R.W. Richard's Blog, page 24

The Edge

In real life and in some of our romances, the man adores the woman. This man dedicates himself to making her life better moment by moment. This brings him joy. This is a man who gets the meaning of life. Men and women were made for each other.
Most couples in fiction and real life do not adore each other. The man considers love (an active verb) hard work. Work he enjoys.
Some men have an edge. They struggle to balance their needs versus the needs of their partner. Perhaps they are doing important work, some project or devotion to the greater good of mankind. Can’t blame him. We can write him.
The edge often shows up in little or big spats, as clashes over the direction of the partnership. This is inevitable.
It can be unhealthy if anger enters the equation. It is unhealthy if anger mixes with domination of any kind. We can’t write that, can we?
Every facet of a man and woman’s relationship is fair game in romance fiction, but in order to achieve an HEA one has to show change from bad to good.
What kind of relationship do you have? What kind of relationship do you prefer to write?

Woman, John Lennon, 1980

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_O8s2...

Bad boys and good girls

Don’t we all want to be loved? A dashing fellow comes along, tells our heroine everything a woman would want to hear, to make love to her. He doesn’t mean it, at least partially (he wears a gray hat). She worries if she’ll ever have the most beautiful feeling a human can have on this planet. She lingers. She submerges warning signs. She gives him extra chances. Why? Possibly, she desperately wants a HEA (happily ever after) and no one is standing in line. Her mom and dad nurtured her, she deserves it all, she’s a princess and her prince will show up someday, she’s beautiful, smart, funny, loving…
The hero is also not immune to worrying about finding a mate and love. A woman could come on to him seeing a meal ticket (not that women can’t or shouldn’t be self-sufficient), settling for mister-right in front of her, reacting only to her lust...This is all good for a writer’s arc if you choose to write a bad boy story. I would recommend borrowing from inspirational romances. The lesson should not be: it is okay to marry a bad person, unless you are a nihilist. If you are, why not write tragedies.

Taylor Swift, Blank Space, 2014http://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=A2KIo9...-

Can’t Stop the Feeling

Why would ripping a song apart help our writing? Most songs don’t have time for much of an arc, if any. They do have time for pathos or an emotion we can identify with. Better songs have a clear meaning as veneer, with undercurrents to satisfy the most intellectual listener. A writer of prose can accomplish this through showing mixed with dialogue and a pinch of dissonance.
There are many great examples of songs that just get to the listeners at a gut level, and they hardly know why. They just know they love the song. One such song, poorly named, Sukiyaki, was a huge hit long ago. It’s lyrics and lyrical quality are matched by the vocalist’s efforts. “Let’s look up as we walk, so that the tears don’t spill.”
Justin Timberlake’s, Can’t Stop the Feelingis more complex but just as elemental. In the song, he sings that his dance partner knows what he’s going through because she is feeling it too. Yet he is not 100% certain she understands what is happening to them so he asks her to break it down. It need not be a dance or a trip to the supermarket. It's everyman anywhere. They’re in love, they know it and they can’t stop their feelings. Why would they want to? Well, herein lies the intrigue. Is it a case of forbidden love? Or is their love too soon for a commitment? Or is it just human nature? We the listener decide how to interpret it. One thing many know of this hit. They can’t stop loving this song. The same applies to our writing, right?Layer your writing. If you think Justin doesn't realize he's going deep, it's possible. He may be an unconscious competent. That's creative talent, well practiced.
Justin Timberlake, Can't Stop the Feeling, 2016https://video.search.yahoo.com/video/...

Ben and Lauren

Before you run for the hills, as I know some of you are not reality TV fans, listen up. ABC Family, now called, Freeform is offering Ben & Lauren: Happily Ever After? on Tuesday night at 8PM.

I cannot recommend this, so obviously scripted, show to anyone who wants to check out reality TV offerings, unless you’re a diehard The Bachelor or The Bachelorette fan. Ben Higgins and Lauren Bushnell are so obviously in love, are so gorgeous a couple and have sdo much to offer each other, that I’ll eat my hat if any of the worries the show’s producers try to throw our way work out to be remotely “real.” If you are struggling for a definition of love or how a young couple should act, these two are the real deal.
Aside from watching fake drama, and knowing it, I can’t not watch. I never watch happily ever after the after shows or read such books, not just because they are labeled Chick Flicks or women’s fiction. As an example, on Hallmark last night, the Good Witchpremiered its latest in the series. My wife and I agreed, it dragged. The plot was all too familiar, the romantic arc for the witch revolved around one line of dialogue at the end of the show, “I thought of you, last night.”
Okay, this will be my first bad review. I’m sure the show was fun for those steeped in the Witch’s lore. Call me a sap, but I like plots that revolve around happily ever afters (and many men do).
https://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;_ylt=A2KIo9XnQw1YFE0AeUr7w8QF;_ylu=X3oDMTExaW9lYTgwBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDdmlkBHZ0aWQDVklEQzEEZ3BvcwMyMg--?p=ben+%26+lauren%3A+happily+ever+after&vid=ac7294c0935b54a435b3ba443df4c693&turl=https%3A%2F%2Ftse1.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DOVP.Vfbbe6712157aaafc81394d43cd2e98a6%26pid%3D15.1%26h%3D360%26w%3D480%26c%3D7%26rs%3D1&rurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DSEA15HmQAoI&tit=The+Bachelor%26%2339%3Bs+Ben+%26+Lauren+%26quot%3BHappily+Ever+After%26quot%3B+Preview&c=21&h=360&w=480&l=249&sigr=11bv94271&sigt=126ra1drs&sigi=132cekl4p&age=1476074533&fr2=p%3As%2Cv%3Av&fr=yfp-t-s&tt=b
Lauren and Ben, well, you are my guilty pleasure.

Faith

I’m not going to dig deeply into religious faith, but to say, for most of us, faith is stronger or weaker at any given moment and for some nonexistent.

When our heroine and hero have faith in each other’s love, it is a beautiful thing. If only one has this faith, then it is misplaced or delusional. Most of us have insecurities that prevent us from ever being absolutely sure we are loved, like we love back. Isn’t it healthy to harbor a bit of skepticism? The return for allowing yourself to fall head over heels in love in the knowledge that your hero/heroine feels the same, is a deep sense of achievement and commitment. We are not meant to be alone so why think that way? Some say complete faith in the other is a sign of fanaticism/zealotry. Some portray a lack of complete faith by showing signs of jealousy, fear and pushing away.
It’s sometimes the arc and how the writer uses it to show growth or it can simply be a character trait. It could be that the hero or heroine sees faith in the other’s love as a mystical connection, making them greater than 1+1=2. They’ll believe in soul mates for the same reason. But, you don’t need these crutches. Yes, human beings thrive on fear. It is what keeps us alive. But don’t we aspire to more than survival? Can’t we touch the eternal truths? God blessed you if you (your character) have a love like this. If you write this type of character, your book might not be labeled inspirational, but it is damn close.Some forms of love last forever.

Logic Versus Emotion

In the past, we have discussed logic and emotion as they pertain to making decisions and reached the conclusion that they balanced. NPR has recently broadcast, and various scientific communities have published, stating that emotion trumps logic. Humans are social, they contract with each other socially. They tend not to listen to a third person trying to correct something based on logic.


And when emotion is amped up, how will it affect your protagonists? Let’s take the case of exercise or sports. If the hero and heroine are finishing off a tennis match, dancing or walking out of an aerobics class, they are because of endorphins, more social, more bonded to each other. Whatever attraction there was is greater in these situations. If you write this type of scene, you may want to explore what happens to the wannabe or actual couple when they are down off their endorphin highs. How they progress, where does logic help them make decisions to move forward?


It is useful to note that heightened endorphin situations lead to sex and declarations of love. It’s hardly anything you need explain, but may want to, because not everybody gets it. I have to stop writing now, so I won’t be late for Zumba.

Are Rich and Columbia getting married?

Rich and Columbia were lovers. They were engaged. Rich started exhibiting strange behaviors or red flags. Columbia thought he had put his prejudices behind him. I know, romances don’t usually start after a promise to marry, so let’s call this one a possible tragedy.
The trouble started when Rich complained about Columbia, a gorgeous Hispanic woman, gaining a bit of weight. He professed his love for her was based on her wit, smarts, heart, and yes, her looks. But she still looked very good. She felt ashamed and tried to live up to his wishes and was winning the battle, in spite of being influenced now by a negative image of herself.
Rich’s pat phrase when pressed scared her, “He/she/they deserve it.” Columbia, a judge, heard this in court all the time when a physical or mental abuser would try to defend himself. She wondered how she could have missed the obvious signs that first showed as simple, driven to succeed, banter. She knew there was a fine line between success at work and ignoring ethical standards. She had at times struggled herself with knotty issues. But her faith and common sense always brought her back to the golden rule. He even suggested she couldn’t be fair because of her heritage. He Apologized,, but she was rapidly becoming completely disenchanted.
Then he started to complain about minorities of all types in an unending stream of insults. Talk about fatal flaws. Can Rich reform and really love Columbia, would anybody care at this point? Yes, Rich had many friends. They still cared, thought he could be saved. Wished him well. Will he change? Will he love her? You decide.

Your Hero is a Genius

Einstein said, Genius is …“regard(ing) old questions from a new angle.” Genius is not a know-it-all but a see-it-all. A true genius makes our lives more difficult, more unsettled. Said another way, it is not easy to change when a genius takes us down a different and new path. Think of how tidy the world was before Darwin. So we evolve.

In writing your hero as a genius be mindful of him earning it, and, of course, we as writers must show the process. Now, that’s tough, because change in a work of fiction must be believable and dramatic. Is your genius hero hard to live with because he is so focused on his creation [picture Doctor Frankenstein]? Must the heroine make him give up his contribution to humanity to love her? No, she should be a good partner and help. Even a genius can learn that one-plus-one is way more than two.
A heroine can be blessed with the same problem (genius). It’s all in how you decide to structure your conflict and characterizations.
The smartest person I had ever met was a secretarial school drop out [to be sung to Beauty School Drop Out], couldn’t do math unless it was home finances, and was “just” a mom. She seemed to read minds and mend hearts as if dispensing miracles. Her reaction time (quick wit & observations) was beyond scary. Say anything and it would be translated into what you really meant. She’d see what was missing from the equation or problem while the rest of us didn’t know we had an equation or a problem. I’m not talking male-female interactions exclusively. Her empathy for another human being gave her an EQ (and I suggest IQ) too high to measure. That’s the point of life, isn’t it? Love at work.


Don’t tell me your character is a genius, show me.
A rare Albert Einstein interview:

Through the Looking Glass

Travel back through the mist of time to when you were dating. In that mirror, how had you seen yourself as qualified for a mate?
From the typical male point of view, the guy wants the most beautiful and loving woman that God had ever created. Any number of attributes can be added.
The average gal wants a man who will love her with abandon.
But it isn’t that simple. Numerous studies have shown that men and women access their chances either consciously or subnconsciously based on their own strengths and weaknesses. Their match is one who will most likely feel the same about them in the same way. That’s a match.
Were you a subconscious or conscious competent?
Step through the mirror as you create your hero and heroine. Now, the readers are looking at that mirror. Will they see themselves, someone real, someone they can relate to. Will the reader dream of your hero or heroine? More importantly will they see a good match in the looking glass?Was Alice Through the Looking Glass allegory? Interpreting Alice as a look at impending adulthood may be a bit of a stretch but it's fun and thought provoking.2016, Alice Through the Looking Glass Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...

Ninety-Nine Stories

Here is a re-post commemorating 9/11 as requested
Ninety-Nine Stories


A wall of searing blue flames pressed Hussam to the melted and broken windows. He couldn’t breathe and the heat was hell.
“It’s you,” the pretty girl from personnel ran up and said. Over the months, he had stolen glances of her and she did the same, both gutless wonders.
“I’m Hussam Fayyad, your boss’s boss.”
“I know. Save your breath. I’m Sarah Bernstein.” He knew.
They locked their hands, tight. Leaned out and hesitated. Then, Sarah’s wavy auburn hair caught fire.
“Marry me.” She screamed from the pain, tears evaporating. Taking off his jacket, he wrapped her head.
“I will. … I do.” Holding hands tightly, they jumped out from the ninety-ninth floor.
*
“I do,” she tried to say—her breath pushed inward by the rush of air—not that he could hear her anyway. She closed her eyes, he held unto her like a vise, as if they were one. Perhaps now they were.
"Mom and Dad, I’d like you to meet my fiancée, Hussam Fayyad.” Her folks' home, a big split-level in Oradell New Jersey, had beautiful large tile floors, a modern kitchen, with a menorah on the table. The candles had pooled on the tabletop.
“I guess it’s stupid for me to tell my daughter she should have chosen a nice Jewish boy?” Sarah’s mom asked rhetorically.
“We’re soul mates,” Hussam said.
“We’re besherte, mom.” She put it in Yiddish terms.
*
He dared not open his eyes and lose this vision of her mom and dad. He had always thought about Sarah, trying to get up the nerve to ask her out. Worried of cultural, political, and religious differences. He didn’t believe in treating women like second-class citizens, not at work, not in marriage. His hiring practices and office policies touted the heart of a modern liberated Muslim.
“We’ll always love the thought of you,” her mom and dad said, hugging him.
“We have to go to the wedding now,” Sarah said, pulling his hand.
*
At the wedding, Hussam’s little brother carried the ring on a purple pillow. Sarah always knew Hussam would come by, lean on her desk, ask her out. They’d marry; have three kids, two girls, one boy, or the other way around. They both wanted to be outvoted in either case. These gorgeous kids would grow up brilliant and loving, real menches; oh yes, two dogs, just right.
“I am so happy to have you in my heart.” Hussam’s parents, both a little portly, hugged her by the orchids stationed at the first row of seats in their garden.
Tears turned to rivers. Images rifted through her of falafel, lamb kebob, along with gefilte fish, Manischewitz Blackberry for the toast. Bruce Springsteen’s band struck up, ‘Here Comes the Bride.’
“He took my hand,” she explained to his mom and dad by way of apology.
“Thank you, pretty Sarah. My son, he always work, work, work.”
Sarah wished the world a better place, maybe a little less work, a little more love.
“He needs a strong Jewish girl to love him,” his dad said. They kissed her cheeks.
“I always had and always will love him,” Sarah said. She had harbored a tiny love, like a seedling, hoping to water it. No doubt about her feelings, now.
Martin Luther King without thinking forgot to add one word, Muslim. “…when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews, Muslims, and Gentiles, Protestant and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: 'Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last.'”
Sarah’s heart beat the rhythm of Martin’s words. She felt Hussam heard and saw Martin with her at the Lincoln Memorial, because he squeezed her. He’d never let go.
I am within you, Sarah.
I am within you, Hussam.
“Great Grand Papa.” Isaac Bernstein was gassed at Auschwitz, yet thin, young, suspendered, a silly fedora, munching on a pipe, his eyes opened to heaven.
“You bring the right man with you, mazel tov. Hussam’s great grand mom and pop are at the bridge table with your great grandma, waiting for me to come back. You see, I’m the dummy. Those two died in Gaza. Bam, to pieces.” He splayed his hands.
At the wedding, Cyndi Lauper spread her many orange, red, and yellow petticoats on the back step. With a sad face, she sang, 'Time After Time.'
The Rabbi and Imam smiled from under the canopy on this day of brilliant blue. They finished with one voice, “in death you will start, because love is eternal.”
*
Almighty God, Allah, blessed them, opened his arms, and said, “Kiss already.”
*
We kissed.