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Thursday, November 30, 2006

Lessons in Love

Powerful love stories is what I would love to create. Those stories that make you still believe that there is a soul mate for everyone and true love is real. My husband mocks me for liking the movie "The Village". But it truly fits the hero's journey. And the love story... The scene on the porch between the two main characters. That's what love is about. It's pure and innocent and strong and unyielding.

I also like stories that the love is almost painful to bear. The misunderstandings convolute the characters actions. So the question to ask at the beginning of every plot is what will take center stage in this story the internal battle or the external battle. There has to be a little of both or the story will tend to be flat.

I've actually found "The Joy of Writing Sex" to be very interesting. It's based less on what Romance authors would write and more on how sex scenes can be woven into novels written by fiction novelists. Not that romance authors aren't fiction novelists, but there is a clear distinction. The author dwells not on the (pardon the term) ins and outs, but what's going on (ummm) underneath it all. How to make a scene move the story forward. Not just sex for the sake of sex. I agree with her and looking back at most of the novels I've enjoyed, the sex moved the story forward as part of the external dilema or in character development/realization. I don't want to write p*rn*graphy(stop the bots). Sex without plot without motivation without the hint of love. The characters don't have to be in love at first sight. Most of the time they fall into lust at first sight. There's a connection. They talked about that connection in "Ugly Betty" tonight. The sweaty palms, heart racing. The connection that makes you believe there is a chance of love here.

Alas, I don't know how to quit this post. I know I should draw some conclusion, but frankly, I don't feel like it right now.