What's Really Important

I recently came across an old notebook, the one I was using when I wrote the first draft of my current WIP (the WIP fondly known as "The Story That's Trying to Kill Me") (more on that another day). Along with some utterly embarrassing story snippets that I thought back then were pure gold, I found a list I wrote called "The Important Points of the First Ten Chapters."

The reason I made this list was because I had just realized my story started at the wrong place. I'd read a blog post that suggested making a list to see what really needed to be included and going from there. So, with that brilliant idea, and my equally brilliant and creative list title, I did that.

Guys.

It's been over a year since I made that list, and my beginning is finally (hopefully) where it should be, but on a list of over twenty important points, guess how many are still in the story?

Four. Yes, four little things that have survived the hacking and slashing and ugly weeping of six more drafts. It was amazing to me to see how much my story had changed. And it's not just changing, it's improving. Very encouraging.

It made me think of this post by Natalie Whipple about the malleability of stories. Things might feel so important and key to our plot, but if they're not working out, you know, it's okay. It's okay, guys.

Now. I'm going to chant that to myself as I go back to kneeling in front of my laptop, begging this WIP to cooperate. Malleability. I got this.

Dirty Houses and Messy Manuscripts

In the past six months, I've had the chance to meet two awesome women, my CP/BFFs Christine and Julie.

I know what you're thinking.

Yes, they are as awesome in real life as they seem online. Yes, I am actually taller than Julie. Yes, Christine does make the most a-MAH-zing scrambled eggs.

And no, I didn't watch them sleep (tempting) or hold them hostage in my crawl space when it was time for them to leave (also tempting).

When Julie came, I had just moved into my new house (living there for over a month still counts as JUST moving, right?) and there were still boxes everywhere. Within five minutes of our meeting, I had her and her husband helping me stuff boxes in a closet so we'd have room to hang out.

When Christine was here, she did my dishes on more than one occasion. She also babysat my kids while I picked my husband up from work.

Although our visits were--overall--super fun, I mention these lame things because inviting your best friend into your disheveled house is kind of like turning over your disheveled MS to a crit partner. It's not perfect. There are rough spots. There are embarrassing parts. There are things that don't work. But it's okay, because they are your friend, they love you, and they're there to help.

Turning a rough draft over for anyone to read is hard, but giving it to someone who cares about you takes away some of the pain. They have your best interest at heart. They don't want you to strain your back carrying those heavy boxes by yourself. They want you to try eating crab that's cooked right so you can get over your seafood phobia. And they want your story to be the best it can be.

It might be mortifying at times. It might make you feel like a dork. But, when the boxes are cleared, the dishes are dry, and the manuscript is fresh and tight and beautiful, you see that the most daunting tasks are better with a friend or two.

Lists! Kissing Edition!

*If you missed my Villains list, check it out here

emo love by Jett Meredith (age 4)

 

When I was in college, I had some friends (actually, it was more like I knew some girls who were way cool and I admired them from afar and called them my "friends" in my journal.)  (Kind of the way I make "friends" with other bloggers today.  *cough*) who made a kissing movie.  This was back in the VHS days, so they had recorded the kissing part of a bunch of different movies and dubbed music over the top of it.

It was so awesome.

Imagine, ten minutes of Hollywood's finest, going at it.  My friends had watched it so many times that they offered commentary, too.  The one I remember best was "Ever After":  "She tastes it, she likes it, she goes back in for more."

Making a kissing movie has been on my to-do list since that fateful day.  In that vein, here is my top ten kisses list!

1. Percy and Annabeth (in The Last Olympian) This kiss is long awaited.  And underwater in a giant bubble, which sounds ridiculously fun to me.
2. Harry and Ginny (in Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows) I have to give full credit to Ginny for both kisses.  She is a go-get-em type of girl.  I love the fact that she rushes Harry at the Quidditch celebratory party AND that she ambushes him on his birthday.
3. Ron and Hermione (in Deathly Hallows) This was also a long awaited kiss and I had to read it a few times to make sure it really happened.  Really?  Hermione just jumped Ron??  Awesome. I love Harry's annoyed reaction, too.
4. Max and Fang (in Max: The Protectors) Flying bird kids in love=kissing whilst flying.  That puts it in the same category as kissing underwater in a giant bubble.  In other words, it's on my bucket list of impossibility.
5. Ronnie and Will (in The Last Song) Admittedly, I'm not a huge Miley Cyrus fan.  Maybe that's part of the appeal of this kiss to me.  They're arguing, he's annoyed, so he shuts her up with a kiss.  Good call, Will.  Good. call.  (Here's a link if you want to check it out yourself.)
6. Anne and Gilbert (in Anne of Green Gables) Uh, do I really need to explain this one?  "I don't want sunbursts and marble halls.  I just want you!"  Ahhhhh.  Totally worth the six hour wait.
7. Frederic and Mabel (in Pirates of Penzance) He has to leave his beloved for 63 years, so what's a man to do?  Sing to her, waltz with her, dip her and plant a nice one full on her lips.  That'll hold her for half a dozen decades.
8. Squints Palledorous and Wendy Peffercorn (in The Sandlot) Not a particularly romantic kiss, but surrounded by so many good lines that I couldn't resist.  "She doesn't know what she's doing."  "Yeah, she does.  She knows exactly what she's doing."  "Oiling. Lotioning.  Lotioning. Oiling.  I can't take it no more! Move!" "He had kissed a woman.  And he had kissed her long and good."  I could go on and on.  Plus, he gets the girl in the end, so it all works out.
9. Lend and Evie (in Paranormalcy) I love the idea portrayed in this one; she can see him, literally, in a way no one else can.  That makes for a super sweet kiss.
10. Catcher and Gabry (in Dead-Tossed Waves) The intensity of the feelings surrounding this moment, the exhilaration of summer romance juxtaposed with a fear of zombie attack, made my tummy whirl.  Quite pleasantly.  

So there you have it.  Apparently, I like ambushes, unusual locales, and sweetness.

What kisses do you love?

Lists! Villain Edition!

Who likes to make lists?

I do.

I came across this post yesterday, courtesy of Sierra Godfrey, who I like for her ultra-mad list-making skills.  In the post, Ms. Sokoloff talks about using lists to help unclog your writer's block.  She suggests, for example, making a list of your top ten favorite opening paragraphs, if you're struggling with your beginning.  Or listing your top ten heroes.  You get the idea.

When you have your list, you can analyze the patterns that emerge to see what things you are drawn to and use them to shape your own perfect...whatever.

So here is my top ten villains:

• Professor Umbridge (from HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX).  Although this list is in random order, she is by and far my favorite, most hated villain.  The first time I read that book, I was sick to my stomach with frustration and helplessness.  She is so vile and manipulative, and she likes to make people BLEED.  I hate her.
• Michael "Goob" Yagoobian (from MEET THE ROBINSONS).  Ah, Goob.  Classic bowler hat/cape/mustache combo, dumb as a box of rocks.  But I can't help but feel for him, because all he wants is a little love.
• Septimus (from STARDUST).  He's cold, calculating, and heartless, killing off his brothers to try and become the next heir to the throne.  But he's so dang cool while he does it.  Plus, he can sword fight while he's dead, with two broken legs no less, which was so grossly hilarious to me.
• Severus Snape (from HARRY POTTER).  Maybe not a villain so much, but I added him because, ooh, I just loved to hate him.  And, he made things rough for Harry despite trying to keep him alive, which is villain-y.
• Prince Charming (from SHREK).  Prince Charming cracks me up.  He is so vain and spoiled, so bumbling, but still able to incite some real trouble.  And when he puts on his play, I almost die laughing every time.  What a jerk.
• Captain Hook (from HOOK). His mind games with Jack make me want to put my fist through the TV.  Run home, Jack! 
• Vector (from DESPICABLE ME).  He's obnoxious and spoiled and has financial backing.  AND, he wears jumpsuits.
• Ari (from MAXIMUM RIDE). Another one of my very favorites.  Max and the other kids have been grafted with bird DNA, which gives them wings.  One of the scientists, Ari's father, finally decides to help them escape from the testing center where they're being tortured, and he leaves Ari behind.  Ari decides that the only way he can get his father's attention is to be turned into an Eraser; he is an eight-year-old boy in a twenty-two-year-old body, with werewolf-like capabilities.  All he wants is his father's approval.  And he hates Max, not just because he's programmed to kill her, but because she never noticed him at the testing center.  He wanted her friendship and didn't get it.  So now, he wants to kill her, and also keep her all for himself.  He's a messy bundle of emotion.  My favorite part, though, is when he follows Max to a store to attack her and sees a woman shopping for a bra.  He's totally grossed out, because he's still an eight-year-old boy on the inside.  So funny.
• The Baroness Rodmilla (from EVER AFTER).  Classic evil-stepmother, but I like that her hatred is fueled by jealousy that her husband loved his daughter more than he loved her.  I like the scene when Danielle is brushing her hair and she shows some of her pain and vulnerability, but I also love that she's ready and willing to throw her own rotten daughter under the bus at the end.
• Modin (from DRAGON'S MILK).  He posed as a trustworthy helper and betrayed in the end.  This man ruined it all for me.  I have a hard time trusting anyone who comes along and offers help in a story and it's ALL HIS FAULT.  My little third grade heart almost couldn't handle treachery of this magnitude.

Looking at my list, I've learned some things:  1) I like my villains to be human, to be motivated by emotions like past heartache or longing for acceptance.  2) I don't watch scary movies with really scary villains because I'm a scaredy-cat.  3) My taste in books and movies is running at an alarmingly kid centric pace these days.  4) I rely on my villains for some comic relief.

So there you go.  Look for my amalgamation of these guys in a bookstore near you sometime in the future.

Who would be on your list, and why?