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Tuesday, November 17, 2009
I bet you thought I'd talk about New Moon...
No New Moon talk today. I've avoided everything New Moon like the plague. I want this to be a surprise for me. Therefore, NO NEW MOON. I am excited that the movie releases on Friday at midnight though.
Musical influence this week: "There For You" Flyleaf
Swirling shades of blue
Slow dancing in your eyes
The sun kisses the earth
And I hush my urge to cry
'Cause I hear the whispered words
In your masterpiece beautiful
You speak the unspeakable through
I love you too
I wanna be there for you
And be someone you can come to
The love runs deeper than my bones
I wanna be there for you
I heart this song. I know at the moment you are finding it hard to believe (Chance is really going find it hard to believe when she gets a taste of what I listen to while writing) but there is nothing more inspiring than thinking about friendship and love and how those two weave together to make the perfect partnership.
When you think about writing a romance, you think about the relationship between your hero and heroine. How they meet. How they hook up. How they fall for each other and spend the rest of their lives together. The ultimate fairy tale ending. We all want that in the end. (If we're romance writers, and it's essentially the same formula if you write another genre other than romance- just without the lovey-dovey stuff). I'm actually going to talk about the lovey-dovey stuff for once instead of throwing up a little in my mouth and skipping around it.
I read all the fairy tales when I was a child. Thoughts of Snow White and Cinderella filled my head while I was daydreaming in the field. I wanted to be a princess every year for Halloween. Make believe time would consist of me putting on my finest leotard and tutu and dancing around like a princess. If you asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would flat out tell you when I grew up I was going to be a princess. Fairy tales told me to not doubt that. There was a prince on a white horse waiting in the wings for me to wake up, look into his eyes and instantly fall in love.
Then, like Sleeping Beauty, one day I woke up and realized it doesn't happen like that in real life. It's easy to get disillusioned real quick when you start looking for reasons for the fairy tale to not work. There is no Prince Charming on a white horse waiting outside while you're under the Evil Queen's spell. (If you're lucky you might find a bad boy in a leather jacket with a fastback pony with glass backs and enough horses to keep your heart skipping a beat while you figure out a way to sneak out). You can't tell children it doesn't happen like that in real life. Fairy tales are a way of life for little girls destined to be princesses. Little girls need the thought of fairy tales and princes and white stallions to make the journey worthwhile in the end. Makes you appreciate what you find at the end of the road- your own type of prince with his own type of white horses. He slays demons and dragons and fire-breathing lizards and while you're no princess with no fairy godmothers to make dinner on a regular basis, that doesn't mean its not your very own brand of fairy tale. It's in the eye of the beholder.
Your hero and heroine need to make the journey. He doesn't need to be the prince and she doesn't need to be the princess in need of rescue. The journey is about paving a new fairy tale. Whether she throws up on him the first time they meet because he just happens to be sitting beside her in the doctor's office. Or he rear ends her brand new pricey vehicle at a stoplight because he's too busy breaking up with his flaky girlfriend via text message. The fairy tale journey has to start somewhere and no matter how it twists and turns, the ending is what counts. The Happily Ever After. The part when we read past the darkest black moment, we sigh, smile, slightly get misty eyed and remember that everything is supposed to work out in the end. Everyone wants to believe in the end there will be the happily ever after with doves being released in the background and fairy godmothers sighing and heaven's angels singing. Writers write to right wrongs and pretend for 300 pages that the fairytale exists. In those 300 pages, we make the readers believe it could happen too no matter how jaded we become in our own lives, the fairy tale is alive and well in someone's mind.
For me, I fell in love with romance novels because the relationship between the hero and heroine is always friendship, trust, respect. In the end, that's what brings them together. That's what keeps them together all those years. No matter the fights. No matter the issue. When you are friends with someone, it's so much harder to break their heart and disappoint. Fairy tales always have bumps in the road. If you can't make the jump over them together, the fairy tale ends. If you always hop them together, the fairy tale remains intact. You have to have obstacles to keep the fairy tale strong. And the hero and heroine's journey is no different.
Heroine is contacted to investigate crime.
Hero is Privately Investigating same crime for a different contact.
The hero meets his heroine. Shared history. Reunion of sorts.
The heroine punches him in the nose when he "accidentally" brushes his hand somewhere indecent in a crowded space.
The hero kidnaps the heroine.
The heroine sneaks away from the hero.
The hero admires the heroine's audacity.
Therefore, they are forced to work in close quarters to solve crime.
Hot things happen.
More hot things.
Heroine finds out that the Hero is working against her.
Heroine struggles and hero struggles and they part ways.
Heroine finds out she's an idiot.
Hero figures out he's an idiot.
Crime is solved.
Hero and Heroine HEA.
The. End. For. Now.
What is your rule of thumb when you're writing your own brand of fairy tale? How do you start each journey? How about your own journey? If you're not a writer, how would you want your personal fairy tale written?
***
Musical influence this week: "There For You" Flyleaf
Swirling shades of blue
Slow dancing in your eyes
The sun kisses the earth
And I hush my urge to cry
'Cause I hear the whispered words
In your masterpiece beautiful
You speak the unspeakable through
I love you too
I wanna be there for you
And be someone you can come to
The love runs deeper than my bones
I wanna be there for you
***
I heart this song. I know at the moment you are finding it hard to believe (Chance is really going find it hard to believe when she gets a taste of what I listen to while writing) but there is nothing more inspiring than thinking about friendship and love and how those two weave together to make the perfect partnership.
When you think about writing a romance, you think about the relationship between your hero and heroine. How they meet. How they hook up. How they fall for each other and spend the rest of their lives together. The ultimate fairy tale ending. We all want that in the end. (If we're romance writers, and it's essentially the same formula if you write another genre other than romance- just without the lovey-dovey stuff). I'm actually going to talk about the lovey-dovey stuff for once instead of throwing up a little in my mouth and skipping around it.
I read all the fairy tales when I was a child. Thoughts of Snow White and Cinderella filled my head while I was daydreaming in the field. I wanted to be a princess every year for Halloween. Make believe time would consist of me putting on my finest leotard and tutu and dancing around like a princess. If you asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would flat out tell you when I grew up I was going to be a princess. Fairy tales told me to not doubt that. There was a prince on a white horse waiting in the wings for me to wake up, look into his eyes and instantly fall in love.
Then, like Sleeping Beauty, one day I woke up and realized it doesn't happen like that in real life. It's easy to get disillusioned real quick when you start looking for reasons for the fairy tale to not work. There is no Prince Charming on a white horse waiting outside while you're under the Evil Queen's spell. (If you're lucky you might find a bad boy in a leather jacket with a fastback pony with glass backs and enough horses to keep your heart skipping a beat while you figure out a way to sneak out). You can't tell children it doesn't happen like that in real life. Fairy tales are a way of life for little girls destined to be princesses. Little girls need the thought of fairy tales and princes and white stallions to make the journey worthwhile in the end. Makes you appreciate what you find at the end of the road- your own type of prince with his own type of white horses. He slays demons and dragons and fire-breathing lizards and while you're no princess with no fairy godmothers to make dinner on a regular basis, that doesn't mean its not your very own brand of fairy tale. It's in the eye of the beholder.
Your hero and heroine need to make the journey. He doesn't need to be the prince and she doesn't need to be the princess in need of rescue. The journey is about paving a new fairy tale. Whether she throws up on him the first time they meet because he just happens to be sitting beside her in the doctor's office. Or he rear ends her brand new pricey vehicle at a stoplight because he's too busy breaking up with his flaky girlfriend via text message. The fairy tale journey has to start somewhere and no matter how it twists and turns, the ending is what counts. The Happily Ever After. The part when we read past the darkest black moment, we sigh, smile, slightly get misty eyed and remember that everything is supposed to work out in the end. Everyone wants to believe in the end there will be the happily ever after with doves being released in the background and fairy godmothers sighing and heaven's angels singing. Writers write to right wrongs and pretend for 300 pages that the fairytale exists. In those 300 pages, we make the readers believe it could happen too no matter how jaded we become in our own lives, the fairy tale is alive and well in someone's mind.
For me, I fell in love with romance novels because the relationship between the hero and heroine is always friendship, trust, respect. In the end, that's what brings them together. That's what keeps them together all those years. No matter the fights. No matter the issue. When you are friends with someone, it's so much harder to break their heart and disappoint. Fairy tales always have bumps in the road. If you can't make the jump over them together, the fairy tale ends. If you always hop them together, the fairy tale remains intact. You have to have obstacles to keep the fairy tale strong. And the hero and heroine's journey is no different.
Heroine is contacted to investigate crime.
Hero is Privately Investigating same crime for a different contact.
The hero meets his heroine. Shared history. Reunion of sorts.
The heroine punches him in the nose when he "accidentally" brushes his hand somewhere indecent in a crowded space.
The hero kidnaps the heroine.
The heroine sneaks away from the hero.
The hero admires the heroine's audacity.
Therefore, they are forced to work in close quarters to solve crime.
Hot things happen.
More hot things.
Heroine finds out that the Hero is working against her.
Heroine struggles and hero struggles and they part ways.
Heroine finds out she's an idiot.
Hero figures out he's an idiot.
Crime is solved.
Hero and Heroine HEA.
The. End. For. Now.
What is your rule of thumb when you're writing your own brand of fairy tale? How do you start each journey? How about your own journey? If you're not a writer, how would you want your personal fairy tale written?
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87 comments:
It be similiar ta how it works wit' me and DH. Though we ain't savin' the world too often. But we are always and repeatedly savin' each other.
I seem ta find meself writin' emotionally crippled heroine. Hero who believes in her more than she believes in herself. Even if'n she ain't aware of how broken she be.
Always starts wit' friendship. Often friendship with benefits...
She keeps pushin' 'im away. He sticks despite it all. Big black moment, when she pushes too strong and it looks like he's leavin'...
Then he comes back, she realizes he's had a point all along, together they work on healin'...
And savin' the world, a' course!
Chanceroo, I tend to write the emotionally crippled heroine too. And it's not necessarily that the hero believes in her more than she believes in herself that brings them together, but the fact that he actually stands beside her and that gives her the confidence to break away from a few of her barriers.
*grin* Always start with friends with benefits. That's usually my rule of thumb too. LOL
We're a mess.
Apparently it doesn't like me as my formal title.
And of course I'd get moderated in my own blog. Yeesh.
Oh, I adore this blog post! Sin you're amazing.
I love how a romance novel is still a fairy tale even if their is no prince on a white horse. It's still what the heroine wants and probably what I want. :) A fairy tale that's believable. You've described it perfectly.
I think showing friendship first is why I'm drawn to reunion stories. I finally wrote the first meeting mid way through. Kind of a twist on the cliche of she sees him across a crowded room and knows he's The One. But she's having a psychotic episode and he's the only one that looks...well, human. Definitely The One.
Sorry, Sin, if you ever use your formal title from hereon, you should be fine. It just makes me moderate the first instance. (I was getting tired of the spam about penis vitamins and was trying to make it more difficult for them.)
Chance and Q - I'm right there with you. Love the heroine who needs emotional work and the hero who's man enough to help her work through it.
Hahaha *LOL* I went looking for Q's comment, and realized you were talking about me. LOL
Sabrina, the flip side- heroine the one who needs all the emotional help and the hero helping- is one of my favorite kinds of stories. I spent a lot of years reading historicals where it always seems to be the alpha male who has emotional baggage and can't get over it and it's the heroine who teaches him how to not be a stubborn emotional mess.
Melissa, oh, how I adore you kid!
If I wasn't opposed to hugging of any kind, I might hug you for liking the blog.
And I'm loving this first meeting you're describing. I'm a fan of seeing someone from across a crowded room and locking gazes for just a second. In that second the whole world stops revolving. The room noise dies out. It's just the two of you for that brief moment. And you know then you're fcked. LOL
Awww, almost hug back at ya. :) And I'm happy cuz you called me kid. It's my birthday and if anyone calls me ma'am (sp?) today I'm going to have my own psychotic episode!
OOOOHH!!
*flinging clothes over the side of the crows nest* I must find my mic to sing you happy birthday!
*digging*
*clothes, feather boas, corsets*
*handcuffs, feathers, whip, restraints*
Nope. Nope. Nope. Not it.
*digging*
*falling into oblivion*
*shoes flying*
Ah-ha! *gleaming silver retro mic*
*grabbing a hold of the rope and sliding down*
Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday to you!
Happppppy birthday, dear Melissa (who is a kid and no one dares to caaaaallll ma'am)
Happy birthday to you!
LOL! Now that made my day! I can take a ma'am or two now. Thanks. :)
That was the best Birthday rendition I ever heard...hilarious!! Happy Birthday, Melissa! Have an awesome, wicked birthday!
I am all about the heroines who are emotional cripples. (Write what you know and all that.)
I can't think of a personal fairy tale right now.
Since my first manuscript (Redemption) was about loving someone no matter what and about realizing someone loved you no matter what; and my second manuscript was about perception, how you're perceived and what's really true, and my current manuscript is about Being Chosen and Free Will--I guess my personal fairy tale would incorporate something with all those things.
But probably more about Being Chosen. If my childhood were turned into a fairy tale, I would have liked to have been the princess who was chosen.
Awh, Hells. You'd made the best princess. Would you like me to buy you the make believe princess dress up kit for Christmas? That could make for one helluva meeting. LOL
I'm late! I'm late! And I'm going to be later!!
Gotta pick up stuff for higher ups (GAH!) but I'll be back. Quickly, I loved the fairy tales but am well aware there's no such thing in real life. I'd love to find someone who could be my best friend, lover, partner, and travel mate, but not holding my breath.
I'll be back!
Dude, it's too late to pick me now. I'm not interested in being a princess anymore. There's a LOT of waiting involved for being a princess and that's just crap. I'd rather be someone else. Someone who hangs out in pool halls and drinks beer...that person is having a much better time than a princess.
I have a tiara. I love it. I think I have it at the house. *quizzical look*
And no, you can't buy me a dress up kit when I got you a boring gift. *LOL*
Hells, I can do what I want. 'Cause I'm in a gang bitch. LOL
Ter, take your time babe. And remember to breathe. You're not going to be late. There is no time restraints for the blog.
Can I just say that I can NOT wait for Alice in Wonderland to come out in the Spring. They couldn't have picked a better person to play the Mad Hatter.
I have a tiara somewhere. It's got pink marabou on it and rhinestones. I think it hales from the dollar store. LOL
And Hells, you could be the rogue princess who hangs out at the bar playing pool and drinking cheap beer flirting with all the bad boys and making them drool.
Oh I so want to be Hells sidekick! No princess dresses for me. :) (Although I shouldn't point it out, but Sabrina means Princess)
I'm the Princess Harry of Princesses. I like it.
Sabrina, you can totally sidekick with me. Of course, Sabrina means princess. EVERYONE else got the cool names. What did I get named? A bogus Teutonic name that means, "Free", whoopdie crap. *LOL* I wanted to be named Sarah (which was the OTHER name they'd been tossing around, vaguely, in the panicked moments after my birth and they realized, "Oh, it's a girl." Thanks for being so happy about it) which means, yes, PRINCESS.
But my first name mingled with my middle (if you go with the less traditional meaning) is "Free and Rebellious", and I can live with that. Fine, I'm not a princess, but you can kiss my ass. *LOL*
I never get to be the princess, I'm always the fat, ugly maid who makes the princess look better. *sigh*
Higher ups are fed. And there's a rumor they tried to LEAVE for lunch while I was out getting their lunch. They are SO lucky there were still here when I got back.
Yes, I paid all that money for a degree to make me the lunch go getter girl. *huff*
My fairy tale would involve someone else being in charge for five damn minutes. And being capable enough to NOT need me to rescue him. Yes, that's my fantasy. Send me a man I don't have to rescue.
Bo'sun needs a minion.
Hey! I have a tiara that switches on with blinky lights and all... 'Course, I bought it fer Jane-o.
Happy b-day, Melissa! Let me get behind the bar and mix up a special fer ya... a Melissa "Don't-Call-Me-Ma'am" Martini! In a huge glass ya can use to clobber those who dare ta ma'am ya taday! (Once ya drink the martini...)
whew! My computer died and gave a message "cannot detect hard drive" which looked bad. Thank goodness it ran all kinds of tests for 45 minutes or so and booted back up. And I've immediately backed everything up on the external hard drive(which I was kicking myself I hadn't done). Lots of panic. One moment of thinking my story might be lost does a lot to make it seem like the greatest thing ever written! All I can say is DO IT NOW. You all probably do that anyway!
Thanks Hellie for the birthday wish...I've had "awesome" with the computer not dying and now I'm so relieved I'll have a drink and maybe the wicked part will come true. LOL
Thanks, Chance. Oh, a "don't-call-me-ma'am" martini...yum, tasty...can I have another? LOL
*LOL* OMG, Melissa, yes, having everything restored and then backing it up--yes, that sort of panic would make you think, "What? But I was BRILLIANT, damnit! I can't write that shit a second time!"
Lord, with that sort of terror, have three drinks.
Bo'sun needs a minion--those words just send terror through me.
I do wonder if she did meet some mythical CAPABLE person, if she could relinquish her control long enough for someone else to do it. ("Bo'sun's a control freak, Bo'sun's a control freak...")
Yeah, now I lost my excuse and will have to keep plodding along with it not as shiny with brilliance as it suddenly became...LOL
Bo'sun can hear you. Bo'sun can hear you.
Trust me, I would give it up. On a regular basis. ;)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MELISSA!! Sorry I was remiss in saying that before. That little blip would certainly send me into a tailspin. I need to invest in one of those external hard drives.
I also want a netbook or little notebook or whatever those tiny little laptops are called. I want one now!
Melissa, I'm so glad you didn't lose anything. :)
I religiously remind people to back up. You should schedule yourself to backup your hard drive at least once every two weeks. If not every week.
The thought of relinquishing control for one fcking day is actually pretty tempting. But I would want my control back immediately after 24 hours was up. The thought of lost independence gives me hives.
Look. Just talking about it makes me itchy.
I would take a minion though. And underling. To do the small things that aren't worth my time and effort but still require attention. Like crushing dreams.
I have no intention of ever giving up my independence. However, a break from being the only person in charge all the time would be nice.
And a minion sounds okay, but then it sounds like he/she would need a great deal of guidance and instruction. So no thanks.
Bo'Sun - I got a Dell netbook last year around christmas time. Dell had a one day online sale and I got it super cheap. LOVE IT! Keep an eye out for their sales this year.
What was funny was I was texting "Mr. No Commitment" right before my computer crashed. Excuse this little story:
Last night he fixed my electric heater and as he left (and I'm just proud of myself sticking to my resolve he wasn't staying!) I said "thanks for warming me up!"...then he texted me this morning and asked if my oven was working. It's not, he disconnected the power. So I texted back "no." He texted back and said he'd be over to fix it...I texted "k" and he texted..."heat or oven? lol" I texted back "well, it is my birthday...LOL" and he texted back "I'll have to make a service call. lol"
Then my computer died. LOL Punishment for wicked thoughts?
Thanks for the heads up! Does it come with any kind of Office software?
LOL. I love wicked texting thoughts. LOL
It's a crazy day...had to get that out of my system.
Bo'Sun, there's nothing wrong with being a control freak. :)
Thank you, Melissa. We control freaks must stick together. LOL!
Amen. Someone has to do it.
Someone is being a naughty little pirate for her birthday. A Mr. No Commitment is always good for a booty text. LOL!
Haven't we all sent one of those? (Except the Captain, who refuses to text. *rolls eyes*)
No offense to the Capt'n but I've seen her phone. No wonder she doesn't text.
I refuse to text because I can't even dial numbers properly. I had it BANNED from my phone. (Great White Deerhunter was complaining about my lack of texting availability. Yeah, like you'd text any oftener than you'd call. *eye roll*)
I don't text because I can't afford the unlimited. And I'd NEED the unlimited. I'd be pathetic.
LMAO. I have the unlimited. Not that I go through a lot but there are some days that I get a little wild on the texting side. And I have an old school phone like you Hells. I'm going to get you a new phone and show you the wicked world of text message.
*snorts* Yes, if I added texting to my phone--and I'd have to upgrade to make it worthwhile--I'd have to restrict myself to 2 letter responses like F.U. and NO. Which will come off as a hostile and no one would text me...and then I'd be paying for unlimited texting for a service I couldn't use.
Oh, the texting went awry when I texted him back that my computer fried at his last comment and it was all his fault...he texted back "the oven was 220 power and I didn't touch the 110 power."
Huh? Okay, that's not what I meant. LOL Had to spell it out and text "my computer crashed from wicked thoughts." He texted back "oh..got it. lol"
Sex-texting isn't as fun when you have to explain the sex. *LOL*
I'm browsing my carrier for possiblities. I can get unlimited texting AND about the same minutes (hell, probably double minutes, I don't know what I have) I think I have now for about $15 more than I pay now, but that would require a 2 year commitment on my part. And change.
And I'm already in half a mind for a computer that works properly, so it seems nutty to do both. Too much change.
Hellie, I think guys would text more than call. It might not be poetry, but it's something. Last text I got from Mr. No Commitment was "got a spike." Okay, it's deer hunting around here but it still took me a while to figure out it was a deer. And silly me is glad for one little text that my deluded mind reads as "thinking about you."
Sex-texting isn’t as fun when you have to explain the sex. *LOL*
LOL This is true. But inuendo only gets you so far.
Johnny Depp just made People's Sexiest Man Alive for the 2nd time (1st time in 2003, so I think he got it again faster than the other yokels, thanks)--so guess what magazine I'll be running out to get ASAP.
As long as you limit yourself to sex-texting and NOT sexting, we'll be good. LOL! And I hate when you have to explain. I would have simply said nevermind. LOL!
I plan on changing carriers when my contract is up and getting a better phone. These flip phones don't last for me. Too much flipping, I guess. And I hate texting on the old keypad thing. 777733399 and by then, I'm too tired to finish. ;)
Yeah. Great White Deerhunter wished I had texting so he could send me a PICTURE of the deer he killed yesterday. Not so much as a limerick in sight. But from what I understand, it was a honking ass deer and it's the Missouri Man's version of winning the RITA, so it's not like I can be that bitter. He's happy; I'm happy; it's all good...it's just fitting that he wants to text me a picture of a dead deer. The Big Romantic.
Bo'Sun - I got my netbook with Ubuntu which was cheaper and I really like it. But, you can also get it with regular windows software. Comes installed.
*snorts* Yeah, "got a spike" is definite deer-hunting lingo.
I asked him how many points his honking deer was and his response was, "Well, if you count the [WORD I DIDN'T KNOW AND DON'T REMEMBER, these deerhunters are so technical], 13 points. But otherwise, 11."
"Well, clearly you're going to count them."
"Hell, yeah, you can hang a key ring off them..."
Boys.
*skipping around office so happy to be away from deer hunting*
I'll second the men will text more than call. But then you have the chance of finding other texts, clearly filled with innuendo, that are not from you. LOL! Technology can be dangerous!
Sabrina - I mean what do you use to write? Or do you use it for that? I just want to use it to write while I'm traveling. So I'd only need Word.
Oh, also received a real, in the mail birthday card with the sentiment "may this year bring everything your heart desires." This is from "the friendly stalker." Oh, joy...I can count on him to remember.
No sighing going on. I'll take the text. Can you tell my guy options are limited? LOL
Okay, back to writing a fairy tale...:)
I was going to make sure ealier that this wasn't the stalker. LOL!
Oh, no. That would be too simple. LOL
OK, I have to talk about New Moon because I'm way excited (Team Jacob!) and so I've been reading all these articles...my fault if I'm disappointed...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/fwd/20091117/en_fashion_fwd/howlingatthenewmoonpremiere
And I have to laugh at this article because Rob is bitching yet again about the crazy fans--and he says they ALL say the same thing, regardless of age. "I had a 90 something year old woman say these things! It doesn't matter how old they are!" and if that is *remotely* quoted right and this poor woman comes forward and reveals she's a mere 50 or 60 something fan, Rob is a dead man... What's wrong with the 90 year old? Technically speaking, she's more in the age range of EDWARD! *LOL*
Happy Birthday, Melissa!
I love fairy tales, but I prefer the revised version in my romances--those I write and those I read. Jenny Crusie has a great essay (available on her site) called "This Is Not Your Mother's Cinderella." In her conclusion she says:
No matter how much the genre has evolved over the years, there is always a prince, and the heroine always wins his devotion. But the romance delivers more, promising the modern reader that she will win love only if she remains true to herself–active and passionate. It’s a simplistic message but an important one, for in a huge, chaotic world where a woman is sent so many conflicting and impossible signals about who she should be and how she should act, the romance novel offers a precise miniature universe in which, if she follows her instincts and her heart, she’ll live happily ever after.
I admit to having a fascination for what happens after the fairy tale ends. I love that old Suzy Boggus song "Hey, Cinderella":
Yeah, our dolls gather dust in the corner of the attic,
And bicycles rust in the rain.
Still we walk in that fabled shadow.
Sometimes we call her name.
Hey, hey, Cinderella, what's the story all about?
I got a funny feeling we missed a page or two somehow.
Ohh-ohhhh, Cinderella, maybe you could help us out.
Does the shoe fit you now?
I think wondering if the shoe does still fit and what happens to the love story if it doesn't account for attraction to reunion stories. I think the princess and the prince have lessons to learn. I like watching the learning process.
Wow, the last sentence of that article is pretty ominous. But does Taylor really think these kids haven't read the book?! LOL! Uhm...they pretty much know what happens.
Good points, Janga (a la Crusie). I do love that Eloisa James sets so many stories well into the lives of married couples. Getting that ring on your finger is far from THE END.
Happy Birthday, Melissa!!!
To text or not to text, that is the question! That is the only thing on my daughter's Xmas list - TEXTING!
The DH loves playing his warped father games on her - telling her he's getting her texting for Christmas. To which she replies - "I want it for more than just Christmas Day, DAD!!!!" She's so got his number.
I'd kind of like it and kind of not. It would be a lot easier to communicate with them. A mother told me recently that her teenage daughter has texted her more than once from an uncomfortable situation asking her to come get her and she didn't think she would have called.
Still mulling it over. The DH definitely doesn't want them to have it.
My kiddo (10) wants a phone in the worst way, but I'm not giving in. Children do not need phones. And don't give me the "They may need it to reach you in an emergency!" bit. We didn't have the damn things, and look at us. We're still here! How about that.
My fairy tale? It would probably be very similar to Chance's - emotionally crippled heroine, hero that believes in her more than she does herself, starts off as friendship, etc. etc.
Right now, though, I'm thinking I'd like Terri's - Anyone to take control and let me veg out for an hour or two would be grand (My FIL has moved in with us for a few weeks due to medical issues and it is like having a 73 year old, 150 pound toddler around! If you all see a story on the news about a short red headed mother of two who jumped off her roof you know who it is!!! LOL)
It's easier if you just jump off the side of the ship. The water is more forgiving. Unless you have a pool, then I'd go for it.
Thanks for the birthday wishes! You know, I've been writing my personal fairy tale since it's my birthday and I just felt like it. Thanks for the great post, Sin! It's late so I won't feel too bad about pasting it in. If it fits. Sorry, it got kind of long. :)
Once upon a time there was a fifteen year old girl who got her first kiss on the day the object of her heart’s desire graduated from high school. She wrote in her diary that night that it wasn’t a great kiss, kind of messy, but it was from him. It didn’t even matter that he was doling out kisses that night, at that party, to every girl within arm reach. She wanted to be within reach. They partied that summer and were almost a couple. Roller skating and parties at the Pines. Riding in his car and parking in the church parking lot behind her parents’ house. The kisses got better and she discovered what it meant to be kissed until she forgot her name and everything else. “What was the question?” became an inside joke. In that car she sang “good hearted woman in love with a good timing man” at the top of her voice. She adored him, and even forgot to give back his comb, which was essential to a boy in 1982. The object of her desire left and joined the Navy but wrote to the girl. Letters she treasured. Until, one day, after the kind squabble sisters have that end in looking for blood, her sister showed her that he also wrote to her. And in that letter she found out the object of her desire knew of her crush. He thought she might have bronzed his comb. And the girl became reckless while he was gone.
Years went by. The girl married in college and the object of her desire married too. Years went by. She left everything small town behind. A career and independence in a big city. A divorce when marriage became lonely. She heard he divorced too and was back in that small town but she didn’t go back. Not even for family would she go back. She relished the freedom and again she was reckless. Years went by. A new Mr. Wrong and a baby. A miracle baby.
A single mom, she went back to that small town. And she wondered, when will I see him? Will he think I look good? And late one night he knocked on her door, like only a slightly drunk former high school flame has the nerve to do. And, she in her old terry cloth robe heard “damn, you look good.” She didn’t believe it - - alcohol and well, the old robe, all considered. But still, it sounded good. They talked all night. Shared memories she knew were more important to her. On a whim she even found her diary and showed him that she thought he was a rotten kisser. There it was in black and white. (Thank God she hadn’t written more.)
Years went by. Two years of rediscovering the inside joke of “what was the question?” It took maybe three years to know he wouldn’t love her back.
Someone else came along and she said “hi” and that seemed to be enough. He thought she could do no wrong. He took the burden of single parenthood off her shoulders. He brought her a puppy. I’m a lucky girl, she thought. Remember that. Plan the wedding and don’t look back. And she tried. Until she’d see the object of her heart’s desire and forget and remember all in the same breath. She broke it off knowing it wasn’t fair. She knew she couldn’t marry when she loved someone else. Even if he didn’t care and a couple of years later, would send her a birthday card that said “may this year bring you everything your heart desires.”
And as in all good fairy tales, one day the object of her desire realized he loved her too. He asked her to marry, and she said, “what was the question?” They lived happily ever after.
Melissa - That really good. But I'm realizing I've lost all my romantic notions. I didn't want her to marry him. I think I'm a lost cause.
I loved this line > Until she’d see the object of her heart’s desire and forget and remember all in the same breath.
That be real heartwarmin', actually... Nice, Melissa...
Why am I speaking cavewoman? Gah!
Been one a' those days, Terrio? ;)
Yeah, sometimes the happyily ever after doesn't ring true. Like all happy endings you have to believe it will last. But fun times are sometimes better than nothing. :)
Happyily...nice word. It's my birthday, give me break. If Bo'sun can talk caveman I can talk whatever happyily is. :)
Happyily it is! Sounds like a much easier name fer yer drink, Melissa! I'll add it ta the roster!
I thought you did that on purpose. LOL! You totally could have claimed that word.
Yeah, I really wanted to slap the object of her desire...though sadly I could completely understand. *LOL* COMPLETELY.
Oh Gawd! I don't want to be a Princess! Ever. I'd refuse! And no Grand Duchess or Duchess either.
I WAs going to say that My personal fairy tale would incorporate one Ideal... Normalicy. That's it. I just want a Normal Life. But then I remembered that you guys are Pirates. And you view of what is normal is Not Normal. Which could explain why when I say my prayers at night, and I ask God for a Nice Normal Life
Just an ordinary, average, quiet, uneventful life.
But instead I get paradoxes, and irony, and intrigue, and drama ... Lots & lots of drama.
Now if I can't have the "Normal" Fairy Tale. then I want my second choice. That's right if I can't be normal then I want to be Delusional!
Which means SIN that You CAN'T tell me that I hit the nail right on the head!
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