Getting back to normal life after the National RWA conference and a mini-vacation tacked onto the end of it has been hard. I’m tired. I feel an overwhelming urge to write and brainstorm and get caught up on massive amounts of laundry. (Ok. Not that last one, but it’s an evil necessity of life – especially if I want underwear tomorrow.)
Ah. (Big sigh.)
However, what I really want to do is escape. (“Didn’t you just do that?” you say.) Well, sort of, not exactly. Ah, hell. I’m not explaining it here. The point is that I want to escape. How best to do that? A great romance – either in book form or in a movie.
I did a bit of escaping by watching the move Sky High with my nieces before I came home from Dallas. I LOVE that movie. If you haven’t seen it, watch it. I’ve seen it 6 or 7 times.
Why is it such a good movie? Let me tell you! (I just knew you were going to ask!) It’s such a good movie because it delivers all those elements that a person loves in a good HEA story.
First – not to spoil it for anyone, but I did say it had an HEA – the hero gets the girl. I love the ending where the hero says, “That’s how my girlfriend became my arch enemy, my arch enemy became my best friend, and my best friend became my girlfriend.” Perfect.
Second, you get a great sense of the hero’s normal world without dragging it out. It’s a good reminder that if you’re trying to write the hero’s journey and really trying to give a sense of the ordinary world in your story, it doesn’t have to be long, drawn out and include all the gory details. In just a few minutes, we understand that the hero has superhero parents, but doesn’t have any super powers himself (a fact he’s hiding from his parents), he’s starting superhero high school (without any powers --- big problem), and his best friend (girl) is in love with him, but he has no idea.
I’m hooked. I feel sorry for the guy. I like the guy. Immediately, I get a sense of the mess in which he’s mired.
Third, I love paranormal. Superpowers are paranormal, so the world-building is fabulous. I love the way the writers snuck in little things that built the world, but also let us see the rules that would be needed later in the resolution.
Fourth, the hero’s conflict is evident. He has a great GMC. It’s simple. It changes throughout the story. He has to get through superhero school without any powers and his parents discover this secret. Oh, did I mention his parents are the most famous superheros ever? When he finally does resolve the super power problem, then he gets all sorts of other problems with which he has to deal.
Fifth, the black moment is very black. How will he save the world? How will he get the girl? He can't do either. He knows he loves her, but he's lost her. And, he can't stop the destruction that's occurring -- destruction that is all his fault to begin with.
Sixth, he gets the girl. He gets the girl! And, he saves the world! I love those satisfying endings.
Now to be fair, it is a kid movie, so there are some corny, contrived parts, but I'm willing to overlook them in favor of all the wonderful elements listed above.
At the RWA conference, I sat in a session that included an editor Chris Keesler, agent Kristen Nelson, and author Liz Maverick, who writes out of the box stories. She said something that resonated with me. She said she liked movies and stories like Blade, Underworld, X-Men. (Me too!) But she also said that she was dissatisfied with the endings. (Me too!) She decided to write books that incorporated all those paranormal elements that she loves, but also gave us the HEA. (Me too!)
All, this to say, I love a good paranormal story, but I want it to have an HEA. Sometimes, we just need visual reminders of how that can all work out.
So what will I do now? I’m going to Barnes and Noble online and ordering the movie Sky High so that I can watch it whenever I need to break down what I want to do with my stories into the basics.
Then I'm going to write, write, write.
Showing posts with label HEA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label HEA. Show all posts
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Non-romance books
It probably goes without saying, but I love to read. I love a book that draws me in and keeps me up all night. I’ve read a lot of books that I’ve just never been able to finish. However, that’s the topic for this weekend’s Sunday Six – what makes you throw a book at a wall AND leave it there.
Today, I want to blog about books and authors I’ve loved, specifically, the non-romance ones. (Gasp!)
I didn’t start reading romance until later in life. I didn’t read it consistently until my 30’s. Romance novels would never have been allowed in my mom’s house, so I wasn’t all that tempted by them.
I was a nanny to 3 boys in college. Their mom had a whole stack of Kathleen Woodiwiss books, of which I made quick work. Her books were the first romance novels I ever read. That summer was one of the few times I read for pleasure between high school and finishing graduate school. Even after grad school, new to the real world work force, I didn’t have time for a lot of leisure reading or money for a lot of books, for that matter.
However, as I settled into real adulthood, I reconnected with that passion I’d had as a youth and teen – reading.
A great many books have captivated me and captured my attention at the expense of a great deal else.
What non-romance authors held my attention through my late 20’s and early 30’s?
Michael Crichton. I’ve read every book he’s written. I have his newest one waiting in the wings for a road trip I have to take soon. What do I like about his work? Well, it’s technical and sciencey. (Yes, I made that word up. Deal.) I love science. I love it when authors write it well, getting the facts correct and presenting it in a way that’s easy for anyone to understand. I think that takes great skill.
Perusing Michael’s site, I found that he has some great advice for writers and some interesting anecdotes. Here are a few.
Where do you get your ideas for your books? I wish I knew. They just seem to come from nowhere. But often I think people put too much emphasis on the "idea" behind a story, anyway. First of all, there isn't just one idea in a story, there are lots of ideas. And second, an idea by itself isn't worth much until you do the work necessary to get it down on paper. And in the course of doing the writing, the idea often changes. It's similar to the difference between having an idea for a building, and actually constructing the building. The building often turns out differently from the original plan or intention.
How long does it take to write a book? It's difficult for me to say. Usually, an idea "cooks" in my head for a very long time before I begin to write it. During that preparation time I will make notes and do research. The actual writing can be relatively quick---four to fifteen months---but I could the preparation as part of the work. So in that way, The Great Train Robbery was 3 years. Jurassic Park was 8 years. Disclosure was 5 years. Sphere is an odd example: I started it and wrote part of it, but didn't have a good ending, so I stopped. Twenty years later, I picked it up again and finished it in about two months. So: did it take 20 years, or two months?
Check him out if you are so inclined. I’m sure dinosaurs and killer viruses are not what most of you are into, but if you decide to give his books a go, you’re in for an exciting ride.
What other authors have I profoundly loved? The incomparable J.K. Rowling. Yep, waiting eagerly for her final installment.
Who else? Anne Rice. I read her books until the darkness in them started following me. For me, she’s like Stephen King, whom I read voraciously in high school. I have to take long breaks from both their writing after awhile. It’s too dark to consume regularly.
James Patterson is phenomenal. His Alex Cross books are some of the best reads out there. Start at the beginning if you read him. They’re better that way.
Others I’ve loved include Mary Higgins Clark, Sydney Sheldon, Orson Scott Card, Robin Cook, and early Laurell K. Hamilton.
However, lately I’ve read romance much more than anything else – more than sciencey fiction, more than suspense and mystery, more than horror and fantasy.
I changed that with the last book I read – well I’m reading it, but it will be in the “read” pile soon.
On a whim, I recently purchased The Trudeau Vector by Juris Jurjevics. While I have a few POV issues to pick with him, it’s a great read. I’m sure that not everyone agrees with me that lines like, “Houston, the Beagle has landed,” spoken by the epidemiologist heroine when she lands precariously after a harrowing trip to the artic circle, are hysterically funny. However, he nails his characters. He nails his science – except one little slip up about cholinesterase, but most people wouldn’t catch it. He nails a gripping, edge-of-your-seat, sciencey tale full of espionage, killer viruses, bioterrorism, ecological mysteries, and fascinating history of the Arctic’s indigenous people.
What a great read!
Do I still love romance? Absolutely. I need HEA tales. The world is too dark without them. Will I still write romance? Of course, but as always, it will have that suspense or fantasy spin to it. However, every once in a while, I need to feed my inner geek.
Tonight, she is well-fed.
Macy
Today, I want to blog about books and authors I’ve loved, specifically, the non-romance ones. (Gasp!)
I didn’t start reading romance until later in life. I didn’t read it consistently until my 30’s. Romance novels would never have been allowed in my mom’s house, so I wasn’t all that tempted by them.
I was a nanny to 3 boys in college. Their mom had a whole stack of Kathleen Woodiwiss books, of which I made quick work. Her books were the first romance novels I ever read. That summer was one of the few times I read for pleasure between high school and finishing graduate school. Even after grad school, new to the real world work force, I didn’t have time for a lot of leisure reading or money for a lot of books, for that matter.
However, as I settled into real adulthood, I reconnected with that passion I’d had as a youth and teen – reading.
A great many books have captivated me and captured my attention at the expense of a great deal else.
What non-romance authors held my attention through my late 20’s and early 30’s?
Michael Crichton. I’ve read every book he’s written. I have his newest one waiting in the wings for a road trip I have to take soon. What do I like about his work? Well, it’s technical and sciencey. (Yes, I made that word up. Deal.) I love science. I love it when authors write it well, getting the facts correct and presenting it in a way that’s easy for anyone to understand. I think that takes great skill.
Perusing Michael’s site, I found that he has some great advice for writers and some interesting anecdotes. Here are a few.
Where do you get your ideas for your books? I wish I knew. They just seem to come from nowhere. But often I think people put too much emphasis on the "idea" behind a story, anyway. First of all, there isn't just one idea in a story, there are lots of ideas. And second, an idea by itself isn't worth much until you do the work necessary to get it down on paper. And in the course of doing the writing, the idea often changes. It's similar to the difference between having an idea for a building, and actually constructing the building. The building often turns out differently from the original plan or intention.
How long does it take to write a book? It's difficult for me to say. Usually, an idea "cooks" in my head for a very long time before I begin to write it. During that preparation time I will make notes and do research. The actual writing can be relatively quick---four to fifteen months---but I could the preparation as part of the work. So in that way, The Great Train Robbery was 3 years. Jurassic Park was 8 years. Disclosure was 5 years. Sphere is an odd example: I started it and wrote part of it, but didn't have a good ending, so I stopped. Twenty years later, I picked it up again and finished it in about two months. So: did it take 20 years, or two months?
Check him out if you are so inclined. I’m sure dinosaurs and killer viruses are not what most of you are into, but if you decide to give his books a go, you’re in for an exciting ride.
What other authors have I profoundly loved? The incomparable J.K. Rowling. Yep, waiting eagerly for her final installment.
Who else? Anne Rice. I read her books until the darkness in them started following me. For me, she’s like Stephen King, whom I read voraciously in high school. I have to take long breaks from both their writing after awhile. It’s too dark to consume regularly.
James Patterson is phenomenal. His Alex Cross books are some of the best reads out there. Start at the beginning if you read him. They’re better that way.
Others I’ve loved include Mary Higgins Clark, Sydney Sheldon, Orson Scott Card, Robin Cook, and early Laurell K. Hamilton.
However, lately I’ve read romance much more than anything else – more than sciencey fiction, more than suspense and mystery, more than horror and fantasy.
I changed that with the last book I read – well I’m reading it, but it will be in the “read” pile soon.
On a whim, I recently purchased The Trudeau Vector by Juris Jurjevics. While I have a few POV issues to pick with him, it’s a great read. I’m sure that not everyone agrees with me that lines like, “Houston, the Beagle has landed,” spoken by the epidemiologist heroine when she lands precariously after a harrowing trip to the artic circle, are hysterically funny. However, he nails his characters. He nails his science – except one little slip up about cholinesterase, but most people wouldn’t catch it. He nails a gripping, edge-of-your-seat, sciencey tale full of espionage, killer viruses, bioterrorism, ecological mysteries, and fascinating history of the Arctic’s indigenous people.
What a great read!
Do I still love romance? Absolutely. I need HEA tales. The world is too dark without them. Will I still write romance? Of course, but as always, it will have that suspense or fantasy spin to it. However, every once in a while, I need to feed my inner geek.
Tonight, she is well-fed.
Macy
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