overcome and work on in order to be together. But even if it's just one character who learns A Valuable Lesson, I still need to know why both of them are in this relationship. The formula for a romantic story, whether comedic or dramatic, is pretty simple: you have to have a reason for them to come together in the first place, a reason why he would want to be with her, a reason why she would want to be with him, and something that keeps them from being fully together until the happy ending. The stronger the thing keeping them apart is -- the more hoops they have to jump through and obstacles they have to overcome -- the stronger their reasons for being together should be. Too many of the bad movies in recent years have focused almost exclusively on one person in the relationship (usually the heroine, because these are seen as women's films), without much thought about what's going on with the other person. He exists as a quest object without much say as to whether he really would want her or why he wants her. I think that comes back to the cynicism in the filmmakers who don't think their audiences will notice or care.
For example, there was the Lifetime movie I was watching over the weekend, a sort of Valentine's Day version of A Christmas Carol, in which a bitchy bridezilla with a very mercenary attitude about relationships gets given a tour of her past, present and future Valentine's Days on the eve of her Valentine's Day wedding to a hunky lawyer. In the past, we see their first date, in which he takes her to a jazz club and starts talking about his love of music and how he really wanted to be a musician -- he plays jazz piano -- but he felt pressured by his parents into becoming a lawyer. She sneers at the idea of being a musician, talking about how musicians are total losers who seldom make any real money and never grow up, then switches the conversation to talking about how successful (and rich) he is as a lawyer and what a great car he drives. Of course, the point of the scene is to show the attitude she needs to change, but all I could think of was wondering why he even asked her out on a second date, let alone asked her to marry him. She wasn't hiding what she was or how she felt, so why on earth did he get involved with someone that obnoxious who didn't want to talk about his greatest passion and made it clear she was mostly interested in his paycheck? What did it say about him that he willingly got into a relationship that he planned to make permanent with someone he had to hide an important part of himself from? (We later learned that when he was "working late" he was playing piano with a jazz band and hiding it from her because he knew she wouldn't approve, and he felt he had to quit the band when he got married.) All I could think was that she must have put out on the first date and been absolutely amazing in bed. He certainly never articulated what he was getting out of the relationship that made it worth giving up something he loved. So, yeah, she learned she had to love him for something other than money, and all that, but why did he want to be with her?
This is similar to another bad romantic comedy trope, the triangle where the Miss Wrong is a raging bitch. The general set-up (and, boy, was this popular in chick lit books) was that the heroine is some mousy (Hollywood version, which means totally cute), sweet, loyal person who's in love with the hero, who doesn't seem to notice her that way, even though he really likes her and enjoys being with her. But he's in a relationship with someone else, who's a very high-maintenance bitch who makes his life miserable and is generally awful to everyone, especially the heroine. Some circumstances contrive for him to have to spend enough time with the heroine to fall in love with her, but there's still the bitch to deal with. Think Working Girl. But I always wonder what it says about him that he'd date someone like that and put up with the way she treats him and other people. If he's realized what she's like and has figured out that's not what he wants, why is he so spineless as to not do something about it? I know why writers fall back on this -- if your heroine is essentially the "other woman," then she looks awful if she's getting in the way of a relationship with a good person, so by making the other person look awful, the heroine looks better. But someone can be a decent human being and still be the wrong match. That's just a lot trickier to write, but if it's done well, it can be even more emotional because someone is choosing between two good things rather than the obvious good vs. bad choice.
And then there's my pet peeve: the misunderstanding plot, in which the heroine sees or learns about something the hero has done -- he's seen with another woman, he does something work-related that she doesn't like -- and immediately breaks up with him without discussing it or even being willing to listen to his side of the story. Then when she learns the truth that he was totally innocent, all is forgiven. But the story doesn't consider whether he's okay. Would he want to be with someone so eager to jump to the worst possible conclusion about him? Would it be wise to be in a relationship with someone whose way of dealing with problems is to just walk away without even talking to him or telling him what's wrong?
No matter how happy the ending seems, if this sort of thing is happening, I find myself thinking, "Yeah, that's not gonna last."
Now, back to the ongoing romantic comedy discussion as we lead up to the release of book 7, in which I have some fun with romantic comedy tropes in a wacky fantasy way. While I was curled up on the sofa, watching bad movies during my weekend cold, I thought of yet another reason why some of the more recent romantic comedies are failing. There's a failure to consider both sides of the story.
To me, a romance is more satisfying if both characters have a story arc, if there's stuff both of them have to overcome and work on in order to be together. But even if it's just one character who learns A Valuable Lesson, I still need to know why both of them are in this relationship. The formula for a romantic story, whether comedic or dramatic, is pretty simple: you have to have a reason for them to come together in the first place, a reason why he would want to be with her, a reason why she would want to be with him, and something that keeps them from being fully together until the happy ending. The stronger the thing keeping them apart is -- the more hoops they have to jump through and obstacles they have to overcome -- the stronger their reasons for being together should be. Too many of the bad movies in recent years have focused almost exclusively on one person in the relationship (usually the heroine, because these are seen as women's films), without much thought about what's going on with the other person. He exists as a quest object without much say as to whether he really would want her or why he wants her. I think that comes back to the cynicism in the filmmakers who don't think their audiences will notice or care.
For example, there was the Lifetime movie I was watching over the weekend, a sort of Valentine's Day version of A Christmas Carol, in which a bitchy bridezilla with a very mercenary attitude about relationships gets given a tour of her past, present and future Valentine's Days on the eve of her Valentine's Day wedding to a hunky lawyer. In the past, we see their first date, in which he takes her to a jazz club and starts talking about his love of music and how he really wanted to be a musician -- he plays jazz piano -- but he felt pressured by his parents into becoming a lawyer. She sneers at the idea of being a musician, talking about how musicians are total losers who seldom make any real money and never grow up, then switches the conversation to talking about how successful (and rich) he is as a lawyer and what a great car he drives. Of course, the point of the scene is to show the attitude she needs to change, but all I could think of was wondering why he even asked her out on a second date, let alone asked her to marry him. She wasn't hiding what she was or how she felt, so why on earth did he get involved with someone that obnoxious who didn't want to talk about his greatest passion and made it clear she was mostly interested in his paycheck? What did it say about him that he willingly got into a relationship that he planned to make permanent with someone he had to hide an important part of himself from? (We later learned that when he was "working late" he was playing piano with a jazz band and hiding it from her because he knew she wouldn't approve, and he felt he had to quit the band when he got married.) All I could think was that she must have put out on the first date and been absolutely amazing in bed. He certainly never articulated what he was getting out of the relationship that made it worth giving up something he loved. So, yeah, she learned she had to love him for something other than money, and all that, but why did he want to be with her?
This is similar to another bad romantic comedy trope, the triangle where the Miss Wrong is a raging bitch. The general set-up (and, boy, was this popular in chick lit books) was that the heroine is some mousy (Hollywood version, which means totally cute), sweet, loyal person who's in love with the hero, who doesn't seem to notice her that way, even though he really likes her and enjoys being with her. But he's in a relationship with someone else, who's a very high-maintenance bitch who makes his life miserable and is generally awful to everyone, especially the heroine. Some circumstances contrive for him to have to spend enough time with the heroine to fall in love with her, but there's still the bitch to deal with. Think Working Girl. But I always wonder what it says about him that he'd date someone like that and put up with the way she treats him and other people. If he's realized what she's like and has figured out that's not what he wants, why is he so spineless as to not do something about it? I know why writers fall back on this -- if your heroine is essentially the "other woman," then she looks awful if she's getting in the way of a relationship with a good person, so by making the other person look awful, the heroine looks better. But someone can be a decent human being and still be the wrong match. That's just a lot trickier to write, but if it's done well, it can be even more emotional because someone is choosing between two good things rather than the obvious good vs. bad choice.
And then there's my pet peeve: the misunderstanding plot, in which the heroine sees or learns about something the hero has done -- he's seen with another woman, he does something work-related that she doesn't like -- and immediately breaks up with him without discussing it or even being willing to listen to his side of the story. Then when she learns the truth that he was totally innocent, all is forgiven. But the story doesn't consider whether he's okay. Would he want to be with someone so eager to jump to the worst possible conclusion about him? Would it be wise to be in a relationship with someone whose way of dealing with problems is to just walk away without even talking to him or telling him what's wrong?
No matter how happy the ending seems, if this sort of thing is happening, I find myself thinking, "Yeah, that's not gonna last."
April 9, 2013
Romance, Fantasy and Related Topics
I managed to accomplish a couple of things yesterday, but not as much as I wanted to. Then again, reading for market research does count as work, and I was meanwhile playing iTunes roulette to see if any songs sparked ideas for the next book. There were also occasional knitting breaks, though I think the blanket keeps shrinking as I get closer to what should be the end. I've passed the point where the pattern said to end it, but the pattern is for a throw and I want to use it for a blanket that covers my whole body, so since I have the yarn, I'm continuing until it's the right length. So, every time I reach the point in the pattern where I have to decide whether to go on or finish, I take it to the bedroom, lie down and throw it over myself to see how it fits. Every time, I calculate that one more repetition of the pattern should do it, and then the next time I check, it still needs one more. Today, though, I must get down to business. Really. I even feel mildly energized.
But in the past week or so there has been reading. First was something that I got from the library before I went on my current mainstream vs. fantasy market research binge, Keeping the Castle by Patrice Kindl. This one caught my eye on a library display because there was a castle on the cover (I love castles), and then there was a blurb on the cover saying something about how fans of I Capture the Castle would love it. So, I grabbed it. But in my skimming of the cover, I somehow got the impression that it had fantasy elements and was practically drooling in anticipation of something like I Capture the Castle with magic, but when I got around to reading it, I wasn't sure where I got that impression (possibly from a review blurb that used a word like "enchanting") (and you probably know what comes next -- ooh, I'll have to write it, then). Then I found the opening very disconcerting because I was picturing a 1930s setting but everyone was talking like they were in a Jane Austen novel. Finally, someone mentioned a current event and I realized this was set in the Regency period, not in the 1930s, so I had to reboot the brain. I noticed that the paperback cover on Amazon shows a girl in a Regency dress instead of a castle, but even there I'm not sure it would have put me in the right mindset because the skirt is all spread-out, making it look full, and the hairstyle is more 1930s than Regency. I would also say that I Capture the Castle isn't the best comparison. While I enjoyed both books, the only thing they really have in common is living in genteel poverty in a crumbling castle. This book doesn't strike the same fancy for me as I Capture the Castle, where the appeal was the coming-of-age story with the pain of unrequited love and the realization that there was a whole circle of unrequited love, with nobody loving the person who was convenient for them.
However, this turned out to be a very fun Regency romance that was essentially a mash-up of Pride and Prejudice and Emma, with a dash of Cinderella. Our Heroine lives in a crumbling castle with her twice-widowed mother, her baby brother (who is technically the owner of the castle) and her two nasty stepsisters from her mother's second marriage. The only way to save the family home for her brother and future generations is for her to marry someone with enough money to do repairs and upkeep. Fortunately, the old baron has just died and his heir is a handsome young man who brings all his handsome, rich friends to town for lots of parties, balls and hunting trips. Unfortunately, the nasty (and wealthy but not sharing) stepsisters are after the same men and the baron's cousin and closest friend has no manners, is rather geeky, with a compelling urge to see how things work and an alarming tendency to break them when he does so, and he doesn't seem all that keen on his cousin having much to do with Our Heroine. Pride and Prejudice ensues, but she tries to resolve the situation by playing Emma. This was published and shelved as YA, but it's essentially a traditional Regency romance, so it's something to look for if you're a fan of the Jane Austen or Georgette Heyer kind of book and miss the Regency romances like that before it turned into the fat, sexy historical romances in Regency clothes.
Meanwhile, I'm still working my way through A Discovery of Witches, and at the 2/3-3/4 point I have to say that if I were a publisher, I would classify it as upmarket paranormal romance, and to reach the broadest potential audience, I'd shelve it as general fiction. I think it's more romance than fantasy because, so far, the main plot seems to be the developing relationship between the hero and heroine, with the fantasy elements mostly serving as a catalyst for them to meet and get to know each other, and then as a complication and conflict to keep them from living Happily Ever After right now. The fantasy part of the story is mostly treated as a subplot and as something they'll have to resolve in order to get their Happily Ever After. But I think it tends to be more of a romance for people who don't really like romance novels, with the emphasis more on the intellectual and emotional aspects of the relationship than on the sexual side of things (at this point in the book, there's been one "heavy petting" scene, and a lot of the core paranormal romance audience would be disappointed in that). Plus, all the talk about history, science and wine gives it a sophisticated sheen that makes the fantasy and romance more acceptable to the "I don't read that sort of thing" snobs. The fantasy and romance fans who might like this sort of thing are more likely to find it regardless of where it's shelved.
But I may not really be able to take the book seriously enough to get too deeply into it because at about the midway point, I had an epiphany: This is a highbrow Twilight for grown-up history nerds. We've got our heroine who doesn't think she's anything special but who turns out to be the specialist special ever. We've got our sexy and wealthy vampire hero who recognizes her specialness, falls in love with her at first sight, is intoxicated by her unique scent, and is so overcome with desire for her that he has to go hunting and stalk an animal in order to bear to be around her. He stalks her (for her own safety) and loves watching her eat and sleep. He's part of a family clan that he introduces her to, and they become protective of her. There's a lot of "I'm too dangerous for you" "I'm not afraid" "I am a predator, and to me you are prey" "but I trust you" type conversations, and he delays sex even though she's eager for it. When she falls for him, her life revolves around him, to the point that when he leaves town for a few days, she melts into puddles of grief (like, literally). Once I started seeing it, I couldn't not see the parallels, and now I find myself reading more for spotting the Twilight comparisons than I am for the actual story.
On the upside, so far there's no lame triangle (though with at least two more books in the series, I guess she has time to meet someone else), the vampire doesn't sparkle, he's done more with his unnaturally long life than stay in high school for a century, and the heroine has powers of her own. I even kind of like the vampire character. Aside from him being a vampire and a bit of an "alpha male" type jerk, he at least is a craftsman/knight/soldier/physician/scholar/scientist, which is an intriguing combination. Now I'm curious if this is perhaps a more sophisticated "Ha, I can write better than that" Twilight rewrite/fanfic with the serial numbers filed off or if it's just that if you're writing a romance involving a vampire, you're going to hit certain universal beats.
At any rate, wherever this was shelved, it makes me feel better about my book because it has more fantasy and less romance, so it could fit well in fantasy if this is considered fantasy, but there's still enough fantasy in this that if it's shelved as mainstream, my book wouldn't be out of place there. And now I need to finish my final read and get it to my agent so she can submit it.
But in the past week or so there has been reading. First was something that I got from the library before I went on my current mainstream vs. fantasy market research binge, Keeping the Castle by Patrice Kindl. This one caught my eye on a library display because there was a castle on the cover (I love castles), and then there was a blurb on the cover saying something about how fans of I Capture the Castle would love it. So, I grabbed it. But in my skimming of the cover, I somehow got the impression that it had fantasy elements and was practically drooling in anticipation of something like I Capture the Castle with magic, but when I got around to reading it, I wasn't sure where I got that impression (possibly from a review blurb that used a word like "enchanting") (and you probably know what comes next -- ooh, I'll have to write it, then). Then I found the opening very disconcerting because I was picturing a 1930s setting but everyone was talking like they were in a Jane Austen novel. Finally, someone mentioned a current event and I realized this was set in the Regency period, not in the 1930s, so I had to reboot the brain. I noticed that the paperback cover on Amazon shows a girl in a Regency dress instead of a castle, but even there I'm not sure it would have put me in the right mindset because the skirt is all spread-out, making it look full, and the hairstyle is more 1930s than Regency. I would also say that I Capture the Castle isn't the best comparison. While I enjoyed both books, the only thing they really have in common is living in genteel poverty in a crumbling castle. This book doesn't strike the same fancy for me as I Capture the Castle, where the appeal was the coming-of-age story with the pain of unrequited love and the realization that there was a whole circle of unrequited love, with nobody loving the person who was convenient for them.
However, this turned out to be a very fun Regency romance that was essentially a mash-up of Pride and Prejudice and Emma, with a dash of Cinderella. Our Heroine lives in a crumbling castle with her twice-widowed mother, her baby brother (who is technically the owner of the castle) and her two nasty stepsisters from her mother's second marriage. The only way to save the family home for her brother and future generations is for her to marry someone with enough money to do repairs and upkeep. Fortunately, the old baron has just died and his heir is a handsome young man who brings all his handsome, rich friends to town for lots of parties, balls and hunting trips. Unfortunately, the nasty (and wealthy but not sharing) stepsisters are after the same men and the baron's cousin and closest friend has no manners, is rather geeky, with a compelling urge to see how things work and an alarming tendency to break them when he does so, and he doesn't seem all that keen on his cousin having much to do with Our Heroine. Pride and Prejudice ensues, but she tries to resolve the situation by playing Emma. This was published and shelved as YA, but it's essentially a traditional Regency romance, so it's something to look for if you're a fan of the Jane Austen or Georgette Heyer kind of book and miss the Regency romances like that before it turned into the fat, sexy historical romances in Regency clothes.
Meanwhile, I'm still working my way through A Discovery of Witches, and at the 2/3-3/4 point I have to say that if I were a publisher, I would classify it as upmarket paranormal romance, and to reach the broadest potential audience, I'd shelve it as general fiction. I think it's more romance than fantasy because, so far, the main plot seems to be the developing relationship between the hero and heroine, with the fantasy elements mostly serving as a catalyst for them to meet and get to know each other, and then as a complication and conflict to keep them from living Happily Ever After right now. The fantasy part of the story is mostly treated as a subplot and as something they'll have to resolve in order to get their Happily Ever After. But I think it tends to be more of a romance for people who don't really like romance novels, with the emphasis more on the intellectual and emotional aspects of the relationship than on the sexual side of things (at this point in the book, there's been one "heavy petting" scene, and a lot of the core paranormal romance audience would be disappointed in that). Plus, all the talk about history, science and wine gives it a sophisticated sheen that makes the fantasy and romance more acceptable to the "I don't read that sort of thing" snobs. The fantasy and romance fans who might like this sort of thing are more likely to find it regardless of where it's shelved.
But I may not really be able to take the book seriously enough to get too deeply into it because at about the midway point, I had an epiphany: This is a highbrow Twilight for grown-up history nerds. We've got our heroine who doesn't think she's anything special but who turns out to be the specialist special ever. We've got our sexy and wealthy vampire hero who recognizes her specialness, falls in love with her at first sight, is intoxicated by her unique scent, and is so overcome with desire for her that he has to go hunting and stalk an animal in order to bear to be around her. He stalks her (for her own safety) and loves watching her eat and sleep. He's part of a family clan that he introduces her to, and they become protective of her. There's a lot of "I'm too dangerous for you" "I'm not afraid" "I am a predator, and to me you are prey" "but I trust you" type conversations, and he delays sex even though she's eager for it. When she falls for him, her life revolves around him, to the point that when he leaves town for a few days, she melts into puddles of grief (like, literally). Once I started seeing it, I couldn't not see the parallels, and now I find myself reading more for spotting the Twilight comparisons than I am for the actual story.
On the upside, so far there's no lame triangle (though with at least two more books in the series, I guess she has time to meet someone else), the vampire doesn't sparkle, he's done more with his unnaturally long life than stay in high school for a century, and the heroine has powers of her own. I even kind of like the vampire character. Aside from him being a vampire and a bit of an "alpha male" type jerk, he at least is a craftsman/knight/soldier/physician/scholar/scientist, which is an intriguing combination. Now I'm curious if this is perhaps a more sophisticated "Ha, I can write better than that" Twilight rewrite/fanfic with the serial numbers filed off or if it's just that if you're writing a romance involving a vampire, you're going to hit certain universal beats.
At any rate, wherever this was shelved, it makes me feel better about my book because it has more fantasy and less romance, so it could fit well in fantasy if this is considered fantasy, but there's still enough fantasy in this that if it's shelved as mainstream, my book wouldn't be out of place there. And now I need to finish my final read and get it to my agent so she can submit it.
April 8, 2013
Cold Medicine and Crazy Movies
I think I'm just about over the cold. I'm just tired today. This was an odd cold because it came in phases. Thursday was the constant dripping. Friday added constant sneezing with a slight drip. Saturday was the stuffy day, with occasional sneezing and dripping. Sunday I had bits of all those symptoms, but milder, but with a fever. For a cold, it wasn't as miserable as it could have been. I did some reading, a lot of knitting (I'm almost done with the blanket) and watched some awful movies. There's something about being sick that makes me crave bad movies that I wouldn't be able to tolerate at any other time. Fortunately, there's Lifetime Movie Network OnDemand.
Some of these movies are so insane that they come back around to amazing. Like, there was this one where Molly Ringwald (!) is an unlucky in love small-town lawyer who's bemoaning her latest break-up over the phone to her best friend, and just when her friend tells her that when she's least expecting it, the perfect man will fall into her life, a badly injured man stumbles into her main street law office and collapses. Later at the hospital, she learns that he has a head injury but should be okay -- but he has no memory of who he is. He also has no ID. But the hospital can't just keep him around, so they're going to release him even though he has nowhere to go. So, she takes a leap of faith and brings him home with her, where he proves to be the perfect man, cooking and cleaning and complimenting her. Even better, when the "Lost Man" article with his photo appears in the local newspaper, a young pregnant woman comes forward to say she knows what happened to him -- a big, scary man was attacking her and this guy defended her so she could escape, but must have been injured in the process. But then just as Molly is falling in love with him, the publicity from the hero story brings in a lot of attention -- and his wife. And then just as Molly is bravely giving him up because she won't stand in the way of his marriage, another woman shows up, claiming to be his wife, too. Since the movie started in romantic comedy mode, I thought it would be wacky hijinks of women coming out of the woodwork to claim the amnesia patient as their husband until she figured out he wasn't really married to any of them, but it turned out this was all for real.
So then the local DA decides to make her career and get publicity by charging and trying him for bigamy and tax fraud, and our heroine Molly decides to defend him, with the creative defense that after the injury he's a completely different person, and therefore can't be held accountable for the crimes he committed previously. Though I think if she were a truly clever lawyer, she'd have questioned her town's jurisdiction over the case, since wouldn't he have to be tried in the jurisdiction where the crime occurred, not just the place he happened to be when it was discovered? And would tax fraud even be tried in the same court? If he was claiming both wives as dependents, that might be fraud, but they'd have to prove bigamy, then audit his returns, and then charge with tax fraud. It wouldn't be done in the same trial. So, anyway, it gets more and more insane, and I'm yelling at Molly to listen to one of the expert witnesses about how bigamists tend to be charming sociopaths who easily sway people into doing things for them but who don't care about how their actions affect other people, because, seriously, dude is way over the top with his devotion for her and you just know a twist is coming.
But, you know, that wasn't nearly as insanely cracktastic as the "real" movie I watched Sunday afternoon, Snow White and the Huntsman. I mean, there were Oscar winners in it, but otherwise it was a fantasy cheese Saturday-night SyFy movie with better production values. I think they must have used a script intended for a fantasy cheese movie (which means maybe I should raise my screenwriting ambition horizons -- maybe my fantasy cheese movie could get the big-screen treatment!). It's a good thing I didn't see this movie at the theater because I'd have annoyed the other patrons by talking back to the screen.
This movie was worthy of its own Stealth Geek rant.
Now, though, since I had yet another work anxiety dream last night (a client I forgot I had was going to a trade show this week, and I wasn't ready), I'm going to try to get some writing work done today. I'm tired and weak, but sitting and reading counts as resting.
Some of these movies are so insane that they come back around to amazing. Like, there was this one where Molly Ringwald (!) is an unlucky in love small-town lawyer who's bemoaning her latest break-up over the phone to her best friend, and just when her friend tells her that when she's least expecting it, the perfect man will fall into her life, a badly injured man stumbles into her main street law office and collapses. Later at the hospital, she learns that he has a head injury but should be okay -- but he has no memory of who he is. He also has no ID. But the hospital can't just keep him around, so they're going to release him even though he has nowhere to go. So, she takes a leap of faith and brings him home with her, where he proves to be the perfect man, cooking and cleaning and complimenting her. Even better, when the "Lost Man" article with his photo appears in the local newspaper, a young pregnant woman comes forward to say she knows what happened to him -- a big, scary man was attacking her and this guy defended her so she could escape, but must have been injured in the process. But then just as Molly is falling in love with him, the publicity from the hero story brings in a lot of attention -- and his wife. And then just as Molly is bravely giving him up because she won't stand in the way of his marriage, another woman shows up, claiming to be his wife, too. Since the movie started in romantic comedy mode, I thought it would be wacky hijinks of women coming out of the woodwork to claim the amnesia patient as their husband until she figured out he wasn't really married to any of them, but it turned out this was all for real.
So then the local DA decides to make her career and get publicity by charging and trying him for bigamy and tax fraud, and our heroine Molly decides to defend him, with the creative defense that after the injury he's a completely different person, and therefore can't be held accountable for the crimes he committed previously. Though I think if she were a truly clever lawyer, she'd have questioned her town's jurisdiction over the case, since wouldn't he have to be tried in the jurisdiction where the crime occurred, not just the place he happened to be when it was discovered? And would tax fraud even be tried in the same court? If he was claiming both wives as dependents, that might be fraud, but they'd have to prove bigamy, then audit his returns, and then charge with tax fraud. It wouldn't be done in the same trial. So, anyway, it gets more and more insane, and I'm yelling at Molly to listen to one of the expert witnesses about how bigamists tend to be charming sociopaths who easily sway people into doing things for them but who don't care about how their actions affect other people, because, seriously, dude is way over the top with his devotion for her and you just know a twist is coming.
But, you know, that wasn't nearly as insanely cracktastic as the "real" movie I watched Sunday afternoon, Snow White and the Huntsman. I mean, there were Oscar winners in it, but otherwise it was a fantasy cheese Saturday-night SyFy movie with better production values. I think they must have used a script intended for a fantasy cheese movie (which means maybe I should raise my screenwriting ambition horizons -- maybe my fantasy cheese movie could get the big-screen treatment!). It's a good thing I didn't see this movie at the theater because I'd have annoyed the other patrons by talking back to the screen.
This movie was worthy of its own Stealth Geek rant.
Now, though, since I had yet another work anxiety dream last night (a client I forgot I had was going to a trade show this week, and I wasn't ready), I'm going to try to get some writing work done today. I'm tired and weak, but sitting and reading counts as resting.
April 5, 2013
Magical Realism
Yesterday's sniffles seem to have been the harbinger of a cold, which ruined my plans for the day. I'm reminded of back when I was in school (or when I had a regular office job). There were days when I had no pressing reason to be at school or work and it was a perfect day for staying home and reading, and I could turn a few minor symptoms into a serious illness. But then there were the days when I was sick on a day when there was something going on at school or work that I wanted to be there for, and I'd keep telling myself that I was getting better, and maybe I could pull myself together and make it. I was supposed to go hiking/geocaching today, and it's the perfect weather for it (which is also the wrong weather for a reading day), so if I go five minutes without a sniffle or sneeze, I find myself thinking that maybe I could go, after all. And then I'll sneeze or cough. It really would be wise for me to take it easy today so I can maybe get over this quicker. I also think there should be a limit as to the number of colds any one person can get each year. I've had more than my fair share, and I wouldn't want to be greedy.
But I did get a lot of reading done yesterday, since always needing a hand free for tissues made knitting challenging. I've decided that the kind of fantasy women's fiction that's more magical realism can be rather frustrating. I enjoy it while I'm reading, but then I start thinking about it and I get annoyed by all the "was it really magic?" loose ends. As a fantasy reader, when I see something supernatural in a book, I take it at face value rather than thinking of it as metaphor or symbolism or some psychological thing (I nearly threw Life of Pi across the room when I got to the end and got the "explanation."). If there's magic, I want it to make sense as magic. I want to know how it works, where it comes from, what the rules and limits are. The vague "it's odd, but we don't really think too much about it or question it, and it may just be symbolic" magical realism thing leaves me unsatisfied. Plus, a lot of the time, if it isn't magic, if that's just in the minds of the characters, then there tend to be a lot of staggering coincidences. They work if there's magic, because something is making it happen, but if there isn't magic, it's very contrived.
Does anyone know where A Discovery of Witches is shelved in bookstores? I've started reading it, and it reads like flat-out fantasy (with a strong helping of paranormal romance), with magic, witches, vampires, etc., and the writing being more genre style than literary. My library put a "fantasy" sticker on it (it has "witch" in the title), but all the author blurbs on the cover are from literary authors. It's showing up on the fantasy and horror Amazon bestseller lists, but I recall it getting mainstream/literary treatment when it was released. It shows up in the "people who bought this also bought" lists for both the books I know were published as fantasy and the books I know were published as mainstream women's fiction.
Now I'm going to go pretend it's gray and rainy and spend the day on the sofa with a book, some tea and the tissue box.
But I did get a lot of reading done yesterday, since always needing a hand free for tissues made knitting challenging. I've decided that the kind of fantasy women's fiction that's more magical realism can be rather frustrating. I enjoy it while I'm reading, but then I start thinking about it and I get annoyed by all the "was it really magic?" loose ends. As a fantasy reader, when I see something supernatural in a book, I take it at face value rather than thinking of it as metaphor or symbolism or some psychological thing (I nearly threw Life of Pi across the room when I got to the end and got the "explanation."). If there's magic, I want it to make sense as magic. I want to know how it works, where it comes from, what the rules and limits are. The vague "it's odd, but we don't really think too much about it or question it, and it may just be symbolic" magical realism thing leaves me unsatisfied. Plus, a lot of the time, if it isn't magic, if that's just in the minds of the characters, then there tend to be a lot of staggering coincidences. They work if there's magic, because something is making it happen, but if there isn't magic, it's very contrived.
Does anyone know where A Discovery of Witches is shelved in bookstores? I've started reading it, and it reads like flat-out fantasy (with a strong helping of paranormal romance), with magic, witches, vampires, etc., and the writing being more genre style than literary. My library put a "fantasy" sticker on it (it has "witch" in the title), but all the author blurbs on the cover are from literary authors. It's showing up on the fantasy and horror Amazon bestseller lists, but I recall it getting mainstream/literary treatment when it was released. It shows up in the "people who bought this also bought" lists for both the books I know were published as fantasy and the books I know were published as mainstream women's fiction.
Now I'm going to go pretend it's gray and rainy and spend the day on the sofa with a book, some tea and the tissue box.
April 4, 2013
Market Research (and other excuses for reading)
First, a happy birthday to my aunt (she'll know who she is if she sees this).
I think today will be a mostly reading day because I have a raging case of the sniffles (very annoying) and it's cool and gray and I went on a library binge last night. As I get ready to submit the book I've been working on, I've been doing some market research. My agent and I have discussed whether this book best fits as women's fiction with fantasy elements or as contemporary fantasy. On the women's fiction side of things, that's where my earlier books were shelved (even if that was a problem for allowing the people most likely to like that sort of thing to find them), there's a strong theme of sisterhood and family responsibilities woven into the fantasy elements, and the fantasy elements may not be as "heavy" as what the fantasy houses are currently looking for. On the fantasy side of things, that's where I feel I fit best, I don't think my writing really fits what's currently considered women's fiction, and I think there's way too much fantasy to really fit in there.
So, I spent some time yesterday looking up the books in fantasy I feel are most similar to mine and tracking the "people who bought this also bought this" rabbit trail on Amazon. Then I looked up a few authors I know are doing fantasy elements in women's fiction and tracked that rabbit trail, and then I got some representative books out of the library.
This is made more challenging by the fact that it's sometimes hard to tell where a book fits at a publishing house. Sometimes I can tell by imprint, but sometimes hardcovers come out of the "hardcover" part of the house, which includes all genres. The B&N web site includes a mix of categories, while the Amazon site doesn't seem to include that information unless the book is on a category bestseller list, and there they can also include it in multiple categories. All the bookstores near me have closed, so I can't run to the neighborhood B&N and see where a book is shelved. My library slaps a unicorn "fantasy" sticker on the spine of every book with a word associated with any fantasy element in the title (and sometimes they're wrong to a hilarious extent). About the closest I can come to figuring out the target audience is the authors giving endorsement blurbs on the cover -- if it's a bunch of women's fiction or literary authors, it's probably shelved in mainstream fiction, but if it's fantasy authors, it's probably shelved in fantasy.
Then again, this probably erases that distinction of which category to go in because it will only matter in physical bookstores and it can be both online. The main difference is the editors I'd deal with, the store placement, the kind of promotion they'd do, and me having to persuade people who sell books at conventions or the genre specialty bookstores that the book really is fantasy, even if it's classified as "mainstream."
One of my fears was that my writing really wasn't up to the same standard as the more literary stuff or the bookclub fodder. I'm very plot driven and focus less on the wordsmithing and theme and metaphor and stuff like that. But selling a young adult book to a more literary imprint has made me think twice about that. I think this book is more "crafted" even though I still don't think I have a literary voice. The magic and fairies in my book are really, literally magic and fairies and not a metaphor for sex, love, power, family or anything like that. You could probably get some book club discussion going about a lot of the issues in this book, and those are the kinds of books that get shelved at places like Target and in airport bookstores. And so, I grabbed up a bunch of what I think may be fantasy or paranormal books published as mainstream book club fodder to see if I can assess how my book might really fit in.
Of course, my agent does her own research and knows the editors and their preferences, but it's my career and I'd like to be able to offer my informed input. Plus, it's a good excuse to spend the day reading and still consider it "work." And I'm still recovering from last night, when we had to combine the preschool and kindergarten choirs because one of the preschool leaders had a family emergency, so we had around 20 little kids in one room, all going slightly wild and crazy because things were different.
I think today will be a mostly reading day because I have a raging case of the sniffles (very annoying) and it's cool and gray and I went on a library binge last night. As I get ready to submit the book I've been working on, I've been doing some market research. My agent and I have discussed whether this book best fits as women's fiction with fantasy elements or as contemporary fantasy. On the women's fiction side of things, that's where my earlier books were shelved (even if that was a problem for allowing the people most likely to like that sort of thing to find them), there's a strong theme of sisterhood and family responsibilities woven into the fantasy elements, and the fantasy elements may not be as "heavy" as what the fantasy houses are currently looking for. On the fantasy side of things, that's where I feel I fit best, I don't think my writing really fits what's currently considered women's fiction, and I think there's way too much fantasy to really fit in there.
So, I spent some time yesterday looking up the books in fantasy I feel are most similar to mine and tracking the "people who bought this also bought this" rabbit trail on Amazon. Then I looked up a few authors I know are doing fantasy elements in women's fiction and tracked that rabbit trail, and then I got some representative books out of the library.
This is made more challenging by the fact that it's sometimes hard to tell where a book fits at a publishing house. Sometimes I can tell by imprint, but sometimes hardcovers come out of the "hardcover" part of the house, which includes all genres. The B&N web site includes a mix of categories, while the Amazon site doesn't seem to include that information unless the book is on a category bestseller list, and there they can also include it in multiple categories. All the bookstores near me have closed, so I can't run to the neighborhood B&N and see where a book is shelved. My library slaps a unicorn "fantasy" sticker on the spine of every book with a word associated with any fantasy element in the title (and sometimes they're wrong to a hilarious extent). About the closest I can come to figuring out the target audience is the authors giving endorsement blurbs on the cover -- if it's a bunch of women's fiction or literary authors, it's probably shelved in mainstream fiction, but if it's fantasy authors, it's probably shelved in fantasy.
Then again, this probably erases that distinction of which category to go in because it will only matter in physical bookstores and it can be both online. The main difference is the editors I'd deal with, the store placement, the kind of promotion they'd do, and me having to persuade people who sell books at conventions or the genre specialty bookstores that the book really is fantasy, even if it's classified as "mainstream."
One of my fears was that my writing really wasn't up to the same standard as the more literary stuff or the bookclub fodder. I'm very plot driven and focus less on the wordsmithing and theme and metaphor and stuff like that. But selling a young adult book to a more literary imprint has made me think twice about that. I think this book is more "crafted" even though I still don't think I have a literary voice. The magic and fairies in my book are really, literally magic and fairies and not a metaphor for sex, love, power, family or anything like that. You could probably get some book club discussion going about a lot of the issues in this book, and those are the kinds of books that get shelved at places like Target and in airport bookstores. And so, I grabbed up a bunch of what I think may be fantasy or paranormal books published as mainstream book club fodder to see if I can assess how my book might really fit in.
Of course, my agent does her own research and knows the editors and their preferences, but it's my career and I'd like to be able to offer my informed input. Plus, it's a good excuse to spend the day reading and still consider it "work." And I'm still recovering from last night, when we had to combine the preschool and kindergarten choirs because one of the preschool leaders had a family emergency, so we had around 20 little kids in one room, all going slightly wild and crazy because things were different.
April 3, 2013
Fighting Writer's Block
In the same day, I got a reader letter asking about dealing with writer's block and I came across a handout from a conference workshop about writer's block while I was sorting through papers in my ongoing office organization/decluttering project. I figure that's a sign, so today's writing topic is writer's block.
There are actually several things that fall into the category of writer's block, and they all have different "cures."
One kind of writer's block is what I call Blank Page Panic. This usually comes after you've already written at least one book (with the first book, you have no idea what you're getting into). Before you start writing, your book that exists only in your head is perfect. As soon as you start writing, it becomes a very imperfect, real thing that you have to deal with. I find that the moment before I start writing the very first words of a new book is the most terrifying and exhilarating part of writing a book, but it's very easy to get paralyzed and find any number of reasons to put off starting. A related problem is not really knowing how to start. You may know what the book's about and even what the first scene involves, but you just don't know how to start.
One thing you can do when faced with Blank Page Panic is to lower the stakes for yourself. If you normally write on a computer, switch to pen and paper. If you write your first draft in longhand, switch to something like pencil or dry erase board -- anything that doesn't feel like "real" writing. Use Post-It notes, scratch paper, crayons, or something else that makes you feel more like you're playing. Then start making up opening lines, at least twenty different ones. They can be as serious or crazy as you want -- remember, this isn't for real. If you're really stuck, make your first one "It was a dark and stormy night," and then you know that anything else you come up with has to be better. Another thing you can try is to brainstorm the opening scene. Write about it rather than writing it -- record sensory details, analyze the theme and conflict, write a journal entry by your viewpoint character about what happened. Doing all that makes the scene come to life in your head, which makes it easier to write.
Another kind of writer's block is Stuck Syndrome -- you're in the middle of a book, and suddenly you have no idea what happens next. This can happen even if you outline your books because you may know the next outline event, but you can't think of how to get there from where you are.
This can have several causes. One cause is that something has gone wrong earlier in the book that keeps you from getting to your planned next step. You may have forced a character to do something for plot purposes that's out of character, and that makes it impossible to continue. Or your planned plot could be wrong because the story wants to go another direction, and that's what's keeping you from moving on to the next part in your plan. Or sometimes you're on track but just plain stuck. This is a good time to go back and re-read what you've written so far. That will help you spot where you may have gone off-track or if the story is maybe varying from your plan. Going back and doing some rewriting or re-plotting can help you move forward. If you're just stuck, try reverse-engineering from the next thing you know needs to happen and figure out what needs to take place for that event to occur. Keep going backward, step-by-step, until you reach the part you've written. This is another time when making a brainstorming list can help. Try to come up with at least twenty things that could happen next. The first ten will be the obvious things, the next ten may get silly as you push yourself but may contain one or two gems you can work with. It can also help to talk out your problem with a friend -- just articulating your issues can help you find solutions, even if the other person doesn't offer any feedback, or that person's questions may help you come up with ideas.
Productive procrastination can be helpful when you're stuck. Review your work and your plans, make a few lists, and then go do something else. I like to say I'm getting my conscious mind out of the way so my subconscious can get to work. Physical activity is good -- take a walk, go for a run, go swimming, dance. Mindless busywork tasks are good, like housework, ironing or washing dishes. Play and fun will jazz up your brain -- play fetch with a dog, play a game, blow soap bubbles, do something childish. Or you can do other creative things that aren't writing -- knit, sew, draw, paint, bake, sing, dance or play an instrument. If all else fails, take a shower (that's where ideas always seem to strike me). Keep something handy for writing down or recording ideas that come to you because your solution may pop up when you're not forcing yourself to think about it. After your break, return to your work and see if you have fresh insight.
Then there's what I call the Don't Wannas -- I'm not really blocked in that I know what I need to write next. I just would rather do almost anything else but write. I may sit and refresh Facebook for hours in order to put off writing. It builds into a kind of dread. A somewhat related problem is the Shiny New Idea, where something new has popped into your head that has you very enthusiastic, and it makes the old idea you're currently slogging through look even more awful in comparison.
This is when willpower kicks in. I find that starting is the hard part. Once I force myself out of the Don't Wannas, I can make good progress. To jolt yourself out of the Don't Wannas, try setting an appointment with yourself. You will start writing at a certain time. Until that time, you can do anything you want, but when that time hits, you'll get to work. Changing your environment may help. If you normally work in a busy place full of distractions, find a cave to hide in. If you normally work in a cave-like environment, move to a busier place like a coffee shop where you'll feel obligated to work while people are watching you. Set a goal for a certain amount of time or a certain amount of production (words or pages) and have a clear reward for achieving that goal, like a treat or a break to read or watch TV. If things are getting really bad, you can get software that will block your access to your favorite Internet time wasters, or you can get a friend to call you and tell you it's time to write.
If you've got the Shiny New Idea Don't Wannas, set the writing appointment with yourself, and before that appointment, do a big brain dump. Write down every single thing you know or can think of about your new idea. Then when it's time for your appointment, put that aside and get back to work. I find that writing down the new idea clears it from my brain so it's not quite so consuming, and it also points out the weak spots and makes it clear that this idea is nowhere near ready to be written. I find that my more successful ideas are the ones I put aside to mull over for a while (sometimes for years) while I work on other things. Then they're truly ripe and ready when it's their turn. Every time I've dropped what I was working on to work on the Shiny New Idea, the book has fizzled and usually doesn't even get finished. And yet this seems to be the one thing that stops new writers from going anywhere because they keep getting sidetracked by new ideas and they never actually finish anything. There may be a time in your career when it really is time to switch gears, but it takes some experience to know that, and generally it's not the Shiny New Idea but rather a percolating older idea whose time has come.
There's yet another kind of block in which you have no idea what to write next -- you don't have an idea for another book. That tends to be something that only happens to really experienced authors who've burned out a bit and need a break. Most writers I know have a massive backlog of story ideas. If you don't have another idea for your next project and you've only written a couple of books, you may not be cut out for a writing career. If you're not contracted for another book, do the productive procrastination thing, read, watch movies and otherwise experience life and artistic input, and you may find yourself filling up with ideas again. If you are contracted and blank, this would be a time to talk to your agent or editor. Sometimes brainstorming with another person will spark ideas.
There are actually several things that fall into the category of writer's block, and they all have different "cures."
One kind of writer's block is what I call Blank Page Panic. This usually comes after you've already written at least one book (with the first book, you have no idea what you're getting into). Before you start writing, your book that exists only in your head is perfect. As soon as you start writing, it becomes a very imperfect, real thing that you have to deal with. I find that the moment before I start writing the very first words of a new book is the most terrifying and exhilarating part of writing a book, but it's very easy to get paralyzed and find any number of reasons to put off starting. A related problem is not really knowing how to start. You may know what the book's about and even what the first scene involves, but you just don't know how to start.
One thing you can do when faced with Blank Page Panic is to lower the stakes for yourself. If you normally write on a computer, switch to pen and paper. If you write your first draft in longhand, switch to something like pencil or dry erase board -- anything that doesn't feel like "real" writing. Use Post-It notes, scratch paper, crayons, or something else that makes you feel more like you're playing. Then start making up opening lines, at least twenty different ones. They can be as serious or crazy as you want -- remember, this isn't for real. If you're really stuck, make your first one "It was a dark and stormy night," and then you know that anything else you come up with has to be better. Another thing you can try is to brainstorm the opening scene. Write about it rather than writing it -- record sensory details, analyze the theme and conflict, write a journal entry by your viewpoint character about what happened. Doing all that makes the scene come to life in your head, which makes it easier to write.
Another kind of writer's block is Stuck Syndrome -- you're in the middle of a book, and suddenly you have no idea what happens next. This can happen even if you outline your books because you may know the next outline event, but you can't think of how to get there from where you are.
This can have several causes. One cause is that something has gone wrong earlier in the book that keeps you from getting to your planned next step. You may have forced a character to do something for plot purposes that's out of character, and that makes it impossible to continue. Or your planned plot could be wrong because the story wants to go another direction, and that's what's keeping you from moving on to the next part in your plan. Or sometimes you're on track but just plain stuck. This is a good time to go back and re-read what you've written so far. That will help you spot where you may have gone off-track or if the story is maybe varying from your plan. Going back and doing some rewriting or re-plotting can help you move forward. If you're just stuck, try reverse-engineering from the next thing you know needs to happen and figure out what needs to take place for that event to occur. Keep going backward, step-by-step, until you reach the part you've written. This is another time when making a brainstorming list can help. Try to come up with at least twenty things that could happen next. The first ten will be the obvious things, the next ten may get silly as you push yourself but may contain one or two gems you can work with. It can also help to talk out your problem with a friend -- just articulating your issues can help you find solutions, even if the other person doesn't offer any feedback, or that person's questions may help you come up with ideas.
Productive procrastination can be helpful when you're stuck. Review your work and your plans, make a few lists, and then go do something else. I like to say I'm getting my conscious mind out of the way so my subconscious can get to work. Physical activity is good -- take a walk, go for a run, go swimming, dance. Mindless busywork tasks are good, like housework, ironing or washing dishes. Play and fun will jazz up your brain -- play fetch with a dog, play a game, blow soap bubbles, do something childish. Or you can do other creative things that aren't writing -- knit, sew, draw, paint, bake, sing, dance or play an instrument. If all else fails, take a shower (that's where ideas always seem to strike me). Keep something handy for writing down or recording ideas that come to you because your solution may pop up when you're not forcing yourself to think about it. After your break, return to your work and see if you have fresh insight.
Then there's what I call the Don't Wannas -- I'm not really blocked in that I know what I need to write next. I just would rather do almost anything else but write. I may sit and refresh Facebook for hours in order to put off writing. It builds into a kind of dread. A somewhat related problem is the Shiny New Idea, where something new has popped into your head that has you very enthusiastic, and it makes the old idea you're currently slogging through look even more awful in comparison.
This is when willpower kicks in. I find that starting is the hard part. Once I force myself out of the Don't Wannas, I can make good progress. To jolt yourself out of the Don't Wannas, try setting an appointment with yourself. You will start writing at a certain time. Until that time, you can do anything you want, but when that time hits, you'll get to work. Changing your environment may help. If you normally work in a busy place full of distractions, find a cave to hide in. If you normally work in a cave-like environment, move to a busier place like a coffee shop where you'll feel obligated to work while people are watching you. Set a goal for a certain amount of time or a certain amount of production (words or pages) and have a clear reward for achieving that goal, like a treat or a break to read or watch TV. If things are getting really bad, you can get software that will block your access to your favorite Internet time wasters, or you can get a friend to call you and tell you it's time to write.
If you've got the Shiny New Idea Don't Wannas, set the writing appointment with yourself, and before that appointment, do a big brain dump. Write down every single thing you know or can think of about your new idea. Then when it's time for your appointment, put that aside and get back to work. I find that writing down the new idea clears it from my brain so it's not quite so consuming, and it also points out the weak spots and makes it clear that this idea is nowhere near ready to be written. I find that my more successful ideas are the ones I put aside to mull over for a while (sometimes for years) while I work on other things. Then they're truly ripe and ready when it's their turn. Every time I've dropped what I was working on to work on the Shiny New Idea, the book has fizzled and usually doesn't even get finished. And yet this seems to be the one thing that stops new writers from going anywhere because they keep getting sidetracked by new ideas and they never actually finish anything. There may be a time in your career when it really is time to switch gears, but it takes some experience to know that, and generally it's not the Shiny New Idea but rather a percolating older idea whose time has come.
There's yet another kind of block in which you have no idea what to write next -- you don't have an idea for another book. That tends to be something that only happens to really experienced authors who've burned out a bit and need a break. Most writers I know have a massive backlog of story ideas. If you don't have another idea for your next project and you've only written a couple of books, you may not be cut out for a writing career. If you're not contracted for another book, do the productive procrastination thing, read, watch movies and otherwise experience life and artistic input, and you may find yourself filling up with ideas again. If you are contracted and blank, this would be a time to talk to your agent or editor. Sometimes brainstorming with another person will spark ideas.
April 2, 2013
Still More Nebula Reading
I was in a fog most of yesterday, but I did manage to outline the specifics of the fight scene I need to flesh out, and then I sketched out the basics of the plot for the sequel, so I can make sure all the proper set-up is done. Today I may actually do some writing. I got a late start this morning because I woke up from a dream that I thought would make a good story, then I spent some time trying to remember everything in the dream, only to realize that it didn't hold together once I examined it. The one part that still made sense when I thought about it involved someone going under cover in a Victorian-type beach resort to catch/expose a quack healer/snake oil salesman. There might be something there, though I'd probably have to leave out the Nazis and the very modern city buses.
I finally finished reading as much as possible on the Nebula awards ballot. I like going through this exercise not only to be a more responsible voter but also because it expands my reading horizons to read something selected by other people. While there was some excellent stuff and nothing much that had me scratching my head about the nomination, I'm starting to get the impression that the key to being nominated seems to involve being part of a clique of writers that includes one or two bigger names. All the books I hadn't previously heard of by authors I hadn't previously heard of contained epic acknowledgment/thanks notes listing lots of names of writing group members and mentors. Or I suppose it could also mean that being part of a group of writers makes you a better writer. I should investigate getting myself into a clique.
Now, for some more book discussion (all of these are young adult):
The Diviners by Libba Bray -- a teenage flapper gets sent to stay with her uncle in New York when her "party trick" of reading someone's fortune by touching an item belonging to them gets her in hot water because of what she revealed about one of her town's leading citizens. Her uncle is a scholar who runs a museum devoted to the paranormal and occult, and when the police consult him about a murder involving occult symbolism, the frivolous flapper turns Nancy Drew and becomes determined to solve the mystery. Meanwhile, she's discovering other young people who have gifts similar to hers. This book was a ton of fun (aside from the gory murder parts), really capturing the essence of Jazz Age New York, and the frothy fizz of speakeasies and Ziegfeld girl parties just makes the darker parts that much more shocking and intense. It was a long book that I read in just a day or so, though I will admit that I'm such a weenie that when I got to what would normally be an "I only have eight more pages" scenario, I put the book down because I knew I didn't want to read something as intense and scary as it was likely to be just before I went to sleep. I had to read it in daylight in my office.
I do have to give a content advisory on this one so I don't get any hate mail from parents about recommending this book for teens. The School Library Journal suggests it for grade 10 and up, and that's probably right, depending on the kid. It contains some pretty graphic descriptions of rape, domestic abuse and murder, and the teen characters indulge in some binge drinking (in an era when all drinking was illegal). However, there are negative consequences shown for dabbling in the occult and abusing alcohol, and we do see our heroine grow from being shallow to actually doing something worthwhile. I suspect that the kind of kid who'd want to read this book is probably safe doing so because they'll be more intrigued by the idea of doing research, working in a museum and solving murder mysteries than they are by the partying. However, the book is seriously scary in places.
Fair Coin by E.C. Meyers -- A teenage boy learns that his mother had to go to the hospital to identify what was supposedly his dead body, and in the dead boy's effects that were given to his mother, the one thing that doesn't match something he owns is a coin -- one of those "state" quarters for a state that doesn't exist. Then he finds a note in his locker telling him to toss the coin and make a wish. At first, he doesn't believe it, but then his wishes come true. However, with the wishes coming true there are also other things changed that aren't necessarily good, and he seems to be the only one who realizes that things have changed. But then he finds out that the coin isn't magical, his wishes aren't really coming true, and there's a threat that only he can stop. This book had a really intriguing premise with a mind-blowing twist late in the book that turns it from fantasy to science fiction. Most of it feels kind of like a Sliding Doors situation -- if this one thing changes, how does that change everything else?
Enchanted by Alethea Kontis -- Our heroine's family is the one that all the fairy tales happen to (there is a reason). Finally, it's the youngest daughter's turn when she meets an enchanted frog at the well in the woods. They become friends, and she entertains him with stories about her family. Then she kisses him but because the spell isn't broken instantly, she doesn't realize that he's been turned back into a prince -- a prince who's considered an enemy of her family. In order to be reunited with the girl he loves, the prince orders a ball that all the eligible ladies of the kingdom are ordered to attend, and Cinderella ensues, with a lot of twists (for instance, the prince is the one who's kind of an outcast in the home, living in cinders). This falls into the category of "why didn't I think of that?" The mash-up feels very organic, and one of the more interesting aspects is showing the consequences of turning from frog to human again. It takes him a while to re-learn how to walk and speak and to re-build muscle tone as a human. It also gets into just how challenging it can be to live in the middle of all these fairy tales, where it's dangerous to make wishes because they might come true.
Now I'm back to choosing my own books for a while, though I will have to get to work on the Hugo ballot. There was some crossover with the Nebula, so I won't have to read an entirely new set of books, but there are some new ones.
I finally finished reading as much as possible on the Nebula awards ballot. I like going through this exercise not only to be a more responsible voter but also because it expands my reading horizons to read something selected by other people. While there was some excellent stuff and nothing much that had me scratching my head about the nomination, I'm starting to get the impression that the key to being nominated seems to involve being part of a clique of writers that includes one or two bigger names. All the books I hadn't previously heard of by authors I hadn't previously heard of contained epic acknowledgment/thanks notes listing lots of names of writing group members and mentors. Or I suppose it could also mean that being part of a group of writers makes you a better writer. I should investigate getting myself into a clique.
Now, for some more book discussion (all of these are young adult):
The Diviners by Libba Bray -- a teenage flapper gets sent to stay with her uncle in New York when her "party trick" of reading someone's fortune by touching an item belonging to them gets her in hot water because of what she revealed about one of her town's leading citizens. Her uncle is a scholar who runs a museum devoted to the paranormal and occult, and when the police consult him about a murder involving occult symbolism, the frivolous flapper turns Nancy Drew and becomes determined to solve the mystery. Meanwhile, she's discovering other young people who have gifts similar to hers. This book was a ton of fun (aside from the gory murder parts), really capturing the essence of Jazz Age New York, and the frothy fizz of speakeasies and Ziegfeld girl parties just makes the darker parts that much more shocking and intense. It was a long book that I read in just a day or so, though I will admit that I'm such a weenie that when I got to what would normally be an "I only have eight more pages" scenario, I put the book down because I knew I didn't want to read something as intense and scary as it was likely to be just before I went to sleep. I had to read it in daylight in my office.
I do have to give a content advisory on this one so I don't get any hate mail from parents about recommending this book for teens. The School Library Journal suggests it for grade 10 and up, and that's probably right, depending on the kid. It contains some pretty graphic descriptions of rape, domestic abuse and murder, and the teen characters indulge in some binge drinking (in an era when all drinking was illegal). However, there are negative consequences shown for dabbling in the occult and abusing alcohol, and we do see our heroine grow from being shallow to actually doing something worthwhile. I suspect that the kind of kid who'd want to read this book is probably safe doing so because they'll be more intrigued by the idea of doing research, working in a museum and solving murder mysteries than they are by the partying. However, the book is seriously scary in places.
Fair Coin by E.C. Meyers -- A teenage boy learns that his mother had to go to the hospital to identify what was supposedly his dead body, and in the dead boy's effects that were given to his mother, the one thing that doesn't match something he owns is a coin -- one of those "state" quarters for a state that doesn't exist. Then he finds a note in his locker telling him to toss the coin and make a wish. At first, he doesn't believe it, but then his wishes come true. However, with the wishes coming true there are also other things changed that aren't necessarily good, and he seems to be the only one who realizes that things have changed. But then he finds out that the coin isn't magical, his wishes aren't really coming true, and there's a threat that only he can stop. This book had a really intriguing premise with a mind-blowing twist late in the book that turns it from fantasy to science fiction. Most of it feels kind of like a Sliding Doors situation -- if this one thing changes, how does that change everything else?
Enchanted by Alethea Kontis -- Our heroine's family is the one that all the fairy tales happen to (there is a reason). Finally, it's the youngest daughter's turn when she meets an enchanted frog at the well in the woods. They become friends, and she entertains him with stories about her family. Then she kisses him but because the spell isn't broken instantly, she doesn't realize that he's been turned back into a prince -- a prince who's considered an enemy of her family. In order to be reunited with the girl he loves, the prince orders a ball that all the eligible ladies of the kingdom are ordered to attend, and Cinderella ensues, with a lot of twists (for instance, the prince is the one who's kind of an outcast in the home, living in cinders). This falls into the category of "why didn't I think of that?" The mash-up feels very organic, and one of the more interesting aspects is showing the consequences of turning from frog to human again. It takes him a while to re-learn how to walk and speak and to re-build muscle tone as a human. It also gets into just how challenging it can be to live in the middle of all these fairy tales, where it's dangerous to make wishes because they might come true.
Now I'm back to choosing my own books for a while, though I will have to get to work on the Hugo ballot. There was some crossover with the Nebula, so I won't have to read an entirely new set of books, but there are some new ones.
April 1, 2013
No Fooling
You wouldn't think that singing for three Easter services would leave you physically sore, but somehow it did. I think perhaps I was a wee bit tense while standing for the various music bits. I mostly feel it in my knees and the backs of my calves and then in that spot between the shoulder blades in my back. I'm kind of tempted to take today off as a holiday to make up for the extra weekend work, but the weather is supposed to shift to what I consider good reading weather, so I may try to accomplish some things today so I can take that time to read. I have a book I've been looking forward to, and it seems like it might be perfect for a cool, rainy day.
There was massive geeking over the weekend, with the return of Doctor Who and Game of Thrones, plus a different kind of geeking with the return of Call the Midwife on PBS and the Mr. Selfridge series on Masterpiece. I was so-so on the Selfridge movie, but it kind of made me want to go shopping. I haven't had that urge in ages. Unfortunately, we don't have any stores around here that are anything like that.
For those who saw the new Doctor Who, you might want to rewatch "Asylum of the Daleks" from last fall. There are some eerie parallels that I'm sure have to be intentional. They didn't occur to me while watching the new episode, but I rewatched the older one later because it's available OnDemand, and that's when it jumped out at me.
I suppose I should have thought of an elaborate prank for April Fools Day, but the trick of the Internet is that it's always out there, and someone can find something days/weeks/months/years later and not notice the date it was originally posted. I'm always getting e-mails or comments on blog posts that are years old that someone found while searching for a topic. I guess Facebook or maybe Twitter is about the only really safe place to play a big prank. I'm not even sure what I'd try to trick people into believing is true. Frankly, I'm too tired today to play pranks.
Now I think I'm going to go choreograph (mentally -- moving isn't a happy thing right now) a fight scene. It's the one thing I want to tinker with on the current project.
There was massive geeking over the weekend, with the return of Doctor Who and Game of Thrones, plus a different kind of geeking with the return of Call the Midwife on PBS and the Mr. Selfridge series on Masterpiece. I was so-so on the Selfridge movie, but it kind of made me want to go shopping. I haven't had that urge in ages. Unfortunately, we don't have any stores around here that are anything like that.
For those who saw the new Doctor Who, you might want to rewatch "Asylum of the Daleks" from last fall. There are some eerie parallels that I'm sure have to be intentional. They didn't occur to me while watching the new episode, but I rewatched the older one later because it's available OnDemand, and that's when it jumped out at me.
I suppose I should have thought of an elaborate prank for April Fools Day, but the trick of the Internet is that it's always out there, and someone can find something days/weeks/months/years later and not notice the date it was originally posted. I'm always getting e-mails or comments on blog posts that are years old that someone found while searching for a topic. I guess Facebook or maybe Twitter is about the only really safe place to play a big prank. I'm not even sure what I'd try to trick people into believing is true. Frankly, I'm too tired today to play pranks.
Now I think I'm going to go choreograph (mentally -- moving isn't a happy thing right now) a fight scene. It's the one thing I want to tinker with on the current project.
March 29, 2013
The House of Swendson
I finally dealt with the most nagging bit of procrastination yesterday. The next round of to-do lists comes up next week, but for today, I will be focusing on finishing my Nebula ballot reading, tidying the house in case I have company for Easter and baking goodies for a Doctor Who watching party. Then I have Good Friday service tonight and three services Sunday morning. Fortunately, there's also some fun stuff, with new Doctor Who and Game of Thrones.
Speaking of Game of Thrones, they have a web thing where you can make your own house sigil. Here's the sigil for House Swendson:
"I only have eight more pages!" translates to "I'm not putting this book down until I've finished it." It's a family joke, so I figured it makes a good motto for us. As for who will end up sitting on the Iron Throne when all is said and done, well, duh:
I promise to be a benevolent ruler and only behead the people who really have it coming. Funny, George R.R. Martin cast me as Mary Ann when we were deciding which Gilligan's Island character was which author at the Random House party at last year's WorldCon. He obviously doesn't know me very well. Then again, we were also discussing Gilligan's Island conspiracy theories, and he may not think Mary Ann is all that naive and innocent.
To give Doctor Who equal time, in case you haven't seen it, there's a short prequel to this Saturday's new episode. My cable company also had this available OnDemand.
Now I must go stretch so I'll be able to walk tonight and tomorrow. I went to ballet class last night, so that's twice this week, and it was a beginning class. For me, that means doing the beginning moves at a more advanced level, which is actually harder than the advanced class because it moves very slowly. When you're lifting your leg above a 90-degree angle, slow can be torture. Still, it was fun momentarily being one of the best students in the class, which is a reverse from my usual class, where I'm one of the worst. At any rate, my thighs are not happy with me at the moment.
Speaking of Game of Thrones, they have a web thing where you can make your own house sigil. Here's the sigil for House Swendson:
"I only have eight more pages!" translates to "I'm not putting this book down until I've finished it." It's a family joke, so I figured it makes a good motto for us. As for who will end up sitting on the Iron Throne when all is said and done, well, duh:
I promise to be a benevolent ruler and only behead the people who really have it coming. Funny, George R.R. Martin cast me as Mary Ann when we were deciding which Gilligan's Island character was which author at the Random House party at last year's WorldCon. He obviously doesn't know me very well. Then again, we were also discussing Gilligan's Island conspiracy theories, and he may not think Mary Ann is all that naive and innocent.
To give Doctor Who equal time, in case you haven't seen it, there's a short prequel to this Saturday's new episode. My cable company also had this available OnDemand.
Now I must go stretch so I'll be able to walk tonight and tomorrow. I went to ballet class last night, so that's twice this week, and it was a beginning class. For me, that means doing the beginning moves at a more advanced level, which is actually harder than the advanced class because it moves very slowly. When you're lifting your leg above a 90-degree angle, slow can be torture. Still, it was fun momentarily being one of the best students in the class, which is a reverse from my usual class, where I'm one of the worst. At any rate, my thighs are not happy with me at the moment.
March 28, 2013
Romantic Obstacles
I survived the kindergarteners again, and they survived me. Wow, were they crazy, and we had a smaller group with the craziest kid out. But they did request Beethoven again, so I'm accomplishing something.
I've been thinking more about that essay about romantic comedy by Christopher Orr in The Atlantic, and I'm not sure that one of his arguments holds up. One of his theories about the decline in romantic comedy films is that there aren't as many obstacles today to people being together -- class matters less, parental approval matters less and even marital status matters less.
The classic screwball comedy of the 1930s was built around class, to some extent, since in most cases the dynamic was flighty heiress "princess" and down-to-earth (and often down-on-his-luck) working man -- it was basically an updating of the woodsman's son winning the princess through wit, skill and kindness fairy tales. But the class difference just created differing perspectives that gave them something to argue about and new things to learn from each other. It wasn't a real obstacle to them getting together once they fell in love, and if it was, then the result was usually some plot contrivance that undid it all (he's really a millionaire in disguise!).
Take It Happened One Night -- the relationship obstacles there aren't about class. The problems are that she's on the way to be with the man she loves and had to run away from her father to do so (that's the part that doesn't work in current times -- parents wouldn't be able to stop an adult woman from marrying) while he's the reporter whose career hinges on him getting the story about her. The fact that she's engaged to another is looming over any attraction he has for her, while things are likely over if she finds out about him reporting on her. But, really, the central theme of the movie is that the increasingly difficult road trip forces two unlikely people to learn about each other enough to fall in love, and that's timeless. The movie was updated in the 80s as The Sure Thing, where it was college students sharing a coast-to-coast ride for the holidays, and it still worked. I think the trick with this story is to not paint it in broad strokes and go overboard with the opposites angle -- you need just enough of a reason why these two people might not have met or might not have extended their acquaintance long enough to get to know each other well enough to realize they're made for each other without them being stuck traveling together.
And now I think I kind of want to write a road trip story.
Class may not be the obstacle to marriage for people who really love each other that it once was, but I think it's still a valid obstacle for discovering another person. You may get reverse snobbery -- the young lawyer who's had to work hard to make it through law school and then had to go through rounds of interviews to get a job is probably going to resent the senior partner's daughter who had her tuition paid for by daddy and who's had a job open for her since birth, and he may not realize there's a lot to like about her as a person until he's forced to spend time with her. That was even kind of the love story plot in the stage musical version of Legally Blonde -- she was the pampered princess who went to Harvard Law to follow her boyfriend, while he was the poor kid with the chip on his shoulder fighting his way up, and they bonded over the fact that she was dismissed by the Harvard legacy types for being fluffy and he was dismissed because of his background, but first he had to see past all the pink and learn to take her seriously.
As for the marital status being less of an obstacle now, just look at the plots of some of the classic comedies:
It Happened One Night -- she's running away to marry someone else
Bringing Up Baby -- she waylays him to keep him around when he's supposed to be on his way to his own wedding
The Philadelphia Story -- takes place among the festivities for her wedding to someone else
My Favorite Wife -- when she was lost at sea, he had her declared legally dead so he could marry someone else, just before she returned to civilization
Christmas in Connecticut -- she's pretending to be married, so he thinks she's a wife and mother, and the judge is standing by ready to make the fake marriage a real thing
Actually, there are very few classic comedies in which someone isn't on the verge of marrying someone else. That seems to be the main reason keeping the couple from being together until someone takes the leap of faith to break up the existing relationship and take a chance on the new person. I suspect the difference today is that back then, that was also a reason why the couple couldn't have sex and I'm not sure in today's Hollywood morality that would be an issue. In the old movies, taking sex off the table meant they had to substitute subtext, witty dialogue and sexual tension. Now, nothing's off the table, which robs the story of a lot of its energy. In the old movies, they also weren't sleeping/living with Mr./Miss Wrong, and that's one of the ick factors for me in today's movies, where someone is living with one person while falling in love with another.
I think the real problem in today's lackluster romantic comedies is the lack of subtlety -- they spend more time building up the reasons they can't be together than the reasons they can, and they forget about finding middle ground. If there's a class difference, it has to be a drastic one, where they're from totally different worlds and have nothing in common. If it's a free spirit vs. stick-in-the mud, then if the woman is the free spirit she's the Manic Pixie Dream Girl, but if it's the other way around she's the shrieking, humorless harpy and he's the overgrown fratboy manchild.
Look at any of the recent "frat pack" style movies (like Knocked Up) and compare that to The Philadelphia Story -- there she's still uptight, the goddess on a pedestal who can't accept human frailty in others, but Cary Grant is no overgrown frat boy. He's an adult man who had a few problems in the past that he seems to have dealt with but that she can't accept until she realizes that she's not perfect, either.
But that kind of writing is difficult, and I guess it's not high enough concept for today's studio executives to understand, so even if a great script gets written, it might not get produced.
I've been thinking more about that essay about romantic comedy by Christopher Orr in The Atlantic, and I'm not sure that one of his arguments holds up. One of his theories about the decline in romantic comedy films is that there aren't as many obstacles today to people being together -- class matters less, parental approval matters less and even marital status matters less.
The classic screwball comedy of the 1930s was built around class, to some extent, since in most cases the dynamic was flighty heiress "princess" and down-to-earth (and often down-on-his-luck) working man -- it was basically an updating of the woodsman's son winning the princess through wit, skill and kindness fairy tales. But the class difference just created differing perspectives that gave them something to argue about and new things to learn from each other. It wasn't a real obstacle to them getting together once they fell in love, and if it was, then the result was usually some plot contrivance that undid it all (he's really a millionaire in disguise!).
Take It Happened One Night -- the relationship obstacles there aren't about class. The problems are that she's on the way to be with the man she loves and had to run away from her father to do so (that's the part that doesn't work in current times -- parents wouldn't be able to stop an adult woman from marrying) while he's the reporter whose career hinges on him getting the story about her. The fact that she's engaged to another is looming over any attraction he has for her, while things are likely over if she finds out about him reporting on her. But, really, the central theme of the movie is that the increasingly difficult road trip forces two unlikely people to learn about each other enough to fall in love, and that's timeless. The movie was updated in the 80s as The Sure Thing, where it was college students sharing a coast-to-coast ride for the holidays, and it still worked. I think the trick with this story is to not paint it in broad strokes and go overboard with the opposites angle -- you need just enough of a reason why these two people might not have met or might not have extended their acquaintance long enough to get to know each other well enough to realize they're made for each other without them being stuck traveling together.
And now I think I kind of want to write a road trip story.
Class may not be the obstacle to marriage for people who really love each other that it once was, but I think it's still a valid obstacle for discovering another person. You may get reverse snobbery -- the young lawyer who's had to work hard to make it through law school and then had to go through rounds of interviews to get a job is probably going to resent the senior partner's daughter who had her tuition paid for by daddy and who's had a job open for her since birth, and he may not realize there's a lot to like about her as a person until he's forced to spend time with her. That was even kind of the love story plot in the stage musical version of Legally Blonde -- she was the pampered princess who went to Harvard Law to follow her boyfriend, while he was the poor kid with the chip on his shoulder fighting his way up, and they bonded over the fact that she was dismissed by the Harvard legacy types for being fluffy and he was dismissed because of his background, but first he had to see past all the pink and learn to take her seriously.
As for the marital status being less of an obstacle now, just look at the plots of some of the classic comedies:
It Happened One Night -- she's running away to marry someone else
Bringing Up Baby -- she waylays him to keep him around when he's supposed to be on his way to his own wedding
The Philadelphia Story -- takes place among the festivities for her wedding to someone else
My Favorite Wife -- when she was lost at sea, he had her declared legally dead so he could marry someone else, just before she returned to civilization
Christmas in Connecticut -- she's pretending to be married, so he thinks she's a wife and mother, and the judge is standing by ready to make the fake marriage a real thing
Actually, there are very few classic comedies in which someone isn't on the verge of marrying someone else. That seems to be the main reason keeping the couple from being together until someone takes the leap of faith to break up the existing relationship and take a chance on the new person. I suspect the difference today is that back then, that was also a reason why the couple couldn't have sex and I'm not sure in today's Hollywood morality that would be an issue. In the old movies, taking sex off the table meant they had to substitute subtext, witty dialogue and sexual tension. Now, nothing's off the table, which robs the story of a lot of its energy. In the old movies, they also weren't sleeping/living with Mr./Miss Wrong, and that's one of the ick factors for me in today's movies, where someone is living with one person while falling in love with another.
I think the real problem in today's lackluster romantic comedies is the lack of subtlety -- they spend more time building up the reasons they can't be together than the reasons they can, and they forget about finding middle ground. If there's a class difference, it has to be a drastic one, where they're from totally different worlds and have nothing in common. If it's a free spirit vs. stick-in-the mud, then if the woman is the free spirit she's the Manic Pixie Dream Girl, but if it's the other way around she's the shrieking, humorless harpy and he's the overgrown fratboy manchild.
Look at any of the recent "frat pack" style movies (like Knocked Up) and compare that to The Philadelphia Story -- there she's still uptight, the goddess on a pedestal who can't accept human frailty in others, but Cary Grant is no overgrown frat boy. He's an adult man who had a few problems in the past that he seems to have dealt with but that she can't accept until she realizes that she's not perfect, either.
But that kind of writing is difficult, and I guess it's not high enough concept for today's studio executives to understand, so even if a great script gets written, it might not get produced.
