tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58794710812416377562024-02-06T23:31:51.021-08:00Past the Mirror: Writing Updates and BlogJennifer Carole Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541375725907427671noreply@blogger.comBlogger625125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879471081241637756.post-73693506482014235282022-01-18T07:14:00.003-08:002022-01-18T07:14:36.718-08:00A Few of My Favourite Things - Blogpost links<p> I'm still having a lot of challenges post-COVID, including long-COVID complications. However, I did manage to post some blogs over on Soul Mate's site and for those who would like to enjoy them, here they are. I did a theme of talking about my favourite romance tropes, subgenres, scenes, etc.</p><p><a href="https://smpauthors.wordpress.com/2021/02/03/a-few-of-my-favorite-things-the-forced-proximity-trope/" target="_blank">The Forced Proximity Trope</a> (who doesn't love only one bed!)</p><p><a href="https://smpauthors.wordpress.com/2021/03/17/a-few-of-my-favorite-things-the-bodyguard-romance/" target="_blank">Bodyguard Romances</a> (when one will do anything to protect the other... chef's kiss)</p><p><a href="https://smpauthors.wordpress.com/2021/04/28/a-few-of-my-favorite-things-death-watch/" target="_blank">Death Watch</a> (is there anything better than watching one character panic, thinking they're about to lose their best love, and then they DON'T!)</p><p><a href="https://smpauthors.wordpress.com/2021/06/09/a-few-of-my-favorite-things-buttons/" target="_blank">Buttons</a> (slow seduction at its finest and most mouth-watering)</p><p><a href="https://smpauthors.wordpress.com/2021/07/21/a-few-of-my-favorite-things-cynics-and-dreamers/" target="_blank">Cynics and Dreamers</a> (when one believes in everything and the other believes in nothing and yet they're both gonna have to take the plunge into love together... sigh)</p><p><a href="https://smpauthors.wordpress.com/2021/09/01/a-few-of-my-favorite-things-real-life-edition/" target="_blank">Real Life Edition</a> (this one isn't a romance trope but it's a post about a pretty cool lady who would have made an excellent heroine: my grandmother)</p><p><a href="https://smpauthors.wordpress.com/2021/10/13/a-few-of-my-favorite-things-second-chance-romances/" target="_blank">Second Chance Romances</a> (sometimes people don't get things right the first time and how they can still get to a satisfactory HEA)</p><p>Thanks for sticking with me. :)</p>Jennifer Carole Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541375725907427671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879471081241637756.post-73722093543497277702021-03-15T10:01:00.001-07:002021-03-15T10:01:01.004-07:00Post COVID update<p> <span style="font-family: georgia;">On February 28th, I started to feel sick with a bad cough, headache, and sore throat. On March 1st, I was diagnosed with COVID. That began 10 days of being isolated in my room and worrying about who else I might have infected.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Two weeks later, I can answer the second question: no one. My children, parents and ex-husband all tested negative for the virus. I'm still not sure where I got it, but I am relieved to know I didn't pass it on to anyone else.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Being isolated in my room for 10 days was... an experience. It made me very grateful that I live in an era where my phone can function as a TV, communication device, and internet browser. Also very grateful for my e-readers, which let me get new books to combat the boredom (once I'd recovered enough to look at screen without an instantly splitting headache).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I spent a lot of my isolation time sleeping. I was utterly exhausted for the first week of COVID and could only spend an hour or two awake at a time. For the second week, I was still easily worn out, but my brain started being able to concentrate again.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">On March 12th, I was declared officially recovered and allowed to come out of isolation. It was such a weird sense of relief to be able to come downstairs and sit on the couch. (Yes, it was good to be able to see my kids and my dog, but sitting up with back support... that was heavenly.)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I'm still getting tired fairly easily, but I think I'm ultimately going to be fine. However, there are two odd leftovers of my isolation.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The first is guilt. It's irrational, but I feel guilty for everyone who had to go into isolation because I caught COVID. That's two weeks of their lives disrupted, lost income, and all sorts of other consequences. My rational brain recognizes that it was an absolutely necessary precaution but at the same time, since no one else got sick, I feel bad. Of course, if anyone else had gotten sick, I would have felt devastated, so there really wasn't an emotional-win possible here.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Given my inherent blame-myselfism, the second thing caught me by surprise. I haven't had a nightmare since I was diagnosed. (This is huge. Normally I have 2-3 wake-yourself-up-shouting nightmares per week at a minimum.) Not one nocturnal vision of being chased by a relentless hunter/predator, not one heart-pounding jerking awake because I can't find my kids, and no sudden illusions of my legs no longer working and dropping me into the middle of traffic.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Because I am the kind of person who absolutely examines the mouths of my gift-horses, I tried to figure out why that might be. I wondered if it was because although I was sick and worried, I wasn't dealing with my usual 15 ball juggling routine and therefore my anxiety was actually much lower than usual. (I had a similar experience on a day when I was getting surgery: my usually skyrocketing bloodpressure was down in the it's-all-cool range because I'd handed off all my responsibilities for the day.) Or maybe I was too tired to really worry. Or did my subconscious think I'd already achieved the worst outcome and thus had nowhere else to go. (I don't think that last one is it. My subconscious is way too good at coming up with how things could be worse.)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">On Monday, I go back to work. On Tuesday, my oldest son can go back to school. (My youngest is in digital school so he didn't get a break.) Life will slowly get back to normal. Hopefully, I can manage my energy levels to be able to work and finish the edits for <i>Until Proven Guilty</i>. Oh, and finish my online course.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Is it too late to go back into isolation?</span></p>Jennifer Carole Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541375725907427671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879471081241637756.post-84709061447274135532021-03-04T01:48:00.001-08:002021-03-04T01:48:00.136-08:00Is The Crow A Fridging Movie Or Not?<p> <span style="font-family: georgia;">Recently, I was embroiled in a debate as to whether or not the 1994 movie <i>The Crow </i>counts as a fridging story. This is one of my <a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/2018/11/the-dark-love-story-why-crow-is-perfect.html" target="_blank">all-time favourite movies</a> and I began to defend it, but had to stop. Were they right? Could this beautiful dark romance be an example of toxic masculinity?</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivCWV4WwbLF5ynlQ0z_FFfvvWEDgXMdGENlrUgJBMm9S-IRo2n6vB8SKpo__uIeCkz5o1r-RE7YBqIoViCkhlj9MVMCtgfmdbi8lL9PglAlg9iiUELV93xpF7OtKRfZJuueDwIplWnRntz/s2048/The+Crow+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1364" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivCWV4WwbLF5ynlQ0z_FFfvvWEDgXMdGENlrUgJBMm9S-IRo2n6vB8SKpo__uIeCkz5o1r-RE7YBqIoViCkhlj9MVMCtgfmdbi8lL9PglAlg9iiUELV93xpF7OtKRfZJuueDwIplWnRntz/s320/The+Crow+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p>I had to take time to think about it rather than rely on a knee-jerk denial.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">"Fridging" is a term that arrives from comic books, specifically from a trend of treating women as objects to inspire righteous rage in the male heroes. It originated from a <i>Green Lantern</i> comic where the Lantern finds his girlfriend's dead body in a refrigerator. However, there are dozens of examples and not just in comicbooks. Aside from romance, pretty much all genres treat happy relationships as the end of action and tension. Therefore a happy relationship is a preamble and a guarantee that either the relationship isn't really happy (i.e., one of the individuals is a traitor or faking their feelings), or someone is going to be hurt or die in order to launch the other partner into a murderous rampage.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">This is a pattern of toxic masculinity, where feelings are considered bad, unless it's rage. The partnership is meaningless except as a socially acceptable excuse for the main character to become violent. The focus of the story is on the violence and celebrating righteous male anger. Often the relationship is entirely forgotten once vengeance is complete and the hero moves on to violently brood his way into the next episode.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">On the surface, <i>The Crow</i> seems to fit these parameters. The story is about Eric and Shelley, who are in love and about to be married when they are both killed by home invaders. Shelley is brutalized and Eric is killed before he even has a chance to try and defend her. This creates such great pain in his soul that he returns from the land of the dead for vengeance. His crow companion grants him instant healing and awesome martial arts skills.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Eric hunts down each of the four home invaders and violently dispatches them. He also kills the crime boss who ordered the attack, wanting to intimidate the neighborhood into abandoning protests about tenant eviction. There is a strong argument that <i>The Crow</i> is a male power fantasy. Eric doesn't have to work through official or legal channels, he doesn't have to be patient. People hurt him and he can hurt them back without consequence.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ7z1MWcNAPqEeV4VMnsyCCVrtwbCD2XPwNP_4QwyjkEWZWL2C1muVpfnlS79BUbyEPybrLJ6dS-phFjbLpXxZ0gjFAerEgh-ulmGMFyMMabHOSSFA94z71ICirbfw1qvkTsm-7SJZxU_F/s913/Crow+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="417" data-original-width="913" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ7z1MWcNAPqEeV4VMnsyCCVrtwbCD2XPwNP_4QwyjkEWZWL2C1muVpfnlS79BUbyEPybrLJ6dS-phFjbLpXxZ0gjFAerEgh-ulmGMFyMMabHOSSFA94z71ICirbfw1qvkTsm-7SJZxU_F/s320/Crow+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p>Shelley doesn't return from the dead to avenge her own rape and death. She appears only in flashbacks and briefly at the end of the film to reclaim Eric for the land of the dead. The story is about Eric and it isn't his own death that he wants to avenge, it's Shelley's.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">However, I would argue that <i>The Crow</i> lacks the essential toxic masculinity element to make it a true fridging story.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">First, James O'Barr wrote the original comic book, <i>The Crow</i>, <a href="https://thecrow.fandom.com/wiki/The_Crow" target="_blank">to help himself to cope with the death of his fiance, who was killed by a drunk driver</a>. It was an active choice to manage his grief and feelings of helplessness. In a toxic fridging story, the killed partner is solely an inciting incident. They don't truly matter except as an excuse. In <i>The Crow</i>, Shelley is never forgotten. She is the heart of the story and there are frequent powerful reminders of the love that she and Eric shared. O'Barr incorporated his feelings into every aspect of the story, and had included multiple romantic flashbacks which were edited out of the original comic release.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Second, the subplots of Sarah and her mother, and Detective Albrecht and his relationship undermine a toxic masculine interpretation. Eric doesn't only seek vengeance, he also seeks to help the two living people who were also harmed by Shelley's death. Sarah lost her mother substitute (Shelley) and was forced back into the orbit of her addicted mother and her toxic boyfriend (one of the attackers). Albrecht tried to take up Shelley's fight to protect others and ended up being penalized professionally and losing his own marriage.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">When Eric kills Sarah's mother's boyfriend for his role in Shelley's death, he takes the time to help the mother. Holding her in front of the mirror, he whispers "Mother is the name for God on the lips and hearts of all children. Morphine is bad for you." We then see the drugs emerge from the track marks in her arms. For the first time, the mother looks up and seems to be aware. Later, we see Sarah and her mother in their apartment, having breakfast. This is one of only a few scenes with sunlight, indicating a true healing and change.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs24QkDoj8-MwUaHXGyBTZBP_P6BckcnBYa6W2Gwh0chUT16WaQLhnrnO943GRQGkmFbwu0QEcBmDHZfR4lBtTsu37X3hrlrj3vIHqeYhyphenhyphenow3SMzPT2KavedIHfULZ-qsSerUvXi5DYKXd/s480/Crow+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="380" data-original-width="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs24QkDoj8-MwUaHXGyBTZBP_P6BckcnBYa6W2Gwh0chUT16WaQLhnrnO943GRQGkmFbwu0QEcBmDHZfR4lBtTsu37X3hrlrj3vIHqeYhyphenhyphenow3SMzPT2KavedIHfULZ-qsSerUvXi5DYKXd/s320/Crow+3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Eric breaks into Albrecht's home and has a frank conversation with him, not about the killers, but about how much he regrets not making his relationship with Shelley his number one priority in life. He laments that it would have taken so little effort on his part, but he was caught up in other priorities and missed those opportunities. The fact that the message Eric is most focused on is on honoring personal connection and feelings tells the reader that this is far more important than his vengeance.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">It's also telling that Eric does not go to visit his former bandmates or other presumed friends. This is another way in which Shelley is centered despite being dead. It is her relationships which are key to Eric.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The final proof that <i>The Crow</i> is not celebrating toxic masculinity is the final battle between the crimeboss (Top Dollar) and his sister against Eric. The sister has realized that the crow companion is the key to Eric's power. She arranges for the crow to be shot, which destroys Eric's invulnerability. The male power fantasy is destroyed. Eric is no longer able to hurt others without facing consequences. This is something that rarely happens in toxic masculinity stories. Vulnerability is seen as emasculating and is thus avoided at all costs by those who only want an excuse for violence.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Eric confronts Top Dollar and is run through, effectively killing him for a second time. Top Dollar is unharmed and gloats to Eric that his efforts have all been meaningless. Meanwhile, the sister is about to catch the crow, wanting to claim its power for her own.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Instead of surrendering, the crow flies at the sister. It pecks out her eyes, which could be interpreted as manifesting her blindness to the truly important things in life or as an example of how even the very small and seemingly helpless can bring down those who are much more powerful. The sister becomes disoriented and falls to her death.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Eric reaches out and touches Top Dollar, unloading all the painful memories of Shelley's attack and prolonged death. "All of her pain... all for you." Faced with the consequences of his order, Top Dollar also falls to his death.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIISZgbrlubutERgngPrCy4L3H9vOch8tv8Baus8SPLdf11BC38D7ZnR-m_uM0ofyYTL-Fj9gzqb8041NkGHv2qmtR-hSZJL325KGE2PajH1xhEcMgOj65QxfGkH0YWiWJzCXkmqm5-oeL/s740/Crow+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="370" data-original-width="740" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIISZgbrlubutERgngPrCy4L3H9vOch8tv8Baus8SPLdf11BC38D7ZnR-m_uM0ofyYTL-Fj9gzqb8041NkGHv2qmtR-hSZJL325KGE2PajH1xhEcMgOj65QxfGkH0YWiWJzCXkmqm5-oeL/s320/Crow+4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">It's important that Eric and the crow are not the direct instruments of the final bosses' deaths. It's also important to note the final attacks are not celebrations of unilateral violence. The crow's attack is the most violent of the two, but it is not attacking from a position of power. It is defending itself against someone who wants to abuse its inherent strength for their own purposes. It is refusing to be used and defying the implied order that the powerful should control those smaller and weaker than themselves.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Eric's defeat of Top Dollar is even more explicit. It isn't violence that takes out the final boss. It's feelings. </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Feelings are the ultimate power, not the ultimate weakness.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Perhaps this is more splitting hairs than a true distinction, but to me, these differences are significant. It takes Eric out of the realm of toxic masculinity. He begins as a male power fantasy, but ends as someone whose love conquered all. The end of his story isn't him striding off into the sunset to solve yet more problems with violence, but him lying on his grave, waiting for his one true love to return to him. She comes to him and smiles, bringing him home to the land of the dead with her (and, in my opinion, enjoying a happily ever after). I think it's implied that she didn't need vengeance, she only needed him to be content and then they could be together.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiafB5KYDhmrcd4aHMQFDjQKd0dTZhxP8e_3nJC4GB7qT8MoPYPj1AyBLj5sCiRuN98TQLlKNmlhjF1mXzLTIQfnp49_2qTr5FbrZRt6UJEbz1lw32B4E_NVtQN86JoDQ5LaQ3dSfZiS026/s454/Crow+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="363" data-original-width="454" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiafB5KYDhmrcd4aHMQFDjQKd0dTZhxP8e_3nJC4GB7qT8MoPYPj1AyBLj5sCiRuN98TQLlKNmlhjF1mXzLTIQfnp49_2qTr5FbrZRt6UJEbz1lw32B4E_NVtQN86JoDQ5LaQ3dSfZiS026/s320/Crow+5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The story of <i>The Crow</i> is one of Eric growing beyond his pain and regaining love. And that is nowhere near toxic masculinity.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/2021/02/trust-between-authors-and-audience.html">Previous blogpost: Trust between Authors and Audience</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/">Blog homepage</a></span></p>Jennifer Carole Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541375725907427671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879471081241637756.post-4348170207798400542021-02-25T01:35:00.001-08:002021-02-25T01:35:20.205-08:00Trust Between Authors and Audience<p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>This post has spoilers for Wandavision.</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I've found myself thinking a lot lately about the trust that exists between authors and their audience, whether they write books, TV, or movies.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">There are some authors that I will trust to take me to hell and back. No matter how dark the story is and how impossible it seems, I know there is a point to the bad stuff and it will be worth it in the end. Gena Showalter, Jenna Black, and J. Michael Strazynski are a few of the examples that immediately spring to mind.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Then there are other authors who seem to insist on making their characters suffer for no reason other than to glory in their pain (cough - Ronald D. Moore - cough). It won't take much for me to bail out of their stories because I no longer trust them to see me through to the other side.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">This ties in with genre expectations, but goes beyond them as well. Yes, if I'm reading something marketed as a mystery, I expect the murder to be solved. If I'm reading a book marketed as a romance, I expect there to be a central love story and a happy ending. If I'm watching a movie marketed as a disaster action film, I expect the tornado footage to last more than two minutes total (yes, that's a specific example - Into The Storm, I don't recommend it).</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWm_HS1mc6YfTjVreTNwKtodLS-FmfihsuG6FU0reHe2PbF31YTY0eKKWsbk_2UOz1RebQzXWeiD51xI76RAjiwdPHWtlE2GsU70-C9fpccD9DEN9vLHLNn68WQjidzVakOM9r-VtVa-vw/s2048/Wandavision.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1332" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWm_HS1mc6YfTjVreTNwKtodLS-FmfihsuG6FU0reHe2PbF31YTY0eKKWsbk_2UOz1RebQzXWeiD51xI76RAjiwdPHWtlE2GsU70-C9fpccD9DEN9vLHLNn68WQjidzVakOM9r-VtVa-vw/s320/Wandavision.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p>I started thinking about this as I've been watching </span><i style="font-family: georgia;">Wandavision</i><span style="font-family: georgia;">. After the fourth episode, I was tempted to bail, even though I'd really been enjoying the writing and the chemistry between Elizabeth Olsen (Wanda) and Paul Bettany (Vision). As a comic geek, I know that Wanda, aka The Scarlet Witch, is usually a villain. I didn't want to watch another five episodes of her descending into grief and losing everything all over. I didn't want to watch her be broken and become one of the bad guys. That's not a story that I want to have inside my head.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I really loved the relationship between Wanda and Vision in the MCU movies. I **hated** that they killed him off in <i>Infinity War</i> and that he didn't get to come back in <i>Endgame</i>. But I wasn't surprised. It's the one part of comics that I dislike: relationships almost always end in misery. And for a genre that constantly brings characters back from the dead, their inability to imagine people being both in love and in exciting adventures is kind of disappointing.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I didn't want to watch Wanda's heart break all over again, but I stuck with it. Because the MCU has delivered on its promise to tell nuanced stories where characters may go through bad times, but they don't suffer unnecessarily. Heroes might be tempted down a dark path but they don't stay there.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">This week's episode (7) proved I was right to trust them. She's not the villain. She's not broken. And it's a relief that's renewed my excitement for the rest of the series.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Stories need tension to be interesting. Some stories have light tension with low stakes and they can be quite enjoyable. Some stories have a lot of tension with very high stakes and that is where trust in the author becomes essential.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Just putting characters in horrible situation creates tension, but it's the way they get out of it that makes a story satisfying. Making horrible things happen to them just to have them in pain, that's not satisfying. Or at least, not to me.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">And that's why, while my stories deal with dark subject matter such as assault, trauma, addiction, and prejudice, they are there because I want to show people coming out of that darkness. I want to show that those things don't preclude finding love and happiness in life later on. There's a reason, and there's a satisfying outcome. That's why my readers know they can trust me.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/2021/02/reclaiming-my-hea-new-plan.html">Previous blogpost: Reclaiming My HEA: New Plan</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/">Blog homepage</a></span></p>Jennifer Carole Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541375725907427671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879471081241637756.post-65531147770710549302021-02-18T10:51:00.001-08:002021-02-20T11:34:38.463-08:00Reclaiming My HEA: New Plan<p> <i style="font-family: georgia;">Reclaiming My HEA is a monthly feature where I share my progress through my separation and divorce. It also includes snippets of a therapy exercise where I imagine myself in a healthy relationship. The purpose is to remind myself of what a supportive, caring partner would be like, to try and offset the effects of over a decade without one.</i></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Dating sites take awhile, especially when we're still in the middle of a pandemic, which makes physically meeting new people difficult. I'm still moving ahead, but I'm also trying to take a more comprehensive approach.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">After some careful self-reflection, I've realized that one of the reasons that I've been so uncomfortable with moving forward is because I'm afraid of failing to recognize the signs of another bad relationship. I'm working on that, but I also decided to tackle one of the underlying causes: touch deprivation.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmvg76UHGzXp2qJKT6w7ElDxu1LNYUOXCaQkxGqbtvUo0qCXp9VXkJcp1nNx6-gtnJa1VXHH1nYujQZMbi9gS304a7DgAU-eVSO686IkZCbJWSKreUNiAxTHdSXeoegO0lP6IcSmYWWH_L/s2048/bigstock--199271260.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmvg76UHGzXp2qJKT6w7ElDxu1LNYUOXCaQkxGqbtvUo0qCXp9VXkJcp1nNx6-gtnJa1VXHH1nYujQZMbi9gS304a7DgAU-eVSO686IkZCbJWSKreUNiAxTHdSXeoegO0lP6IcSmYWWH_L/s320/bigstock--199271260.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p>In the 1960's, an </span><a href="https://www.psychologicalscience.org/publications/observer/obsonline/harlows-classic-studies-revealed-the-importance-of-maternal-contact.html#:~:text=Based%20on%20this%20observation%2C%20Harlow,rubber%20and%20soft%20terry%20cloth." style="font-family: georgia;" target="_blank">experiment with baby monkeys</a><span style="font-family: georgia;"> showed how crucial touch can be. It is just as critical as the need for food. One of the issues with my former relationship was a complete lack of physical contact. As this pandemic has carried on, I've been unable to meet up with friends which has meant no hugs or other contact. I've always been a cuddly person and I think that deprivation has affected me more than I realized.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">One of the things I've been thinking about for the past year is whether or not I wanted to get myself a pet of my own. My boys each have a pet. The 16yo has a service dog, Lynyrd, and the 13yo has a cat, Neelix. Both pets enjoy being around their people but aren't really cuddlers. This suits the boys perfectly, since they aren't cuddlers either.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">But I am. And I'd love to have a pet to cuddle with. I think it might help me more than I realize.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">So I've decided to pursue adopting/rescuing a cat of my own. It will have to be a young cat, in order for it to adapt to the household.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Maybe this will be the first step toward becoming a crazy cat lady... or maybe it's going to be the start of a path that will lead to me being happier. Only time will tell.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/2021/01/reclaiming-my-hea-i-have-heart-and.html">Previous Reclaiming My HEA: Finding My Courage</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/2021/02/valentines-day-special-part-two-hea.html">Previous Blogpost: HEA Match For Everyone (Valentine's Special)</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/">Blog homepage</a></span></p>Jennifer Carole Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541375725907427671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879471081241637756.post-61947880656113476882021-02-08T01:08:00.001-08:002021-02-08T01:08:02.182-08:00Valentine's Day Special - Part Two (HEA Match)<p> <span style="font-family: georgia;">Time for part 2 of my Valentine's Day special. Everyone has an HEA match!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Honestly, this is why I love writing romance. I love helping people to find their happiness, even fictional people. (Maybe especially fictional people, since its so much easier than the real life versions.)</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://books2read.com/u/4j1aYY " style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5hIhR1X5Ia6ZWoGitNbU4gO_H9w1a4vwFlbcwDVJ4sk2Mx0_gPnL1N59GXPRwD-0CZLU7mxRuNfF6qO7uzhPgrrdqBWLh1I_q09lNQDuNRsxVGApM18YQLHO3Os3Jy0ARPqKT_tzL86hS/s320/Deadly+Potential+Heart+Match+2021.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://books2read.com/u/49Z6gw " style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE0RKYIWtuGgvLkCrYT2W_-zxTK6UknArAaxpqV5TdVJvpbEyo7bnBEsBLO5Cfps-biOZx_zan9oQ-qAau2C8rGbRrSmc1fcNpLSnB1hLG76YlfAji_ePJxLI5ZXdjAIXm3vqDUDlTJE4w/s320/Division+Heart+Match+2021.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://books2read.com/u/b62y8Z " style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtI8b3h04ysQL9fIaMe5Zr370uZiMLqXfPFI0dY3n7XuQ5v-k-ZSdJP2azKujgy4nMXjN0uYKvkCGEkDknlxlhTay7n-e9mJtR4fRSAgCQ5EANvuxvGnDT-fqaY0EXdWHmVGnF4XD1Bqdw/s320/Inquisition+Heart+Match+2021.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://books2read.com/u/bWZDEq " style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBhnOBUi0NCK9kqXG8X-LkEhQmM3BlX2uzPdXZoDeHrVa4OW4SEosl45q-LS14qC9mvQlw2lvbQEJ40whDK97HbAqE7wo0traaChekNsOw9o2QijTJsMqn2JcezEeweLDn3ixQZb_Py5SN/s320/Judgment+Heart+Match+2021.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://books2read.com/u/4jwVaX " style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr-pEAeNEN8ZBQXsSL5oeDpT1WQbWoRiSiXEzzzFzZjIX3MEeVjziunvwob3oHa26flRWU9OKHVwUWNQJLlEP4oFZv1czAknQw2vs6IpNl38Buw0QZdiRB9s6Kw3-Obg7srEjDiB_Gwn_h/s320/Metamorphosis+Heart+Match+2021.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://books2read.com/u/bapV7v " style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwpxnh-CeGAMdDEBaKLMk4n81g9NS4asMeVDm1VMx5XUbry1zu4S9nAEvkI16AbDjERFyTdE0bGjB8BmPlOScqMrbzlfcbtaU_mvbxb27WbohbpytE0SkSIxfm19-aDeMGyKH2p8mXP_d9/s320/Revelations+Heart+Match+2021.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0ESbsUwiWQ3SwMigKjn_wSO-pwa9s9QRgTccuhGEXrp3_vivdGgbUamAyTjeY0ByfjcJR1DQjRHMBHhIh7m3lJ88o9FvaqVPbj6w4ZGnUzyx_HXf-rRmtBXMsBuS9SZbL5Go3kf-JxP1W/s1800/Until+Proven+Guilty+Heart+Match+2021.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0ESbsUwiWQ3SwMigKjn_wSO-pwa9s9QRgTccuhGEXrp3_vivdGgbUamAyTjeY0ByfjcJR1DQjRHMBHhIh7m3lJ88o9FvaqVPbj6w4ZGnUzyx_HXf-rRmtBXMsBuS9SZbL5Go3kf-JxP1W/s320/Until+Proven+Guilty+Heart+Match+2021.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/2021/01/valentines-day-special-part-one-hea.html">Previous blogpost: Valentine's Day Special - Part One (Choose Your HEA Hottie)</a></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com">Blog Homepage</a></span></p>Jennifer Carole Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541375725907427671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879471081241637756.post-72330012827729299232021-01-31T16:01:00.000-08:002021-01-31T16:01:39.471-08:00Valentine's Day Special - Part One (HEA Match)<p> <span style="font-family: georgia;">With Valentine's Day coming up, I thought it would be fun to do a special dating app post for my characters. Who would be your HEA hottie?</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://books2read.com/u/49Z6gw " imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrzT-ltAJO0Hx3JkDeVFwCmdLLBZhwIbpxLuwoM4RockhMHqqrmhKCjK7FpKirxPLPvXykYomnAD7oDGIWY2Q6fb1SxE4rnC3iDxJhyM4HrXaEhylC9nnm6c3addMuK_22_pve_QMHcTwj/s320/Annika+Heart+Match+2021.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://books2read.com/u/4jwVaX " imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRSjBWMbMNDCIpGIP6DpvygcueWtJh5clV_Q_8bm-b-yYgXZyRjEHlRQqL9wMdkdXtDc_sfqPuu8eVWF4wtog68ZpJo_LVx8Axd7K_xC4EPmkO52VCnmpglJ7CJ2xdQrNohvSK7pSDhr6_/s320/Ron+Heart+Match+2021.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://books2read.com/u/4j1aYY " imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Bit4uDtcUZnsm4-gCASx8r_J9QxltpY7PsEd_5pqk5wmEvHuM8Gve3VhN39G_dh7RtPzl_7F9l_wGP8m5BF2j2CFlRDwVw-1sodPvTvPgXMgiqbjAW7j9CeZKtGPl4UUThZWv-uzNCPS/s320/Ben+Heart+Match+2021.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://books2read.com/u/49Z6gw " imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsqC37KP80XUBWjFyHWuFMocC-VOUrDh4mrYHxkXgjnh0PCCD2l30RReVuPiVTfRBaVifHjHJraDqM2HDwd1Im1tvQ_F3Vzn6A5rFcqKbxuaBkDrq4I4WVU_KHvk1_BPSaheGm96HZ0Ekt/s320/Vincent+Heart+Match+2021.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://books2read.com/u/b62y8Z " imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgySng6X_iYFDehQfI-Qv16hi7oPCS_Esw2qQGdNfVe0x6Vo55zMjw6vJC8_j5kuWy0DTpVu85WfXGHM2LbfhdGuMrD59sJSVT0KKynwiTI1WhZZQCXYIKRr2NILbjPEurfM-RCMJQQ77Ra/s320/Cali+Heart+Match+2021.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidWIG-m6iIdtzCm1P8wps3m8tpoQjd_UyDm7luTzMpvBe-KHzPRTJ93xjLbqQYsof8WrosnyvSkiRaJ3XgXUI0JGNnkgc05ZRVR_1AKf8POoMY-PYOmhGyY23h639xF7EIvfAJ38XUhotP/s1800/Sam+Heart+Match+2021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidWIG-m6iIdtzCm1P8wps3m8tpoQjd_UyDm7luTzMpvBe-KHzPRTJ93xjLbqQYsof8WrosnyvSkiRaJ3XgXUI0JGNnkgc05ZRVR_1AKf8POoMY-PYOmhGyY23h639xF7EIvfAJ38XUhotP/s320/Sam+Heart+Match+2021.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://books2read.com/u/bapV7v " imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQHp4S0xkLgXb3Qsk_OyKBTyQ4e96u9FFr_jbAO0IM8nw03J_e_QJFZ-ua5W3xQmbkkU8Fm1efasI32XE60hepnnA5JUpsa31PoRyYvNTNVGsHkxnZFYcxmGzVkS5PWlqHn-gDPhRVEAwR/s320/Dani+Heart+Match+2021.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://books2read.com/u/bWZDEq " imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Mca0RI1KzVaD76pAgLMk5M3L3DwIcbk7goiFUAjBt9WKFGCAH70VU5uWBt270qjXrhLC9zn8kCHZZvkPNI7S-2NCmF76XGZkJoTgxVjMnt-2yOLwffeal0ZrMTevjNLDPorGIqiUCyme/s320/Lou+Heart+Match+2021.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://books2read.com/u/4jwVaX " imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Is6PvDU-FxR1JoMrP546WCqOz_lqZwetDKn_qoafhykE73WF8_t01wsdziqZSbT4wIjmV3_qqrq2IKygTK_7zuWh__YFymQQohrVKuW5MQcNUnTrc8gpWEv5y5Z8kiAVTXOCL-RIqjN6/s320/Lily+Heart+Match+2021.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://books2read.com/u/b62y8Z " imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj99S9CL5wu1Z92QBvygTNaNTHolIQJRfjU4Ddtt7wUzSimpwJLMCQgsmcFCMQ3ORjCurFF8qTgroBgFG_OBgaHi_LJFYeKqOXeCS8s64SjTGI38NqA0iwNSC2VfxoJMGECKNDNaH42BCMP/s320/Joe+Heart+Match+2021.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://books2read.com/u/bWZDEq " imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHtGSJfjP36x2bYoxuD5uTR1bA371hYn-deGiQBLF4pbtbJFKFh-2Eh4KT4kq399Wy_qGsK9-SSfaG-ALaouyJrVdAAF0bV60TQFn4p_oXt-TKgBcjrevChBoUPUGa0cKVv-cHhDHk2ghz/s320/Martha+Heart+Match+2021.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0000ee;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://books2read.com/u/4j1aYY " imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_9J7NwKQ8p7UhkNLroCkRkxoLgTrg3OVsBQ3ES65qntOtUH4WzV90486u_wwHkAjwAYVwq0aiNBisSV1UX7_FR2NLbNcQmeOcN1rf3mnNPJru6RCmDAI4z22KyMZ8KjK27M4HRSLXyiQK/s320/Katie+Heart+Match+2021.jpg" /></a></div><br /><u><br /></u></span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq4JRb5gag5onDau0ejW_5-LfBhCjSO-RIux66WnYETVO8jsbrSTDqum4dNeKipFaYA_ZghmqYXD7K1YlDpkb8TdNbpKu87mx48qGWoqh9k_dr65TsHjbrbVNkxGKKG1XIWK1zzuBZB8Tv/s1800/Sam+Heart+Match+2021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq4JRb5gag5onDau0ejW_5-LfBhCjSO-RIux66WnYETVO8jsbrSTDqum4dNeKipFaYA_ZghmqYXD7K1YlDpkb8TdNbpKu87mx48qGWoqh9k_dr65TsHjbrbVNkxGKKG1XIWK1zzuBZB8Tv/s320/Sam+Heart+Match+2021.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://books2read.com/u/bapV7v " imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpILXccrmMVkq_atKQnPWbtR-t67twth1dMM7AnSB980iSbSSKlXedusrVk717MKvGJXL_-ThNkiU0gO1gL2e9bEnNFz5HNWS1YPIFWUXdk-2btjOzqzkF9bHS8N7SLFS9Z0CR3c70yKMP/s320/Michael+Heart+Match+2021.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/2021/01/things-i-love-january-2021.html">Previous blogpost: Things I Love (January)</a><p></p><p><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/">Blog Homepage</a><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p></p>Jennifer Carole Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541375725907427671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879471081241637756.post-59530011549772773952021-01-21T02:12:00.001-08:002021-01-21T02:12:00.462-08:00Things I Love: January 2021<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">This year has been so difficult and finding joy has been a challenge, so here's some fun stuff that's made my life livable.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Books:</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I've been reading more non-fiction than fiction this month. It's something that tends to happen in waves, especially if I find something that intrigues me. And these two books definitely got me thinking.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01CESQNFQ/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1"></a></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDviLQbNi9fzG36h5fsRFJ8VLNJrQX__uL7w7f854F5AFcvpPWmHYIxJturrk9E2Th2ciZcCMs07_3dIaE3iT6Dk0TKx0rYF7WkCbFihZA4U40DJBmCs06lHRznL2SEgVqEABIbSpNw7Zk/s1181/Secret+Poisoner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1181" data-original-width="773" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDviLQbNi9fzG36h5fsRFJ8VLNJrQX__uL7w7f854F5AFcvpPWmHYIxJturrk9E2Th2ciZcCMs07_3dIaE3iT6Dk0TKx0rYF7WkCbFihZA4U40DJBmCs06lHRznL2SEgVqEABIbSpNw7Zk/w134-h206/Secret+Poisoner.jpg" width="134" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br />The Secret Poisoner: A Century of Murder by Linda Stratmann</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I promise I haven't taken up a new hobby. This book is all about the development of toxicology detection between 1800-1900. It was a fascinating look at a variety of cases and trial and experimentation to reliably detect poison residue after death. Two things I learned especially stuck with me. One, pharmacists and grocers use to be able to dispense "quieteners" over the counter, an opium-based solution that was explicitly marketed as a way for wives to sedate their belligerent and abusive husbands. Two, the number of doctors who suspected that their patients were being slowly poisoned and didn't say anything to the patients in question is appallingly high.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://www.amazon.ca/Clock-Low-Wage-Drives-America-Insane/dp/0316509000/ref=asc_df_0316509000/?tag=googleshopc0c-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=335157220958&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2135311585942971725&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9000685&hvtargid=pla-791988845901&psc=1"></a></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVDSmnIA21W8pfHwBvb2VAkU9L39cZGE96dG6eGBT66mIZWJld83M5Pxh4tMlLZZq4RWLJkgcuw1-_Qx6SJflPm_f-6J4IKrcPlnp2qpEPKD305p-_aR7dK-6B7s7cRigQ5tLRpCzPOTxl/s475/On+The+Clock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="306" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVDSmnIA21W8pfHwBvb2VAkU9L39cZGE96dG6eGBT66mIZWJld83M5Pxh4tMlLZZq4RWLJkgcuw1-_Qx6SJflPm_f-6J4IKrcPlnp2qpEPKD305p-_aR7dK-6B7s7cRigQ5tLRpCzPOTxl/w119-h185/On+The+Clock.jpg" width="119" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br />On the Clock: What Low-Wage Work Did to Me and How It Drives America Insane by Emily Guendelsberger</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Guendelsberger went undercover at McDonalds, Convergys and Amazon and while I knew those companies didn't treat their employees well, I was shocked to learn how bad it actually is. It was disheartening to learn how many of these corporations rely on high levels of turnover to keep salary costs down. It starts with a historical look at Ford's assembly line, which paid far more than the standard day's wage but was considered de-humanizing and discouraging.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>TV Shows:</b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYFPprzUun2St-b0K-kscfX64bYn6LfH3vHJj-hQoyxMSNaodviaDaKsIOnIKiRqtbRwCCIbcTNak3Qqjla8-MwQov8wfR7RZgt4ouprmX1nK05GC7ad-9lc85gmrpwfYpG2NuF9FrkmQe/s720/Sleepy+Hollow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="480" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYFPprzUun2St-b0K-kscfX64bYn6LfH3vHJj-hQoyxMSNaodviaDaKsIOnIKiRqtbRwCCIbcTNak3Qqjla8-MwQov8wfR7RZgt4ouprmX1nK05GC7ad-9lc85gmrpwfYpG2NuF9FrkmQe/w105-h158/Sleepy+Hollow.jpg" width="105" /></a></b></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><br /></b></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>Sleepy Hollow</i>. I started rewatching this a few weeks ago. The story-telling is a little uneven but the chemistry between Tom Mison and Nicole Beharie is amazing. I'll admit that the first time I watched the show, I was hoping that they would develop a romantic relationship. But on this watch, I'm really appreciating the depiction of a strong friendship between a man and woman. I like fish out of water stories so I enjoy watching Ichabod's reaction to modern society.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i></i></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigtCkhXzWW7CxG3kURclifn5EldF1gTH6wmfTLhVX4h9AxC_NLGQUQ9I67JTAaa_39StrioiT91Nr1m4yIFIA4o-oD4Y6H3fjT2Yua__nBXtUNi2hY_lUHnY9H_EsDExZLpsKCNyKn9gLb/s1024/Star+Trek+Discovery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="707" height="119" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigtCkhXzWW7CxG3kURclifn5EldF1gTH6wmfTLhVX4h9AxC_NLGQUQ9I67JTAaa_39StrioiT91Nr1m4yIFIA4o-oD4Y6H3fjT2Yua__nBXtUNi2hY_lUHnY9H_EsDExZLpsKCNyKn9gLb/w82-h119/Star+Trek+Discovery.jpg" width="82" /></a></i></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><br />Star Trek: Discovery</i>, season 3 (spoilers). I love Star Trek and I've always thought that the series worked best when it was looking forward, so I'm very much enjoying the season 3 switch to 700 years in the future. I love the new character, Booker, and his relationship with Michael. And of course, my girl Tilly is having an awesome season.<br /><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>All Rise</i>. I discovered this show last year and it's become a new favourite. I enjoy legal dramas and was excited to see one from the judge's perspective. The cast is amazing and the dialogue is witty. The second season is set during the pandemic and I think the show has handled it rather well.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKO8mV906sQE04l7QcFQm0pR6MwjlV8IHK_QPW4WeTcRlyixvprpqA1s7GR_-qamUaKpI3AQEZUyo6OVMiDCZRTVp5X-7rHYCpi-h1_b0NKkwtGdGdIwfkEcN8VFsKdVV-05k3UwC6J_Qn/s590/All+Rise.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="332" data-original-width="590" height="124" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKO8mV906sQE04l7QcFQm0pR6MwjlV8IHK_QPW4WeTcRlyixvprpqA1s7GR_-qamUaKpI3AQEZUyo6OVMiDCZRTVp5X-7rHYCpi-h1_b0NKkwtGdGdIwfkEcN8VFsKdVV-05k3UwC6J_Qn/w221-h124/All+Rise.jpg" width="221" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Fictional Crushes:</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2zH-NXKY4mpQ2-OFghmrYGt8uPdfo910qOKRCzEWPK4MfHxT412pNCND9X9yO3tk9tfXKxdOI4u758AssZkqHj3c2_22B52sXawstNv14AfIfi7OhhCC7Q1ySNMgncnXzugCyM1DLie02/s472/Ichabod+Crane.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="417" data-original-width="472" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2zH-NXKY4mpQ2-OFghmrYGt8uPdfo910qOKRCzEWPK4MfHxT412pNCND9X9yO3tk9tfXKxdOI4u758AssZkqHj3c2_22B52sXawstNv14AfIfi7OhhCC7Q1ySNMgncnXzugCyM1DLie02/w164-h145/Ichabod+Crane.jpg" width="164" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br />I'm still loyal to the Mandalorian and Ghost Rider, but I can't watch <i>Sleepy Hollow</i> without being reminded of how undeniably hot Tom Mison is, especially with long hair and the beard. He's courteous and a gentleman, smart and loyal. And the man can rock a frock coat. I like how he respects his partner's expertise and skills, but is still protective of her.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihMTSiBvAL-hQPWOSGpsyXrXjWAnaDeB3xkCpBTmYSKRTIcq-adBfPSvUNcgnzf3e2xrQTJ9ElYyXtS-0LpA6q8-1i8eZz9UeFSxyhmUEMKn1kSKrYe_bzdeBU1XEjTPlLG4leIYwX_751/s237/Aram.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="216" data-original-width="237" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihMTSiBvAL-hQPWOSGpsyXrXjWAnaDeB3xkCpBTmYSKRTIcq-adBfPSvUNcgnzf3e2xrQTJ9ElYyXtS-0LpA6q8-1i8eZz9UeFSxyhmUEMKn1kSKrYe_bzdeBU1XEjTPlLG4leIYwX_751/w165-h150/Aram.jpg" width="165" /></a></div><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I also had a refresher of another cinnamon roll hero, Aram from <i>The Blacklist</i>, played by Amir Arison. He's kind and sweet, a man who sees the best in people. Add in the fact that he's a passionate defender and protector, and he's just the kind of hero that I adore.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Songs:</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I've been listening to my burlesque playlist a lot. Most of the songs are from the movie <i>Burlesque, </i>but I added in some other classics like "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend" and "Candyman." I like the boldness and confidence of burlesque songs, but my favourites are the ones that include humour, like "A Guy What Takes His Time" and "I am a Good Girl."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/2020/12/things-i-love-december-2020.html">Previous Things I Love (December)</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/2021/01/reclaiming-my-hea-i-have-heart-and.html">Previous Post: Reclaiming My HEA: Finding My Courage</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/">Blog Homepage</a></span></p>Jennifer Carole Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541375725907427671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879471081241637756.post-65047222752417530502021-01-14T12:59:00.001-08:002021-01-14T12:59:00.949-08:00Reclaiming My HEA: I Have A Heart and a Brain, Now I Need Courage<p><i style="font-family: georgia;">Reclaiming My HEA is a monthly feature where I share my progress through my separation and divorce. It also includes snippets of a therapy exercise where I imagine myself in a healthy relationship. The purpose is to remind myself of what a supportive, caring partner would be like, to try and offset the effects of over a decade without one.</i></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I don't like rejection. Yeah, I know, it's a complete shocker. No one likes rejection. But that fear has been holding me back for a very long time and it's time for me to face it. In short, I've already gotten my heart and my brain, which means it's time for me to wizard up some courage. (Possibly cute braids and an innocent yet sultry singing voice as well, but those are more optional.)</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY4ozm1uCQ2L2ph6FJG_jk_NdAMkTZMCRXEwip7tvs8y45VZyP6YoaPvyC0uSKbwIIbM2bf6xtsKlwhBBHsdrcpi-SarrsaPbK7VZhVj7FtSWXbliCE8TtlvyTb73KnuIuHStO63LzFQP1/s976/Wizard+of+Oz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="549" data-original-width="976" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY4ozm1uCQ2L2ph6FJG_jk_NdAMkTZMCRXEwip7tvs8y45VZyP6YoaPvyC0uSKbwIIbM2bf6xtsKlwhBBHsdrcpi-SarrsaPbK7VZhVj7FtSWXbliCE8TtlvyTb73KnuIuHStO63LzFQP1/s320/Wizard+of+Oz.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I'm a GenXer, which means I'm very comfortable with jaded nonchalance and self-deprecating jabs. But I am also a geek, which means I couldn't maintain a cool facade if my life depended on it. By nature, I'm bouncy, excited and eager to share. And over the years, my exuberance has been slapped down many times as "too much" for the people I was with. I get caught between the necessity of being myself and the desire not to drive people away with who I am.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Yet, the thing is that who I am isn't bad. I'm not claiming to be flawless or unproblematic, but as I try to untangle the negative messages of a lifetime, I'm realizing that I'm also not difficult or demanding. I'm not "too much" for the world, just too much for some of the people in it. And that's about them. Not about me.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">However, that's easier said that believed sometimes. Especially when I'm taking the plunge of signing up for a dating app.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">As I'm filling out the initial forms, all I'm finding myself thinking is about how the whole online dating process feels like setting myself up for a lot of rejection. I don't really want to open myself up to a whole new crowd of people who will tell me that I'm "too much."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">And yet, that's the price of admission. If I want to find someone who thinks I'm exactly right just as I am, then I need to be strong enough to face the rejections.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">This month's HEA writing exercise is based on a favourite scene of mine from the 1997 movie <i>Fools Rush In</i>, where the hero comes in to find the heroine preparing dinner. While she cooks, she's dancing around the kitchen and he pauses to watch her, entranced by her exuberance and passion.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbz5cG0hMuj6DxgnC24blhuafcy8WEG_EnKTIbefpHXHdZy30Hgs7YeKrmxw1LNnkU01oiJfWo8CQMO2piE84wjoOqOLVysA3sDKrR_sKRl3i-2uE7CpyRJG_5C6RHwQcjW-3iEJi_wVhe/s196/Salma+Hayek.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="193" data-original-width="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbz5cG0hMuj6DxgnC24blhuafcy8WEG_EnKTIbefpHXHdZy30Hgs7YeKrmxw1LNnkU01oiJfWo8CQMO2piE84wjoOqOLVysA3sDKrR_sKRl3i-2uE7CpyRJG_5C6RHwQcjW-3iEJi_wVhe/s0/Salma+Hayek.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p>I dance a lot. I'm usually the first one on and the last one off any dance floor. I dance when I'm doing chores and sometimes just because I feel like it. According to home movies, I've been doing it since I could barely walk. But I've never had a romantic partner who treated it as anything except a joke.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Here is this month's snippet:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"> The weekend getaway had seemed like the perfect idea. A rare opportunity to relax without the pressures of their day to day life. It would have all been much more effective if his business partner hadn't spent the last two hours bombarding him with emails and phone calls. The excessive barrage had required him to descend into the hotel's business centre instead of spending the evening with his partner.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"> Crisis finally resolved well after midnight, he returned to the suite, expecting to find his love sleeping or lost in a book. Instead, as he slipped through the door, he heard the muted thump of dance music. He stopped just inside the entrance, a shy smile curving his lips.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"> He treasured these glimpses of the free spirit that still thrived in her. Her life had been hard, far more difficult than it should have been, but it somehow hadn't crushed her.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"> She spun and saw him watching her. Instantly she slowed, uncertainty freezing the smile on her face. He smiled at her, reassuring her that there would be no mockery or dismissal. He held out his hand, inviting her to dance into his arms.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/2020/12/reclaiming-my-hea-part-three-better.html">Previous Reclaiming My HEA: Better Living Through Crushes</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/2020/12/to-epilogue-or-not-to-epilogue.html">Previous Blogpost: To Epilogue or Not to Epilogue</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/">Blog homepage</a></span></p>Jennifer Carole Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541375725907427671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879471081241637756.post-46038479392255722442020-12-31T00:57:00.001-08:002020-12-31T00:57:01.331-08:00To Epilogue or Not To Epilogue<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Every couple of months, there will be a debate in the writers' corners of social media. Are epilogues a good tool for wrapping up a story or are they the tool of a lazy writer who should have made the ending clear within the main plot? In other words, are they useful/enjoyable or not useful/enjoyable?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiYtEYZHwhNKVODY-l_zy0_zTT4inw6WnPYJZC8ec1nE88B_q4qsNcLuQpTkHmmwflPTZAbONm7JHO67gFF39JxE9cHAFvqyxtZbaEybJKHMwAiii_O63tnLLCjpPNKueXDRXxW0Qk9Y6E/s2048/Epilogues.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiYtEYZHwhNKVODY-l_zy0_zTT4inw6WnPYJZC8ec1nE88B_q4qsNcLuQpTkHmmwflPTZAbONm7JHO67gFF39JxE9cHAFvqyxtZbaEybJKHMwAiii_O63tnLLCjpPNKueXDRXxW0Qk9Y6E/s320/Epilogues.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;">For the most part, I like epilogues, so I usually just shrug and say "No one's forcing you to read them if you don't like them" to myself and move on to the next amusing cat video.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">However, the last time this debate circled, I actually asked myself the question: why do I like epilogues? Their critics raise valuable points: an epilogue shouldn't be necessary to complete the story, and they are often used as bait-hooks which can leave the story feeling incomplete. I've been annoyed by some epilogues in the past, so why do I continue to believe that some stories need an epilogue in order to work?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I sat down to figure it out. And now I'm sharing my conclusions with you. (I'll mostly be talking about romance novels since that's most of what I read these days.)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The most consistent factor that makes an epilogue satisfactory (in my opinion) is the timeline/pacing of the main story and the main characters' relationship. When I'm reading a fast-paced suspense novel, the epilogue is a welcome opportunity to breathe. It's a chance for the author to show me that the characters have overcome their challenges and have a smoother path ahead. Especially in romance stories, I like to know that the characters are still finding their happily ever after with one another, without the stress of saving the world, or being on the run, or whatever other danger has overshadowed the relationship to that point.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Perhaps I'm too much of a realist to put my faith in a relationship that has only existed under high stress and forced proximity. Especially if the individuals in question have spent most of the story fighting their feelings for one another. In those cases, an epilogue reassures me that the ending really was the start of a happily ever after. Seeing the couple a few months or a few years after the official end gives me that contentment. I don't need them to have gotten married or have kids, or anything like that. I just need to know that they're still happy and together.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Another factor that makes an epilogue necessary (again, in my opinion) is when the conflict of the relationship has been solved via a grand gesture. If I am reading a character who has chosen to self-sabotage their feelings (eg.: pushing their love away to "keep them safe" or because "they deserve better" or because the character thinks they'll only screw everything up) then I need to know that they have truly overcome their tendency to run away rather than face their problems. A grand gesture can be wonderful, but it's only one moment in the character's history. If there are lots of other moments where they've made the wrong choice, then that one moment isn't enough to convince me of the change. I need to see that they've sustained it over time.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">This also applies when a character is struggling with addiction as part of their arc. Relapse is an expected and frequent part of recovery, so I need to know they've made it through those initial hurdles.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Critics are right when they say that an epilogue shouldn't be necessary. All the crucial plot elements and character growth should happen in the main story. But an epilogue can provide reassurance to the reader. It gives comfort and a sense of security.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">That's what an epilogue should do. It shouldn't be used to undermine the main story or to solely provide a hook for the next book in the series. It should enhance and support the main story, relieving any lingering tension for the reader.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I suppose, by this definition, the epilogue isn't necessary. The conflict has been resolved and what the epilogue shows is that it has remained resolved. For some readers, they may not need the reassurance that everything continues to be okay. And that's all right, they can skip it and move on to their next read in perfect confidence. But for those of us who wonder what happened after The End, an epilogue can be a perfectly enjoyable thing. Like dessert after a good meal. It might not be necessary, but it is satisfying.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">In other words: </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">"No one's forcing you to read them if you don't like them" so please, let's all agree to disagree and finish by watching this adorable <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2kXnoLepsY" target="_blank">cat video</a>.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/2020/12/learning-from-rudolph-red-nosed.html">Previous Blogpost: Learning From Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer (1964)</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/">Blog Homepage</a></span></p>Jennifer Carole Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541375725907427671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879471081241637756.post-46468949062691484852020-12-24T01:41:00.001-08:002020-12-24T01:41:00.942-08:00Learning from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)<p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>When I first began to write, one of the common pieces of advice was to learn good story structure from the books and movies I enjoyed. This is good advice, but I've found that I often learn more from bad stories, the ones I should have enjoyed, but didn't. Figuring out why those stories didn't work and plotting out how I would have done them differently has taught me a lot about editing and story-telling. (Warning: this post will contain spoilers)</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I'm sure I'm not the only one for whom the stop-motion <i>Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer</i> is a holiday staple. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who finds herself wincing through the nostalgia. The story itself is pretty good and it has a lovely message about being true to yourself and found families, but there are a lot of dated approaches and references that grate on a current viewing. So this month, I decided to think about how it could be updated, while still keeping the good parts.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOjSYJBZ0BmFqTp4velMBl5X6gDCws_fbnFSxCidYk5w1y-LmgegMBlvrcSOaSGPwXAFTE39gP8dCCggP1xnxVq7okFGTAI1NpjnfU6STJWOpNlh_rrS6reDKqNpR0nsKApGT-OgJlho-Z/s1400/Rudolph+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1400" data-original-width="1400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOjSYJBZ0BmFqTp4velMBl5X6gDCws_fbnFSxCidYk5w1y-LmgegMBlvrcSOaSGPwXAFTE39gP8dCCggP1xnxVq7okFGTAI1NpjnfU6STJWOpNlh_rrS6reDKqNpR0nsKApGT-OgJlho-Z/s320/Rudolph+1.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">First off, let's look at what works. I love the stop-motion aesthetic and think it works really well for a fanciful holiday story. I like that Rudolph leaves the North Pole to try and find a place that he belongs, but ends up finding it among friends who also don't fit in. I think that part of the story speaks to a lot of us who felt like outsiders growing up. From the moment Rudolph leaves with Hermey, the plot flows nicely. They run into the prospector, Cornelius, and the Abominable Snowman (Bumble). They float off on an iceflow and find the Island of Misfit Toys. Rudolph sneaks away, afraid that his nose is drawing the Bumble and endangering his friends. Then there's a growing up montage, and he decides to go home and confront his family. He discovers his family is gone and goes to rescue them from the Bumble, but only succeeds with the help of his friends. Then they all return to the North Pole and Rudolph helps Santa save Christmas.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">That's good. What's not good are the repeated sexist references sprinkled throughout the story. Any reference to "not for does, this is bucks' work" needs to be ditched immediately. Next to go can be the references to what "makes Christmas"; such as silver and gold ornaments on a tree or lots of toys. There are too many families celebrating in too many ways to declare something as a required Christmas experience. Luckily, those things are fairly minor. They don't affect the plot and are mostly asides which don't even drive dialogue.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Slightly harder is toning down the rejection from Santa and Rudolph's parents. It makes them very difficult to like. I honestly think an updated version would provide a powerful opportunity to examine how painful microaggressions can be. Most people would already agree that Rudolph's parents treating him as a freak is bad. But most people don't understand how a careless comment or joke can cause harm. I would probably write the introduction as Rudolph is shy, his parents encourage him to be himself, but he still faces rejection from the other reindeer. That would allow the message of self-acceptance to be more resonant.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">There is a bit of a nasty undercurrent to the 1964 story. The misfits are only accepted because they are useful. But people don't have to be useful to be accepted. By changing it so that Rudolph has a supportive family, he's got an unconditional place to belong. And by gaining friends, he learns that he doesn't need to rely on his reindeer peers for acceptance.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC80FxaEYWxS-H-5CyFPCKI-nBmUChmG1fAiptyvLvYLWDVuwILydGmBNaJkndnno3kbxUGygx3zu0cB274UDWf4mZbJaWDum4OpvcniFOTzn5kParPfQ1PsRHHApjKy2UckiRY9ZIM1sV/s1838/Rudolph+4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1246" data-original-width="1838" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC80FxaEYWxS-H-5CyFPCKI-nBmUChmG1fAiptyvLvYLWDVuwILydGmBNaJkndnno3kbxUGygx3zu0cB274UDWf4mZbJaWDum4OpvcniFOTzn5kParPfQ1PsRHHApjKy2UckiRY9ZIM1sV/s320/Rudolph+4.png" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">It also would add poignancy to the Island of Misfit Toys (which is my favourite part - side note: I wanted an elephant with pink polkadots and a swimming bird). These are toys that self-loathe themselves because they don't fit in. Except their differences make them the perfect toys for particular children. There are people waiting to love them just as they are, which is a fantastic message for a children's movie. I would make that part more explicit, showing them being happy with different children.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The music would have to be updated. The songs are mostly forgettable, aside from <i>Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer</i> and <i>Holly, Jolly Christmas.</i> And since I'm partial to musicals, I'd keep the key points of the story tied into music.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I would also tweak Cornelius. Rather than having him be a prospector, I'd make him a naturalist or an environmentalist (which is why he knows so much about Bumbles!). He finds and helps Hermey and Rudolph.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4trVOMG_dI9dpTqRyKUTLnbzuk3xn4QP8BH1ZvUOvzL5Fz7W2j8qxKeBX8r8_z20eL2OSuwQx76kwjE80XdJBFQthWTVRHSL_bcTz6-oafqsyiE0U0NCWtrn9joe2jLnjAr3lrhSp_zBC/s450/Rudolph+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="273" data-original-width="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4trVOMG_dI9dpTqRyKUTLnbzuk3xn4QP8BH1ZvUOvzL5Fz7W2j8qxKeBX8r8_z20eL2OSuwQx76kwjE80XdJBFQthWTVRHSL_bcTz6-oafqsyiE0U0NCWtrn9joe2jLnjAr3lrhSp_zBC/s320/Rudolph+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The ending also needs work. I'm not a big fan of pulling out the Bumble's teeth to make him helpless. I'd much rather Cornelius be working with him and ends up gentling him so that the North Pole doesn't have to be afraid any more. And Hermey gets accepted because Santa has a nasty toothache (and that's why he didn't want to eat). He fixes it and Santa makes him the official North Pole dentist. Rudolph can still save Christmas, but he tells the other reindeer that he doesn't need them to be his friends. He knows who he is and he's proud to be red-nosed.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/2020/11/learning-from-suicide-squad.html">Previous Learning from Suicide Squad</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/2020/12/things-i-love-december-2020.html">Previous blog post: Things I Love: December 2020</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/">Blog homepage</a></span></p><p><br /></p>Jennifer Carole Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541375725907427671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879471081241637756.post-33479598519907462152020-12-17T01:54:00.001-08:002020-12-17T01:54:00.867-08:00Things I Love: December 2020<p> <span style="font-family: georgia;">I've decided to start a new monthly feature sharing what I'm currently enjoying. This year has been so difficult and finding joy has been a challenge, so here's some fun stuff that's made my life livable.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Books:</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I've been reading Shiloh Walker's <a href="https://www.shilohwalker.com/website/shiloh-walker-series/meet-the-barnes-brothers/">Barnes Brother series</a> and Erica Kelly's <a href="https://www.erikakellybooks.com/books.html">Rock Star Romance series</a>.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRuotscZEAR327UfV-9zx2nmM1v2FWOcaXawk_vmVbD7b_r2_7zRWpGrJ1lNKmBdjroCuEFsPyyAI1ZIXUAiEBDMxqxrHkRlaiTZBH_nYvjT8fiMobTaIVo8zEcOAYkVHCL4egfJUD_U1_/s1707/Shiloh+Walker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="678" data-original-width="1707" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRuotscZEAR327UfV-9zx2nmM1v2FWOcaXawk_vmVbD7b_r2_7zRWpGrJ1lNKmBdjroCuEFsPyyAI1ZIXUAiEBDMxqxrHkRlaiTZBH_nYvjT8fiMobTaIVo8zEcOAYkVHCL4egfJUD_U1_/s320/Shiloh+Walker.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;">I really like the Barnes Brother books because there's a rawness to them that speaks to me. In </span><i style="font-family: georgia;">Wrecked</i><span style="font-family: georgia;">, Abby is trying to reclaim her life and her identity. She's spent a long time trying to be what she should be and trying to fit her life into preconceived boxes. It's scary for her to abandon that structure and be free. I connected with that. In </span><i style="font-family: georgia;">Razed</i><span style="font-family: georgia;">, Keelie is struggling with a guilty past she doesn't want to talk about but is also facing life with a "f*ck you" attitude. In </span><i style="font-family: georgia;">Busted</i><span style="font-family: georgia;">, there's a beautiful slow burn romance between two people who aren't looking for it any more. That one is my favourite and the one I've re-read most often. </span><i style="font-family: georgia;">Ruined</i><span style="font-family: georgia;"> is a powerful story about recovery and being true to one's authentic self.</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie59ydFxt9C7-PchGrvcsJqXqUOIYKy5O54oypzNEY2GrzgTS2vfcyL3d7zd0XYc3gQGwszLwi8cYO3whIXS5yl3kWJo6NGspRKodlW_3tUrEPAT71Tpg3QQ9IuJuctSw9gd5e4-l7DD16/s1509/Erica+Kelly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="798" data-original-width="1509" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie59ydFxt9C7-PchGrvcsJqXqUOIYKy5O54oypzNEY2GrzgTS2vfcyL3d7zd0XYc3gQGwszLwi8cYO3whIXS5yl3kWJo6NGspRKodlW_3tUrEPAT71Tpg3QQ9IuJuctSw9gd5e4-l7DD16/s320/Erica+Kelly.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;">The Erica Kelly series is full of energy and fire. It pairs some of my favourite things: music and happily ever afters. Everyone is trying to find success in their own way and the first two books touch strongly on the dangers of addiction and how prevalent it can be in the performance industry. The third book, </span><i style="font-family: georgia;">Take Me Home Tonight</i><span style="font-family: georgia;">, explores the challenge of finding a new normal after a traumatic event.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">This bit is a highly personal reason why I love these books. My 16 year old son is a huge 80's rock fan and whenever he sees these books on the table, he begins to sing the title songs.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>TV Shows:</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I've got a couple of shows on the go right now that I'm enjoying.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimYOgokKaQc7bQncSM3vshEhZj1rou9lZBe1CKwBbP-BHy46-GA0_Q8vbGs5w98u83ncyKIz5yl_R9xFpDIOj2xOCtqIpk_t3oyW-dUeWN47g2QSW4x0vbUxg-Jg_eeJa_wbtH1nziGkzo/s780/Mandalorian.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="780" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimYOgokKaQc7bQncSM3vshEhZj1rou9lZBe1CKwBbP-BHy46-GA0_Q8vbGs5w98u83ncyKIz5yl_R9xFpDIOj2xOCtqIpk_t3oyW-dUeWN47g2QSW4x0vbUxg-Jg_eeJa_wbtH1nziGkzo/w200-h133/Mandalorian.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br />First and most enjoyment is <i>The Mandalorian</i>. It's intergalactic bounty hunter single dad catnip to me. It's Star Wars, it's a "character wanders through different places and becomes involved in local issues" Western-esque, it's a guy learning to be a dad to a superpowered infant. All things I absolutely love (and all I can share without spoilers!)</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimshGE7YmdYWWbD-HL88Yg-xq9zGzzyp9fMiGXp_vogZA9TgAfD_y2PNLUGbdwCaH20pfKlDe6ByiOC7hYg136V2YFK4-GBSiLkoDGoovRe2h9KdVMTE9FIdyk_66W_BZDwOwIn8t1qslq/s1024/Suits.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="767" data-original-width="1024" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimshGE7YmdYWWbD-HL88Yg-xq9zGzzyp9fMiGXp_vogZA9TgAfD_y2PNLUGbdwCaH20pfKlDe6ByiOC7hYg136V2YFK4-GBSiLkoDGoovRe2h9KdVMTE9FIdyk_66W_BZDwOwIn8t1qslq/w200-h150/Suits.jpeg" width="200" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br />A new one that I'm catching up on is <i>Suits.</i> I love law shows that actually look at the law and this one is full of geek references and witty dialogue. This one got me with an exchange between Harvey and Mike. "What's the gun for?" "We're going to go start a knife fight." I was braced to DNF the series quickly, but instead I got sucked in by the amazing characters. </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">The heroines are wonderfully written and complex individuals. I love Donna's independence and competence and Jessica's cool superiority and control. I'd probably love it more if it was all about them, but the heroes aren't too bad either. I'm on Season 3 and I'm even starting to have a grudging admiration for Lewis Litt.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr4Iiw0IaVpgnsWYkwQLiVJlZEncq_T_cqfZvSmjU9rEJJRQ-pjGzTKteV3ZGq7cJ8EHCRq4sZMVotNDpFk2VwLh94ZwgJiOTIs0R7KKLhFIdO7RjccNv6YqVY3vqHOzEdpY-tRvNzXcXZ/s848/Once-Upon-A-Time-iN-Wonderland.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="477" data-original-width="848" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr4Iiw0IaVpgnsWYkwQLiVJlZEncq_T_cqfZvSmjU9rEJJRQ-pjGzTKteV3ZGq7cJ8EHCRq4sZMVotNDpFk2VwLh94ZwgJiOTIs0R7KKLhFIdO7RjccNv6YqVY3vqHOzEdpY-tRvNzXcXZ/w200-h113/Once-Upon-A-Time-iN-Wonderland.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br />And one more that I'm so thrilled to find on my Disney plus plan is <i>Once Upon A Time In Wonderland.</i> It was a single season but I enjoyed it so much! I wasn't a fan of the original <i>Once Upon A Time</i> but I caught the <i>Wonderland </i>version while channel flipping and just adored it. (Eventually I went back and did enjoy the original but it took effort.) The season arc is a beautiful romance novel between Alice and Cyrus (a genie) and has a brilliant set of villains with Emma Rigby as The Red Queen and Naveen Andrews as Jafar.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Fictional Crushes and Fanfic</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I have a fickle heart when it comes to my fictional crushes. Or maybe it's just a broadly appreciative taste for hotness in all its wonderful forms. But no list of the things that I'm enjoying would be complete without the imaginary stories I find myself composing. Creating a little fanfic is one of the primary ways I cope with difficult situations. It never fails to re-energize me.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMh4CZJTzDHzKUK6TV2DFem25ipyTB5Rm3S1IcbVrM9yb4pCo51sqk0QPIJAllaZRzbRdHpt8b3-t0jtFJbIto2cAHlr0XDhw5dvpDjaxx6kmgcVDpqDx3nsREb7UQZOSekLl7Ph575uR-/s1800/Mando+and+Grogu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="905" data-original-width="1800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMh4CZJTzDHzKUK6TV2DFem25ipyTB5Rm3S1IcbVrM9yb4pCo51sqk0QPIJAllaZRzbRdHpt8b3-t0jtFJbIto2cAHlr0XDhw5dvpDjaxx6kmgcVDpqDx3nsREb7UQZOSekLl7Ph575uR-/s320/Mando+and+Grogu.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br />I've had two which have dominated my imagination of late: Pedro Pascal as The Mandalorian and Gabriel Luna as Ghost Rider (from Season 3 of Agents of SHIELD). For my Mandalorian fanfic, I created a plucky, cheerful Force-sensitive engineer (think Kaylee from <i>Firefly</i> as a Jedi) who joins the Razorcrest to keep it flying and to watch over Baby Yoda when the Mandalorian is busy mandalor-ing. For Ghost Rider, I paired him with Firestar (from <i>The Amazing Spider-Man and Friends</i> Saturday morning cartoon) but I made her an independent superhero who is also working as an accessibility consultant for the university that Robbie Reyes's paralyzed brother attends. The two of them team up for justice and vengeance.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgin1ywhUszTP2pj3cBXEL364MkFdY9Q_1W3IfL77Kix9ceamgyIrFNm8tGY1zQXJlTjhE-pETOhVMscttgjH1ew4zHF01gcWJ9aQ1m7qGtl1a2h-HRY-y9o7TaP-yM9Ra7KfOJKtd9yaH5/s439/Ghost-Rider-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="409" data-original-width="439" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgin1ywhUszTP2pj3cBXEL364MkFdY9Q_1W3IfL77Kix9ceamgyIrFNm8tGY1zQXJlTjhE-pETOhVMscttgjH1ew4zHF01gcWJ9aQ1m7qGtl1a2h-HRY-y9o7TaP-yM9Ra7KfOJKtd9yaH5/s320/Ghost-Rider-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br />And of course, each partnership ends up having Feelings. And Kissing. And More Feelings. Because the lack of that is why I write superhero romance to start with.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">And I have to share one cool (though minimal) brush with celebrity. A friend on Twitter wished me a good night's sleep. I replied that I'd gotten it, including a weird dream about me and Gabriel Luna being in a pancake making contest.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">His twitter account liked it! I had a moment of geek excitement and no one to share it with. Luckily, I can share it now.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Songs</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Last but not least, I'll share the songs that I've been finding myself playing on repeat a lot. Losing myself in music is my preferred form of meditation and I often connect songs with scenes or stories.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I've been listening to ADONA's <i>Hit Me With Your Best Shot</i> (a cover of the Pat Benetar classic that was featured in the <i>Birds of Prey </i>movie). It's a haunting, slow version of the original and to me, it's perfect for someone slowly standing up against someone who has been hurting them and refusing to back down. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Another one I've just been loving is Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande's <i>Rain On Me</i>. It's an energizing pop-dance song. I love the harmonies between Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande and it instantly gets my toes tapping.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/2020/12/reclaiming-my-hea-part-three-better.html">Previous blogpost: Reclaiming My HEA: Better Living Through Crushes</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/">Blog homepage</a></span></p>Jennifer Carole Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541375725907427671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879471081241637756.post-44075504463388301442020-12-10T01:11:00.001-08:002020-12-10T01:11:04.204-08:00Reclaiming My HEA: Part Three - Better Living Through Crushes<p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>Reclaiming My HEA is a monthly feature where I share my progress through my separation and divorce. Starting last month, I'm including snippets of a therapy exercise where I imagine myself in a healthy relationship. The purpose is to remind myself of what a supportive, caring partner would be like, to try and offset the effects of over a decade without one.</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I was recently asked to list off the names of people that I find attractive. Hmm, thinking about cute guys... what a hardship. Being firmly committed to my psychological recovery, I devoted myself to the task.</span></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLOvn9geyN5dZdMOrCL-4Urc6Yp-JOeHz8eN3mVzoK3j_cyRm77NfzIHk2zhF6AW_KZ7azXRhCwprK9UpZ1IT2eND29l9pTOLDTp5RZAO4g1wZntJnCyizl7QBbdQ9E07skRkcxit9YvTI/s2048/bigstock-Fashion-Shot-of-a-Young-Man-A--25996952.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLOvn9geyN5dZdMOrCL-4Urc6Yp-JOeHz8eN3mVzoK3j_cyRm77NfzIHk2zhF6AW_KZ7azXRhCwprK9UpZ1IT2eND29l9pTOLDTp5RZAO4g1wZntJnCyizl7QBbdQ9E07skRkcxit9YvTI/s320/bigstock-Fashion-Shot-of-a-Young-Man-A--25996952.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I am nothing if not thorough for my mental health.</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">As I compiled my list, two things became very obvious. First: I have a lot of crushes. Second: every one of those crushes are on fictional characters.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">In some ways, it's not surprising. Thirsting about fictional characters has none of the potential complications or ickiness of fantasizing about real world people. One knows the inner heart of fictional characters, so there's no danger of discovering that one's crush is actually an asshole. (Unless assholery is what works for you.) Fictional characters are safely remote, never disappointing a person. There's no risk of rejection or any other unpleasant consequence. They're the safest kind of crush there is.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">There's another bonus, especially if, like me, the fictional characters also tend to be superheroes. They're also capable of larger than life actions. They have superpowers. They possess superior fighting skills. They are deeply protective, especially when they love someone. They are knights (in shining armor or otherwise) who are always willing to ride to the rescue.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">In my fiction, I like a balanced rescuing on all sides. However, I will admit that the idea of being rescued is extremely appealing to me. In reality, I've been exhaustively doing the rescuing for a long time and it would be so refreshing to have someone else to rely on. To not have to be on guard all the time.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The question is: what would I consider a rescue? I don't need someone to snatch the mystical McGuffin or rip apart the fabric of space-time.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">What I want is someone to give me a hug when I've had a hard day. Someone who will tell me that they have faith in me and who will offer to help me, whether it's something simple like getting dinner started or more complicated like researching different school choices. Someone who doesn't have to be asked to participate in the household. Someone who wants to help and support me, because that's what people who are in love do for one another.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">And, to be honest, that seems more fantastical than a guy who can bench-press a helicopter right now. But I have to believe it's possible.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">This month's snippet is my own version of a rescue.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"> It had been one hell of a day. From the moment I woke up, it seemed I was falling further and further behind. My to-do list kept getting larger and larger and everything seemed to be utterly crucial. As I struggled up to the house with grocery bags, I was so exhausted and overwhelmed that I was ready to cry.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"> I fumbled with my keys, dropping them into the snow. <i>Great.</i> I put down the heavy bags, wincing at the icy chill on my fingers as I plucked the ring from the fluffy ice crystals. Before I could shove the key into the lock, the front door opened.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"> "Hey, I thought I heard the car," he said. "Let me give you a hand."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"> My brain was too tired to come up with anything witty. "I thought you were out of town until the weekend."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"> He easily hefted three of the overloaded bags, leaving one for me. "I finished up early. I missed you."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"> "I missed you, too." The words were automatic, though the sentiment was genuine. Or at least it would be once I got enough rest to wake up my benumbed brain and heart. As I stepped into the house, I stopped, unable to believe my eyes.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"> The toys scattered all over the floor had been tidied up. My stack of library books was gone and a new selection waited in its place. A neat pile of envelopes waited for my perusal. He'd cleaned, gone to the library, and checked the mailbox. My jaw was slack as I stumbled through to the kitchen.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"> Pasta bubbled on the stove and a pan of tomato sauce simmered on another burner.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"> <i>He cooked dinner.</i> Tears pricked my eyes.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"> "Hey, what's wrong?" he asked, concerned.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"> "Five seconds ago, I was worrying about the kids eating late and having to pay late fines and when I was going to pick up the gift for the birthday party this weekend and my computer broke at work and people kept yelling at me because nothing was working and--"</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"> "Got it." He wrapped his arms around me and planted a kiss on the top of my head. "Bad day."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"> "Yeah." I sniffled.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"> "I got you," he whispered in my ear. "You don't have to do it alone any more."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/2020/11/reclaiming-my-hea-part-two-practice.html">Previous Reclaiming My HEA: Part Two - Practice Makes Perfect</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/2020/12/missing-my-writing-retreat.html">Previous blogpost: Missing My Writing Retreat</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/">Blog homepage</a></span></p>Jennifer Carole Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541375725907427671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879471081241637756.post-69040194324159721702020-12-03T01:45:00.001-08:002020-12-03T01:45:01.702-08:00Missing My Writing Retreat<p> <span style="font-family: georgia;">Usually, the first week of November finds me on a beach in South Carolina with 10-12 other writers, enjoying a writers' retreat. For 2020, even before the pandemic hit, we were nervous about being in the United States during what was expected to be a highly polarizing election. With Corona, it became a non-decision: any thought of the trip was cancelled.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Writing retreats are one of the ways I keep up my writing progress through the year. I've got a lot of responsibilities at home, plus a full time job, so my writing time is pretty minimal. In a typical year, I can manage 4000-6000 words per week, but on a writing retreat, I can often do 20 000 to 25 000 words, which is a major jump forward. Being able to just concentrate on my writing, plus the fun, energy-boost of being around some amazing and entertaining folk turns on the creative flow at full volume. (The relative warmth and sunshine helps too, energizing my inner lizard from winter sleep to summer productivity.)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I really miss having that break this year.</span></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0zdPz9Z3Hvi-FZ4n8xXrbhpczmI5W7AoIw7Ie8uzeU9q-GukhKdb1Y1tLT4vEbqL9R6DOtOtvfyR3m5mwqjuwU8bkHS_r0We5T-s8pp6aw4mWgBcHAtpLZvkBKagr-FnLF_HzBNK_PGL1/s2048/IMG_2107.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0zdPz9Z3Hvi-FZ4n8xXrbhpczmI5W7AoIw7Ie8uzeU9q-GukhKdb1Y1tLT4vEbqL9R6DOtOtvfyR3m5mwqjuwU8bkHS_r0We5T-s8pp6aw4mWgBcHAtpLZvkBKagr-FnLF_HzBNK_PGL1/s320/IMG_2107.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pictured: not this November<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><p>However, I have a bunch of unclaimed time-for-time through my day job, so I decided to try an at-home writing retreat. I've been managing about 1000-1500 words per week since the kids went back to school in September. For my writing retreat, I did about 8000 words, which puts me within a chapter or two of finishing my WIP. (For those looking for perspective, a 300 page book is about 90 000 words, and my books tend to be 100 000 to 130 000 words.)</p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">It's hard not to compare what I usually do on a writing retreat with what I was able to do this time. Usually I write for about 5-7 hours throughout the day. For this week, I wrote for 2-4 hours. I am very aware that my energy levels are still quite fragile and that I needed to be able to preserve enough to function as a parent during the evening.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I'm glad I took the time. It felt good to be able to concentrate on my writing. I've had to switch my writing time from the afternoon (when I was traditionally able to do 1500-2500 words in 90 minutes) to the morning (where I'm only able to do 500-700 words in the same amount of time). Usually I have to turn off my computer when the words are just starting to flow and I can feel my brain starting to spark with ideas. For this week, I could keep going and it was a real pleasure.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Going back to the regular routine is hard, but its necessary. I do like my day job and the people I work with, but it's not my heart's calling. I keep hoping that someday I'll make enough money with selling stories to support myself and my family. That would be one of my happily ever afters.</span></p>Jennifer Carole Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541375725907427671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879471081241637756.post-16140338635917935182020-11-26T01:16:00.014-08:002020-11-26T01:16:00.579-08:00Learning From Suicide Squad<p> <span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>When I first began to write, one of the common pieces of advice was to learn good story structure from the books and movies I enjoyed. This is good advice, but I've found that I often learn more from bad stories, the ones I should have enjoyed, but didn't. Figuring out why those stories didn't work and plotting out how I would have done them differently has taught me a lot about editing and story-telling. (Warning: this post will contain spoilers)</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibZ_obSSbgyfJ7kKP9yuKZFK4tjB0-VZaD8jb7na12t2zuUdoF1MTVePx3niUx65yfFBnkskNX1nvi4Amv0bm01rhxg_FAdJHBtS2s0p7th4aNSU2cpZsXDnCnF3grAbcldjOsU-ElF761/s916/Suicide+Squad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="916" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibZ_obSSbgyfJ7kKP9yuKZFK4tjB0-VZaD8jb7na12t2zuUdoF1MTVePx3niUx65yfFBnkskNX1nvi4Amv0bm01rhxg_FAdJHBtS2s0p7th4aNSU2cpZsXDnCnF3grAbcldjOsU-ElF761/s320/Suicide+Squad.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I love comic book movies, and I love stories about redeeming villains, so I should have loved <i>Suicide Squad</i>. But while I did really enjoy some parts of the movie, overall, it's not a great experience. However, it could have been with some changes.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">First of all, let's look at the parts that did work, specifically Margot Robbie, Will Smith and Viola Davis. Harley Quinn, Deadshot, and Amanda Waller were all brilliantly developed characters with good, clear arcs. They played off against each other well, with Deadshot's methodical precision acting as a great foil for Harley's chaotic impulsivity. And Waller was the perfect villain, one who believes that her chosen ends justify the means. The scenes with these three make the film worth watching.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk-xZLfPh7zHxEnPmEEl9qtEf2oeaPjz5LW5oZ6DFwXGv1lvUkDkUloQx0u4swmg4wa16NtCoVGXBv8eJaxxbuNx3Ifi5FX3nD8rgXoi5KpRseA4rBxY-lmot2y-SYE3l_CIE0sCtkP4Oh/s600/Suicide+Squad+-+Diablo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk-xZLfPh7zHxEnPmEEl9qtEf2oeaPjz5LW5oZ6DFwXGv1lvUkDkUloQx0u4swmg4wa16NtCoVGXBv8eJaxxbuNx3Ifi5FX3nD8rgXoi5KpRseA4rBxY-lmot2y-SYE3l_CIE0sCtkP4Oh/s320/Suicide+Squad+-+Diablo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Jay Hernandez's Diablo had the potential to be a really strong character with a powerful backstory, but he got lost in the general mishmash of plotlines. And I actually liked Jared Leto's Joker. The combination of lethality and playfulness is an approach to the character which is often used in the comics but hasn't usually been attempted in film. However, many of the Joker's scenes seemed superfluous in the greater story.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">This is where </span><i style="font-family: georgia;">Suicide Squad</i><span style="font-family: georgia;"> falls down. Too many characters, too many contrasting character arcs, and a vaguely defined overall conflict. There are 8 named characters in the title squad: Deadshot, Harley, Diablo, Killer Croc, Slipknot, Boomerang, Rick Flag and Katana. There are 3 main villains: Amanda Waller, Enchantress, and Incubus. And then there's the Joker, who I don't count as a villain for this movie because he isn't trying to attack the protagonists or the city. That's 13 characters competing for screen time.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">- Deadshot wants to provide for his daughter</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">- Harley wants to reunite with the Joker</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">- Diablo wants to atone for killing his family</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">- Killer Croc wants to be free to... lurk in the sewers, I guess? He just seems to want to enjoy himself, to be honest</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">- Slipknot wants to escape and gets his head blown off</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">- Boomerang wants to screw over Amanda Waller and make her look bad</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">- Rick Flag wants to protect his girlfriend, June Moon (who is also Enchantress)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">- Katana wants to avenge her husband's spirit, who is trapped inside her sword</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">- Amanda Waller wants to make use of a bunch of villains instead of leaving them trapped in a black site at taxpayer expense</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">- Enchantress wants to resurrect her brother, Incubus, and break free of Amanda Waller's control</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">- Incubus wants to rule the world after being imprisoned for millennia</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgXnq_n1btpk-mbgA6TxayP2IKN2cNwIp0Yvljap-kD0c7z3dDa5cLjpW0KYq3fKK3695PJEQJ-4PjkzDNdQy4wjQ4N-f-wmCipNS6FihhKteCEWLiUp2jQUngMdvm4BaF_3n4Vj_j3-uC/s1280/Suicide+Squad+-+Enchantress.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgXnq_n1btpk-mbgA6TxayP2IKN2cNwIp0Yvljap-kD0c7z3dDa5cLjpW0KYq3fKK3695PJEQJ-4PjkzDNdQy4wjQ4N-f-wmCipNS6FihhKteCEWLiUp2jQUngMdvm4BaF_3n4Vj_j3-uC/s320/Suicide+Squad+-+Enchantress.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p>That's a lot of different competing motivations and is one reason why the movie ends up being muddy. The other reason is that the audience rarely knows what the stakes are, especially for the mystical elements. Is there a reason why Diablo is afraid of losing control of his powers or is it just an issue of emotional regulation? Why do Enchantress and Incubus want to take over the world and what do they plan to do with it? Is there a deadline on Katana's vengeance? Why is she even connected with Suicide Squad to begin with?</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Without knowing the stakes, it's hard to achieve dramatic tension. This is a particular problem for Diablo's storyline, which is why it comes as a complete (and frankly, meaningless) surprise when he morphs into a Mexican fire god to battle Incubus. We had no idea it was possible, we have no idea if this means Diablo is sacrificing himself or his personality, and we don't know if this is Diablo leveling up on his powers or something completely unrelated.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_PsJGKiCXD9TLkzuKRaiUqLR62H_8_qurGn4VnnG_DcZjkt7-vSk8x937pW-aseYfI6T9P4FbgomN8mTpI6fl6pPHy4nmZKlQuOvq65n2SiGbF2l96gptTc8aYQf9tXVUjJ5V-4dOmQN_/s2000/Suicide+Squad+-+Deadshot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1331" data-original-width="2000" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_PsJGKiCXD9TLkzuKRaiUqLR62H_8_qurGn4VnnG_DcZjkt7-vSk8x937pW-aseYfI6T9P4FbgomN8mTpI6fl6pPHy4nmZKlQuOvq65n2SiGbF2l96gptTc8aYQf9tXVUjJ5V-4dOmQN_/s320/Suicide+Squad+-+Deadshot.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p>The only stakes that are clearly spelled out are for Deadshot, Harley, and Waller. Deadshot wants to be reunited with his daughter and provide for her. If he goes along with Waller's proposal, he'll be able to do that. However, following Waller's instructions mean breaking his own moral code. That's a good tension set up. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Harley wants to be the Joker's wife and have a fairytale life with him. She is using the Squad as a means to escape, but risks having her head blown off by the explosive boobytraps installed by Waller. She thinks the Joker dies in an explosion, leaving her to find her own goals and path. That's a journey of self-discovery and one the audience can empathize with.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Waller's main motivation seems to be power and efficiency. She's got no problem with using dangerous people to further what she sees as laudable goals. She's also got no problem with discarding them (by blowing their heads off) if they step out of line. She's a manipulator but has a lot of enemies waiting to see her fail and take her power. The audience knows that if the Suicide Squad doesn't succeed, she faces a professional crisis. As the film's main antagonist and the only one where we understand why she's taking the actions she is, she serves to keep the plot moving.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj83UJ6r0dyotHieIpaDn5Vu7PLgAIQN2GtdBoWnXqCPUrRQV9cqs-ilxxun-vbDFPO0ip57gtPTjkCLnkNl_IPFFb-nZFDPpJiE_7Yox9dauOCqi0_hn5ZZJXcZZ640U42KzfkGnU2Z5gr/s2000/Suicide+Squad+-+Waller.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="2000" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj83UJ6r0dyotHieIpaDn5Vu7PLgAIQN2GtdBoWnXqCPUrRQV9cqs-ilxxun-vbDFPO0ip57gtPTjkCLnkNl_IPFFb-nZFDPpJiE_7Yox9dauOCqi0_hn5ZZJXcZZ640U42KzfkGnU2Z5gr/s320/Suicide+Squad+-+Waller.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">For everyone else, it's really foggy what's supposed to be going on or why we're supposed to care.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I'm a huge comic nerd. And if I can't figure out what's going on, then that's a pretty sad condemnation of the storytelling.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now comes the fun part: how I'd change the movie to make it a better story.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">First, I'd trim down the cast. My Suicide Squad would be Deadshot, Harley, Killer Croc, and Diablo. My villains would be Amanda Waller and Enchantress, with Joker thrown in for chaotic intervention. I would keep Rick Flag as the token "good guy" on the squad, but change it so that he thinks Enchantress killed his girlfriend, June Moon.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I would start with Amanda Waller proposing the Suicide Squad and getting rejected. The government has decided to move the villains out of her control and put them in some extremely isolated place (out in the ocean or even a space station). The proposal could be used to introduce the various characters in the Squad and what their skills are.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Next would be the transfer. Deadshot, Harley, Killer Croc, Diablo and Enchantress are loaded into the transport. Flag and Waller are overseeing it. The audience knows that Joker has gotten wind of the transit and is planning to intercept. I would include a terse conversation between Flag and Enchantress about how she destroyed the one person he loved (June) and Enchantress gives him a knowing smirk. Lots of insulting petty bickering between the villains (because I love that kind of thing). Enchantress keeps promising that they'll all die painfully.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The Joker intercepts the transport. During his attack, Enchantress breaks loose. She transforms the guards into the stone creatures, which then attack the remaining human guards. Harley leaves with the Joker and Waller tries to activate her booby-trap bomb. It doesn't work. Deadshot and Killer Croc both react with "we're getting out of here." Enchantress blasts them (not killing them), then sends a blast after Joker and Harley in the helicopter, bringing it down. Next she turns on Waller, but Diablo stands between Waller and Enchantress. Instead of attacking him, Enchantress vanishes.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">This would set up an understandable conflict, plus give the group a reason to stay together. They want to stay with Diablo because Enchantress is afraid of him. Flag and Diablo insist that Waller be allowed to come along. They find Harley near the wreckage, in tears. Killer Croc convinces her to come with them. She wants vengeance on the Enchantress for killing her Puddin'. Waller </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">tells them that the new prison will be hell on earth and their new warden won't see their potential the way she does, so this is their only chance to prove themselves. </span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> She </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">offers them privileges if they get her to safety (this is where Harley could get her expresso machine, Croc gets BET, etc.). </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho6t9DntYmhG8p-t_rwkwgai4qC0m10iRU5cX_XLK4_fXYFNb6dlXriiGmT4yGRvhXccM4gyHgDU8IPtBmAl-gTGL5dCEgPgJuo1oLskPagisbZsuimok3l1RBcoW_MapEDEAjwzIXsxUv/s1000/Suicide+Squad+-+Killer+Croc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="1000" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho6t9DntYmhG8p-t_rwkwgai4qC0m10iRU5cX_XLK4_fXYFNb6dlXriiGmT4yGRvhXccM4gyHgDU8IPtBmAl-gTGL5dCEgPgJuo1oLskPagisbZsuimok3l1RBcoW_MapEDEAjwzIXsxUv/s320/Suicide+Squad+-+Killer+Croc.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">There could be adventure and conflict as they move through the city, which is rapidly filling up with the Enchantress's stone creatures. There's a conflict between Deadshot, Flag and Waller as to who is in charge. There's the conflict of getting Diablo to reveal his story (which would need to include some kind of mystical element for his powers to set up the god reveal properly) and that he is protecting others because he doesn't want his soul to succumb to the devil, since the afterlife is the only way he'll ever see his daughters and wife again. Again, this would set up a relatable tension between using his powers and his own goals.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The Enchantress is building some kind of portal device that will allow her to escape this Earth and thus never be at the mercy of people like Waller ever again. (This is a much more understandable villain goal than just ruling the world.) If she opens the portal, the world will be destroyed, giving our motley crew the motivation to stop her.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">There would have to be an acknowledgment of why Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, etc. aren't able to fight the Enchantress themselves. Maybe we get a report of them attacking and failing, because they're not willing to kill the Enchantress. Or they're occupied with something else and the Enchantress is blocking them somehow (a dome over the city, which means the Suicide Squad is the only one in position to stop her).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Finally, we get down to the climatic conflict. The Squad is preparing to attack the Enchantress when she tries to bribe them with their deepest dreams, including Flag, who is promised that he could have June again. Flag is furious and goes to attack Enchantress, who then reveals that she is in June's body. He hesitates and is struck down.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Waller tries to get the Squad to attack, but they are ignoring her (if this has been set up properly, the audience should be tense as to whether or not they'll step up and save the world). Enchantress contrasts herself with Waller: "I just want to go home. She wants to control all your lives."<br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiohbnut8V_4R9Js4xVuz2AMQZ5qhyphenhyphenetoN76-ry81_53W_x_yUVSUqHCDhGELUBSYo4GTD6Tl6mthsOwmlt277r2E9iJHZmIxizVY7JFgULCxoVYXr25aRn14RjN3HaD0DKkRXgSjblvV9p/s300/Suicide+Squad+-+Harley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiohbnut8V_4R9Js4xVuz2AMQZ5qhyphenhyphenetoN76-ry81_53W_x_yUVSUqHCDhGELUBSYo4GTD6Tl6mthsOwmlt277r2E9iJHZmIxizVY7JFgULCxoVYXr25aRn14RjN3HaD0DKkRXgSjblvV9p/s0/Suicide+Squad+-+Harley.jpg" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I would keep the climactic twist of Harley attacking Enchantress just when we think she's going to accept the offer to have her dream life with the Joker. The Enchantress's hold is broken and Diablo surrenders himself to the fire god. The two gods battle it out while the Squad and Flag fight the stone creatures. Waller is conspicuously absent from the battle.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Diablo is winning the fight when Flag approaches. Diablo expects Flag to try and stop him, but instead Flag helps him to defeat Enchantress. He blasts her, driving her out of June's body. Diablo then collapses, returned to his human form and gravely weakened.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Fresh troops arrive. The Squad is faced with a choice of surrender or fight their way out. Flag steps up for them, protecting them. The Squad surrenders, under the condition that they stay with Waller rather than get transferred to the middle of nowhere.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Epilogue, we see everyone happily enjoying their rewards. In particular, Diablo, who is hoping that saving the world will be enough to offset his gangster past. Final scene is Waller meeting with the Joker, revealing that she's the one who told him about the transport because she wanted an opportunity to demonstrate her Suicide Squad idea. She asks him if he wants Harley back and he ends with "I always want what's mine."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Because this story isn't overloaded with characters, there's time to properly develop each arc and make sure they complement the overall story instead of seeming forced or unnecessary. Sometimes writers have really cool ideas, but those ideas don't fit, so we have to be strong enough to let them go. And we need to focus on the elements that we do choose to include to make sure that they're given a proper opportunity to shine.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I am going to be curious to see what the writers and director have done with Suicide Squad 2, which is supposed to release in 2021. It'll be interesting to see if it's another chaotic, overloaded romp or if they're willing to pare their ideas down to ensure each one shines.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>Other posts you might like:</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/2020/10/learning-from-jurassic-park-iii.html">Learning from Jurassic Park III</a></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitAT_W5zP5BrjLB2Fq05VuCuD73PQSlyVvFJn_imwQJoDV0Wb3aPtGxa9e5PzdfBVTWJm__Xxb0VoJn2I01WCZZrj5w_tiY04Hhw31Lc5VMtF5nCEvrL0VpFoS5bMHLy-RfUbYfqjCotr0/s450/JPIII.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="321" data-original-width="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitAT_W5zP5BrjLB2Fq05VuCuD73PQSlyVvFJn_imwQJoDV0Wb3aPtGxa9e5PzdfBVTWJm__Xxb0VoJn2I01WCZZrj5w_tiY04Hhw31Lc5VMtF5nCEvrL0VpFoS5bMHLy-RfUbYfqjCotr0/s320/JPIII.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/2020/11/why-is-self-care-so-hard.html">Previous post: Why Is Self-Care So Hard?</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/">Blog homepage</a></span></p>Jennifer Carole Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541375725907427671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879471081241637756.post-75412303309359273172020-11-19T01:59:00.001-08:002020-11-19T01:59:01.728-08:00Why Is Self-Care So Hard?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-NRO9QCMsLF7T-SOOXSbyrzz0CnKvCA6_edX5GH0Uch2QMU9KIm50vegn4A5KsZTtjt1jOdwzEqn0b_vrYabVAcpw355tNZtyTLMbKyVLcarjj8Yb74iv-jNLRC9pqx1aXij3ExBAw-A0/s225/Mirror.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-NRO9QCMsLF7T-SOOXSbyrzz0CnKvCA6_edX5GH0Uch2QMU9KIm50vegn4A5KsZTtjt1jOdwzEqn0b_vrYabVAcpw355tNZtyTLMbKyVLcarjj8Yb74iv-jNLRC9pqx1aXij3ExBAw-A0/s0/Mirror.jpg" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">A few days ago, I looked in the mirror and flinched. I was exhausted, with no makeup, my hair in a ragged mess, and wearing a sweatshirt which should have been retired from service at least ten years earlier. Not my best look.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">And the thing is, I have pretty tops that fit me. I know how to wear my hair so that it looks awesome and stays up and out of my way during the day. I've long known that failing to pencil in my eyebrows makes me look like Grima Wormtongue and that I look infinitely cuter with a little lipstick. And I could have taken a nap earlier in the day, but instead found myself doom-scrolling through Twitter.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">None of those things take a particularly long amount of time or a strenuous amount of effort. I'm excruciatingly aware of that when I make the choice in the morning to walk away without doing them. I know that it is going to hurt when I catch a glimpse of myself later in the day. I know that I feel better when I take the time to pick out a cute pair of earrings. Blame my internalized misogyny or patriarchal oppression if you wish, but it's the truth. When I think I look nice, I feel better and more confident.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Which brings me to the question: why do I find it so hard to make that effort?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I suspect I'm not the only person who experiences this. It's something I've often heard among my friends and there's a reason why self-care is at the top of most self-help lists.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">One of the things I hear in my head is that there's no point in making an effort because it's not like I'm going to see anyone. And yet, that's not true. At a minimum, I'm going to see myself. And taking care of myself isn't about living up to someone else's opinion of how I should look (I have hit the "you have obviously mistaken me for someone who gave a fuck about your opinion" stage of my life).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The easy answer is that it's a form of self-punishment, which is something I am sadly far too familiar with. I've rarely been a good friend to myself. If anyone spoke about one of my friends in the way I speak about myself in my head, I would kick their butt immediately. I've often blamed myself for circumstances that were out of my control. But that's too easy and, in a way, it's furthering the self-punishment: you're not doing it because you're not good enough to be worth it.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The slightly more compassionate answer is that 2020 has been a terrifying hellscape of a year and my energies have been going toward survival for myself and my family. And that would be a very simple answer to accept. After all, I'm not the only one embracing the sweatpants as workwear dynamic. But it doesn't ring true for me. I struggled with these issues long before COVID reared it's ugly microscopic head.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Maybe it's a society thing. Our society praises self-denial a lot. We admire those who deny themselves simple pleasures (creating the awful and overused trope of "pretty, skinny girl takes a bite of a donut and loses all control" that I despise). And yet, what is the actual value of self-denial? Where is the benefit in living a life where a person is, at a minimum, mildly unhappy most of the time? Where a great deal of their effort goes into saying no to the things that bring them pleasure?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">A lot of studies have shown that willpower is a finite resource. The more a person denies themselves, the harder it is to deny themselves the next time. Yet it is also difficult to take care of oneself, to say yes to oneself.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Maybe that's where it needs to start. With just one yes. Just one: I'll do this because it makes me feel happy.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/2020/11/reclaiming-my-hea-part-two-practice.html">Previous blogpost: Reclaiming My HEA: Practice Makes Perfect</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/">Blog homepage</a></span></p>Jennifer Carole Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541375725907427671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879471081241637756.post-55951943480305765102020-11-05T01:09:00.001-08:002020-11-05T01:09:00.158-08:00Reclaiming My HEA: Part Two - Practice Makes Perfect<p> <span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>Reclaiming My HEA is a monthly feature where I share my progress through my separation and divorce. Starting last month, I'm including snippets of a therapy exercise where I imagine myself in a healthy relationship. The purpose is to remind myself of what a supportive, caring partner would be like, to try and offset the effects of over a decade without one.</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">A few months ago, I began rewatching <i>Star Trek: Voyager</i>. It's my favourite of the <i>Star Trek</i> series (though <i>Discovery </i>is becoming a fast second place). One of my favourite episodes is from the final season, one where Seven of Nine is using the holodeck to explore a romantic relationship with Commander Chakotay.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzraAXVhwGYD3Hiogn9j7JcQn8ZG0vgwRK5l0TPUUgqOQg0LfiRHKjRORWueWDTsUUN4dnhrNKJzVQrV3JEvyb2DbPkh-D_160IvrfOnVd1FOVOkT3PymIyGmbZNI5XKTtMPAkEgMNPeTK/s480/seven-chakotay_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzraAXVhwGYD3Hiogn9j7JcQn8ZG0vgwRK5l0TPUUgqOQg0LfiRHKjRORWueWDTsUUN4dnhrNKJzVQrV3JEvyb2DbPkh-D_160IvrfOnVd1FOVOkT3PymIyGmbZNI5XKTtMPAkEgMNPeTK/s320/seven-chakotay_1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p>It's a storyline I would have liked to see more of (mainly because I'm a sucker for romance) but this time, as I watched it, one thought kept running through my mind: I would desperately love to have access to a holodeck right now.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">A holodeck would have been terribly useful during shutdown, but that's not the reason. The ability to have a "practice" relationship, to restore my confidence in myself and my own heart, that would be invaluable right about now. I've spent a long time believing a lifetime of messages that I'm "too much" and fundamentally flawed. It would be incredibly helpful to hear that I'm interesting, fun, and that someone would want to spend time with me.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">As I type this, it strikes me how hard the words are to write. And they shouldn't be. No one should be made to feel that they are unlovable.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I just finished reading Helen Hoang's <i>The Kiss Quotient</i>, where an autistic woman hires a male escort for a practice relationship. The heroine's struggles of self-confidence spoke very strongly to me. At the end, the author said she'd wanted to do a gender-reversed <i>Pretty Woman </i>story for awhile but was having trouble finding a plausible reason why a lovely, intelligent, and independent woman would hire an escort.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The thing is, I think a lot of women are in the horrible position of having their self-confidence eroded by the very people who should be supporting them. Over and over, as I've gone through this process, my friends have told me how they would never dare to get divorced and how much they would dread having to re-enter the dating arena. Dating guides for divorced women consistently stress the dangers of being exploited or predated on, reinforcing a message that no one could possibly want to be with them unless that person had an ulterior motive.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">There is so much that people are told they need to accept. That they should be grateful for what they have and not risk it by asking for what they desire. We are encouraged to be smaller in order to make others more comfortable.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Well, I think I'm done with being smaller. Maybe I am "too much" but maybe I'm also just the right size.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Here's this month's snippet from my ongoing project. This time, I focused on one of the lonelier experiences of single life: waking in the middle of the night from a bad dream and having no one to turn to.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"> No matter how I struggled to run, the swampy mud clung to my feet with a clammy grasp. I was desperate to escape the lethal creature I knew was pursuing me. I knew I had to find my children before it did. And I knew I was completely helpless as my muscles failed me and I collapsed into the murky water--</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"> "Hey, it's okay," a male voice interrupted.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"> The images suddenly vanished, replaced by blackness. I was disoriented, confused as I tried to figure out where I was. I'd been standing a moment ago and now I was lying down. The only constant was the frantic beating of my heart and the unrelenting fear that something terrible was about to snatch away everything that I cared for. I tried to move but my body was still trapped in sleep paralysis.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"> "What's wrong?" he asked again.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"> My mind slowly put the pieces together and terror gave way to embarrassment. "I'm sorry I woke you."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"> "Forget that." In the dark, his hands gently stroked the length of my arms. "Tell me what happened."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"> "It's nothing. A bad dream." I tried to dismiss it, my cheeks flaming hot. The clock revealed it was hours before the morning was due to begin and despair filled me at the thought of losing a night's sleep. I knew how this would work. I'd spend the next hours staring blankly at the shadowed ceiling. Every time I came close to falling asleep, the remembered fear would jolt me back into full wakefulness. If I was lucky, I might eventually drift off a few minutes before the alarm went off. I'd spend a week being exhausted and barely able to function. All for a bad dream.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"> "I can still feel you trembling. It's not nothing." His finger traced the line of my cheek. "Please, tell me."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"> He held me as I struggled to find the words for why the sensation of being trapped and chased had been so horrifying. He didn't interrupt or try to analyze what I'd said. He only listened, keeping me close to remind me that I was no longer facing the terror alone. The steel grip of fear faded in the face</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><span style="font-family: times;">of that one fact. No matter what happened, I was no longer fighting all on my own.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">We're not meant to face the world and its challenges completely on our own. Trying to do so is exhausting. It doesn't take much to be someone else's support. The act of listening can make all the difference, but it sometimes seems impossibly rare. Yet, I remain hopeful that this scene isn't strictly a creation of fantasy. It can be real. Not bad for a practice attempt.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/2020/10/reclaiming-my-hea-part-one.html">Previous Reclaiming My HEA: Part One</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/2020/10/creating-stories-with-music.html">Previous Blogpost: Creating Stories With Music</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/">Blog homepage</a></span></p>Jennifer Carole Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541375725907427671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879471081241637756.post-12950626315477169962020-10-29T02:16:00.001-07:002020-10-29T02:16:00.532-07:00Creating Stories With Music<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Music is a big part of my writing process. I have thousands of songs sorted into dozens of playlists for characters, moods, and universes. Maybe it's the result of too many formative years spent watching movies and television, where the right emotions are always triggered through the background music, but it's how my brain works. Sound creates fictional worlds faster than anything else for me. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB3lea7ccfbQ6oGrwdpxTTenvdbkp3YP8rfI5UtEBX0jQEbzRxxaotzFGXNdDUqScVoneOfnP5y0ZGCqaNhS9HOabOskngigUEOTqOanG70w89poutb74wezmuR-ZX6pypfTSzaD3IvaHC/s2048/bigstock-Man-Plays-Musical-Percussion-I-178657093.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1338" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB3lea7ccfbQ6oGrwdpxTTenvdbkp3YP8rfI5UtEBX0jQEbzRxxaotzFGXNdDUqScVoneOfnP5y0ZGCqaNhS9HOabOskngigUEOTqOanG70w89poutb74wezmuR-ZX6pypfTSzaD3IvaHC/s320/bigstock-Man-Plays-Musical-Percussion-I-178657093.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">It is impressive how consistently music can affect our interpretation of what we see. Stores use catchy music to encourage people to be cheerful and impulsive (thus more likely to buy things). Cathedrals were built to amplify certain chords within their structure, creating experiences of awe and transcendence. A switch in music can change a story from a hopeful musical into a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2T5_0AGdFic" target="_blank">horror film</a>. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">My writing process often starts with a scene inspired by a song. I imagine an emotionally powerful experience or connection. With <i>Revelations</i>, it was Michael telling Dani that she is not a monster, inspired by the song <i>True Colors</i>. I wanted to create a profound moment of being seen, all the bad parts and all the good parts. Of having someone truly know and understand, making it impossible to dismiss their feelings of love. In <i>Division</i>, the first moment was Vincent falling into a depressed fugue and realizing he has to pull himself out, inspired by <i>Bring Me To Life.</i> He is desperate to find a way out of the trap of his own mind. He's reaching out to anyone who might be able to save him, but still finds the strength to offer a hand to someone else who is equally trapped.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Knowing this, it's probably not a surprise that my book, <i>Deadly Potential</i>, features a songwriter who uses music to sort out her emotions and experiences, transforming them into notes and lyrics. Delving into the music industry was incredibly fun, providing a peek into a world that I've always been curious about. I read a lot of biographies, including <i>Never Say No To A Rock Star </i>and biographies of Lady Gaga, Celine Dion, and Madonna. I learned that there are song factories, where people write dozens of songs each day, which are then bought by performers and managers. There are people who can write a song in ten minutes and others who spend months crafting each chord.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">A song can tell a story just as powerfully as a book. It gives us the same opportunity to experience life from another person's point of view. It's probably why music and stories are so intertwined. As Hugh Grant explained in the movie, <i>Music and Lyrics</i>, nothing can make you feel happy as quickly as the right song. Except maybe, the right story.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/2020/10/learning-from-jurassic-park-iii.html ">Previous blogpost: Fixing Jurassic Park III: Learning a Lesson from Bad Stories</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com">Blog homepage</a></span></p>Jennifer Carole Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541375725907427671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879471081241637756.post-88715808790616492082020-10-22T02:30:00.001-07:002020-10-22T02:30:00.622-07:00Learning From Jurassic Park III<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">One of the first pieces of writing advice that I received was to examine my favourite movies and books to see why they worked. This is good advice, but I've actually discovered that it can be more helpful to examine movies that I should have enjoyed, but didn't.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I love the <i>Jurassic Park </i>movies. They're a great combination of action and terror. But just about everyone agrees that <i>Jurassic Park III </i>missed the mark. It failed to connect with audiences, even the enthusiastic fans. The question is: why?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Superficially, it should have worked. It followed the formula of the other movies, the special effects were decent, and the cast was talented. But I can explain where <i>Jurassic Park III</i> worked and where it didn't, and I'll share how I would have rewritten it to avoid some of the inherent problems. Those are the exercises that I've found most helpful for improving my own writing.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">It case it's not already clear, there will be spoilers in this post.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">There are actually a lot of good elements in the movie. Setting up a repeat of the "rich guy bribes Dr. Grant to come to the dinosaur park" element and then twisting it when Grant discovers that the Kirbys aren't actually rich was a good idea. There was a good mix of humour with the danger, which gives the audience relief from the thrills and usually make them eager for more. The displays of raptor intelligence, using a trap to lure in the humans and sophisticated communication, were awesome. The pterosaurs and Spinosaurus were something new for the audience to be afraid of. And, as a parent who as watched way too much <i>Elmo's World</i>, I will admit to a little schadenfreudish satisfaction watching the actor who plays Mr. Noodle get killed and eaten.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">In my opinion, one of the biggest problems with the structure of the story is that there are very few tension builds. In order for an audience to connect with a story, they have to be engaged with it. They have to care about the characters and they need to understand the stakes and dangers so that they're worried when the characters are in jeopardy.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7HrNUrflniK5wbRqLieifFG46jhhgFAhwLvA0F00S1hw3NzWtPXPt_v8Iwk-6KscckG1y1iPJTVz82-NVllUKCz-km5Ap5Nnxb8w_S859ABWzHD8n5Yxd84PBiHSIBIViil4xvBV3R0Cc/s450/JP3+group.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="321" data-original-width="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7HrNUrflniK5wbRqLieifFG46jhhgFAhwLvA0F00S1hw3NzWtPXPt_v8Iwk-6KscckG1y1iPJTVz82-NVllUKCz-km5Ap5Nnxb8w_S859ABWzHD8n5Yxd84PBiHSIBIViil4xvBV3R0Cc/s320/JP3+group.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">In <i>Jurassic Park III</i>, the audience is rarely given a chance to understand the dangers. The writers didn't tell the audience that the grad student, Billy, had stolen raptor eggs, thus provoking the raptors to track the group. We're never really shown what the spinosaurus's capabilities are, so we have no way to judge when the group is in danger from it. The clearest example of this is when the Spino breaks through the fence. We had no idea it was possible, so the moment is basically a jump scare rather than a tension build. Ten seconds later, the group is behind another barrier and safe, so the audience doesn't feel any lingering effects from what should have been a major moment.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">That's something that a lot of writers have problems with. We, as authors, know everything that's happening and sometimes we forget to let our audience know the details they need to share in our excitement. This is where beta readers and test audiences are crucial. They don't know anything about the story and thus can point out when an author's vision hasn't quite made it into the current draft.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Another challenge is giving the audience enough time to make an emotional connection with what's happening on the page or on screen. If things happen too quickly, they don't have an impact. In movies, the time is built into what's on screen and for how long. In a book, the author needs to recreate the subjective experience of time. Time seems to slow down when an experience is intense, so an event that only takes a few seconds can last for several paragraphs or several pages. The focus shifts from the narrative to the emotional.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">This is why <i>Jurassic Park III</i> doesn't resonate the way <i>Jurassic Park </i>or <i>Jurassic World</i> does. The dangers are rushed into and over too quickly. The audience doesn't know what the stakes are. Too many things are treated as surprise twists, but the twists rarely have any consequences past the immediate moment. Those are all lessons that writers can learn from. Figure out what the big moments are in your story and make sure that the audience clearly understands why they're important and that they have important consequences afterward. Don't be afraid to take your time with them.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7-LxLpGyRvLd9dx5Oa7_DXK4rB0sCENqaYaStEw-9N6IvMtFhA-ev87POI4fbmh4nold7ApsmOYa_wq5KMItlOzXpbPM2_9nTQZZCbq71ZHoHde4vZGMj4WL_2AfM2JjnXEFOIxh5L-80/s940/JP3+dino.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="491" data-original-width="940" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7-LxLpGyRvLd9dx5Oa7_DXK4rB0sCENqaYaStEw-9N6IvMtFhA-ev87POI4fbmh4nold7ApsmOYa_wq5KMItlOzXpbPM2_9nTQZZCbq71ZHoHde4vZGMj4WL_2AfM2JjnXEFOIxh5L-80/s320/JP3+dino.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now the fun part (or at least, the fun part for me). Rewriting the story to make it better.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">First things first, I would have had Ellie be with Dr. Grant as opposed to being married to someone else. (This isn't a structural plot issue, but I shipped them in the first movie and since I'm writing it, I can do that.) I also would have gotten rid of the Kirby's divorce and reconciliation subplot. It didn't really add anything to the story. They could have been married and arguing about the best way to parent their son and the story still would have worked.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The movie opens with the son (Eric) and the mom's boyfriend doing a Dino-Soar parasailing tour. The boat is attacked behind fog and crashes, sending the two into Isla Sorna. This is the inciting incident.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I would have opened with a similar scene, but with a few crucial changes. I would have had the mom there with the son. She's taking him on an "adventure" that his dad wouldn't approve of while they're on a family vacation. Paint the dad as a rule-following fuddy-duddy and the mom as the freewheeling fun parent. The tour guide mentions that they have to be careful because of an elevated U.S. military presence in Costa Rican waters (this is to set up the rescue at the end). The kid is sent up on the parasail and is having a great time... until the pterosaurs come out.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The pterosaurs attack the sail and end up snapping the line holding the kid to the boat. He goes flying toward the island. The mom frantically tries to get the tour guide to follow but he refuses. End the scene with the mom screaming and fighting to get to her kid.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">This is a very relatable situation which instantly raises stakes for the audience. We know the kid is alone on the island, which is full of dangerous dinosaurs.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Next scene, the mom and dad are together on the resort. They're blaming each other (Dad: he never should have been anywhere near that island, Mom: It's not important now, we just have to find him.) During the argument, mention that the family runs a plumbing supply chain, profitable but not stratospherically rich. Mom has approached some mercenaries that the tour guide knows and suggested, but they won't go without a dinosaur expert. Cue a poster about Dr. Alan Grant's scheduled lecture.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">This set-up allows the audience to know that the Kirbys are fooling Dr. Grant, but it also compresses the timeline. In the original movie, the kid is on his own on the island for 8 weeks, which they did to make it plausible that the kid learns to navigate the island, but also decreases the stakes. (This was also another lost opportunity to build tension, where the parents expect to find their child dead, but I don't like dead kid stories so I'd make it a race against the clock instead.)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The scene where the Kirbys lie to Grant and claim to want him to serve as their guide for an island overflight could continue pretty much as is. I would have Dr. Grant arguing with Ellie. He wants to accept the deal because they haven't been able to get funding for their digs. She tells him that he's crazy for even thinking of going back there and refuses to go. He decides to go anyway, setting up a nice wedge between them which makes it questionable whether or not she'll take his call later on in the movie.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now we've got a good batch of interpersonal tension going, plus the audience knows what the stakes are.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYbGEj9vy-BiCxqp7hR2-JqSJQTZDMbmQmIkccsmUvEiJ8xPN92OUiuPqpYVzGrkc3fQIa15H4ErG3buI2lVGrXU8XUxmNEPs6uv4mw2I1R5xFzVwuLmRg9wYffabccMRIQ0BJvuK8P-fu/s800/JP3+ptero.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="426" data-original-width="800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYbGEj9vy-BiCxqp7hR2-JqSJQTZDMbmQmIkccsmUvEiJ8xPN92OUiuPqpYVzGrkc3fQIa15H4ErG3buI2lVGrXU8XUxmNEPs6uv4mw2I1R5xFzVwuLmRg9wYffabccMRIQ0BJvuK8P-fu/s320/JP3+ptero.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><p>The rest of the movie only needs a few tweaks. I would make the raptors and the pterosaurs the main threats and forget the spinosaurus. Or, if necessary to include the Spino, make it a secondary threat (much like they did with the aquatic mosasoar in <i>Jurassic World</i>). Have Grant explain what these animals can and can't do so that we know what the stakes are. Spend more time building the tension in the big impact scenes. I'd keep Billy (Grant's grad student) stealing the eggs and later sacrificing himself to save the kid, but make sure the audience is following along with it.</p></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The difference between a story that works and one that doesn't is often pretty subtle. That's why analyzing stories that don't work can be a great tool to make sure your own stories shine.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">(And now my shameless self-promo moment, if you like the way I would have told this story, you'd probably like the <a href="http://pastthemirror.com/?page_id=235" target="_blank">books I wrote</a>!)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/">Previous blogpost: Update on Audiobook Progress</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/">Blog Homepage</a></span></p>Jennifer Carole Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541375725907427671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879471081241637756.post-83546709068239293082020-10-15T02:25:00.001-07:002020-10-15T02:25:00.309-07:00Update on Audiobook Progress<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The short answer to "How is the audiobook coming?" is "It's not."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I've run into some unexpected technical challenges: namely getting the volume levels right. I've tried three different microphones and yet the audio is consistently below the volume required by Audible. I.e., it's too quiet.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHrRx68SoXM6v55A5PC9smumQr5bf62QGYuX792a4VgHCPq0VwH2lCszKlPOXM7XXnesBr6fwmpuWe8daSvRq7ujiBabIdkocKy9Ls5myYYzXpbSEn5smbsaW_GRd3ZyS8MZpolK7Krqbk/s2048/bigstock-Computer-Problems-7920586.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1432" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHrRx68SoXM6v55A5PC9smumQr5bf62QGYuX792a4VgHCPq0VwH2lCszKlPOXM7XXnesBr6fwmpuWe8daSvRq7ujiBabIdkocKy9Ls5myYYzXpbSEn5smbsaW_GRd3ZyS8MZpolK7Krqbk/s320/bigstock-Computer-Problems-7920586.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">Since shouting isn't exactly how I pictured my romance novel, that's not working for me.</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">My son's gaming headset worked once but then I couldn't get it to work again. I recorded two chapters and sent them to my beta listeners. Two of them liked it and one didn't.</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">I'm torn about how far to pursue this. I liked the idea of reading my own book, if for no other reason than I know how everything is pronounced. But it just might not be a feasible option.</span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">Yet I find myself shaking my head as I remember that hundreds of people are recording podcasts from home and aren't running into these problems. I feel like there must be some setting that I have wrong which is causing the problem, but I can't figure out what it is. I've tried checking every microphone setting I can find on my laptop and all of them are set to maximum reception.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">I am baffled.</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">I still want to get my books out in audiobook, so maybe I need to see if I can find a narrator who is willing to work for royalties.</span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">I'm not giving up, but I'm not quite sure how to proceed.</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/2020/10/reclaiming-my-hea-part-one.html" target="_blank">Previous blogpost: Part One of Reclaiming My HEA</a></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Blog homepage</a></span></span></span></span></span></p>Jennifer Carole Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541375725907427671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879471081241637756.post-5174791242076270832020-10-08T02:31:00.002-07:002020-10-08T02:31:00.134-07:00Reclaiming My HEA: Part One<p> <span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>Reclaiming My HEA is a monthly feature where I share my ongoing process as I go through my separation and divorce.</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Last month, I told you all about an exercise that my therapist set me: picking a celebrity and writing my own happily ever after. The idea is to break myself out of a pattern of not looking for affection and of not trusting other people. Before I can find happiness, I need to believe it's possible. We can't create what we can't imagine and while I can imagine love and happiness for superheroes, robots, and magical creatures, I find it hard to imagine it for myself.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNsvsCv0Uxn_gkvtFZnZtzwDMAcGGcsHh06O_bomUoOcFuByUB2Ku2d4mV5QO-IDkcw_Shd1IHcVe7n4SE7Xj53yFZEfWmKfez5Yw3b9krIR0MVWEpZHOhghmVVS4c2pc6Xv59LQtVvv2l/s1404/bigstock-Cup-And-Pine-Cone-With-Acorn-A-96954905.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="936" data-original-width="1404" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNsvsCv0Uxn_gkvtFZnZtzwDMAcGGcsHh06O_bomUoOcFuByUB2Ku2d4mV5QO-IDkcw_Shd1IHcVe7n4SE7Xj53yFZEfWmKfez5Yw3b9krIR0MVWEpZHOhghmVVS4c2pc6Xv59LQtVvv2l/s320/bigstock-Cup-And-Pine-Cone-With-Acorn-A-96954905.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p>My first step was to choose my celebrity. I was toying with Brendan Fraser, Brandon Routh or Keanu Reeves, and I was having a hard time choosing. Luckily, my subconscious had everything in hand. I had a dream where I was playing a table top RPG with my friends from high school (yes, I am a complete nerd even in my dreams), but there was an addition to our usual group: Brandon Routh. In the dream, this was a completely unremarkable fact and we were all having a good time laughing and playing our characters. When the game was done, Brandon and I were tidying up and, as a joke, he asked me to dance.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">We started swaying back and forth to a Taylor Swift song. It was a really nice feeling, being held and guided to the music. I seized a moment of bravery and asked him to go out with me.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Unfortunately, his reply was to apologize and say that he wasn't interested in being more than friends. (This illustrates why this exercise is necessary. What happens in dreams reflects a person's deepest held beliefs and expectations.) I woke up shortly thereafter, feeling both disappointed and strangely encouraged. I decided to go ahead with Brandon for my exercise.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I started with something small:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"> "Ready?" His tenor voice made me smile, even from the other room. Brandon appeared from the kitchen with a big bowl of popcorn.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"> "You're sure you're okay with just watching TV tonight?" I asked. It was still hard to believe that someone I'd seen on the television would be joining me to watch <i>The Princess Bride.</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"> "Absolutely." His smile was infectious. "I love this movie."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"> He settled onto the couch, patting the seat beside him. I maneuvered around the popcorn bowl and joined him, unsure what to do with my hands. Should I sit with legs crossed or uncrossed? Would he expect me to lean into him or would that annoy him?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"> "Relax," he whispered, his lips brushing against my ear. "There's no wrong answer. I just want to spend time with you."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"> His arm stole across my shoulders, drawing me into his side. My head leaned to the side to rest against his shoulder. For the first time in a long time, I felt safe. His warmth seeped through the thin layers of fabric separating us, a tangible reminder that neither of us was alone anymore.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">So there you have it, my first foray into imagining a happily ever after for myself. Not for a kickass heroine with superpowers or an intergalatic starship engineer or for any of the other characters who live in my head. Just for me.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/2020/09/reclaiming-my-hea-pick-your-hotties.html" target="_blank">Previous Reclaiming My HEA: Choose Your Hottie</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/2020/10/finishing-character-arc-vincent.html" target="_blank">Previous Blog post: Introducing Vincent</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Blog homepage</a></span></p><p><br /></p>Jennifer Carole Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541375725907427671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879471081241637756.post-38394728515132910222020-10-01T03:19:00.005-07:002020-10-01T03:19:00.266-07:00Finishing the Character Arc: Vincent<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Vincent Harris has appeared in every lalassu novel before getting his own story in <i>Division. </i>He's gone through big changes since he first appeared on the page. He's been a long time favourite of mine and I'm proud of his character arc.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">He started off as the annoying little brother of my <i>Revelations</i> heroine, Dani. He was a Peter Pan type who was always ready for the next party and never took anything seriously. His big brother, Eric, dragged him along to a job interview for a professional bodyguard firm, trying to get him to take some responsibility. Only it turned out to be a trap set by a multinational CEO looking for people with superpowers. Eric and Vincent are taken captive and need to be rescued by their sister (and her newfound partner, a psychic child therapist).</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguOLNMib135zEgaX8vYFDGoTrOtSjU9zSij07rZYyszjVAafNKt2j2bfl8hLW9lyNs6-rD8w_gGPOumGNHgHS0RPZv22aMhZKndxq6OpvH5OsB7OMsRNb5var6kFePvhiwFPe8lSjFOO3l/s2400/RV+Vincent+Interview.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="2400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguOLNMib135zEgaX8vYFDGoTrOtSjU9zSij07rZYyszjVAafNKt2j2bfl8hLW9lyNs6-rD8w_gGPOumGNHgHS0RPZv22aMhZKndxq6OpvH5OsB7OMsRNb5var6kFePvhiwFPe8lSjFOO3l/s320/RV+Vincent+Interview.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Eric and Vincent have different reactions to being taken prisoner. Eric struggles to resist the CEO's psychic powers of persuasion, but Vincent falls for it hard. He's seduced by the temptation to have someone else take charge of his life, of not having to hide his abilities and being recognized as a powerful and admirable man.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">When <i>Metamorphosis </i>starts, Vincent is deeply changed. He's lost his confidence and is consumed by shame about what he did to his people and his family. He's also been exiled to an isolated community in the far North, because his family are worried that his mind is still being controlled.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt09GG0SPUpH5tmTYxwG3kd5FeJUF91oPdoGaoP4kuKYIuqK20vQ2Ieh3pzk6hOPxKv8Vby1sq_5sE0qk-xTnHlfaLiiX8lwfVvGU-cvHLisl1tQB1Vt8rUodAWZ3dsj4Co5W6YI2MTvQr/s2400/MM+Vincent+Monster.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="2400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt09GG0SPUpH5tmTYxwG3kd5FeJUF91oPdoGaoP4kuKYIuqK20vQ2Ieh3pzk6hOPxKv8Vby1sq_5sE0qk-xTnHlfaLiiX8lwfVvGU-cvHLisl1tQB1Vt8rUodAWZ3dsj4Co5W6YI2MTvQr/s320/MM+Vincent+Monster.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The experience has broken Vincent's joie-de-vivre, but he's still trying to escape from his fears by numbing himself and hiding from the rest of the world.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">In <i>Inquisition</i>, he's starting to return to the world, but there's still a lot of trauma that he needs to process. He's hiding his pain through sarcasm, pushing other people away.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUJNdHW6knNdJLdt-vbiquKVMKt2SGg6xbCPjlSINPvQPQvVrVUQyjqnb4x-Yu1ff1hjyQb4-6argQRfm-QSI5aDTPGGFyB3EUykr_DR2vC-V7Qvn8HzXwZn2oxcafddyevSzngMXw_Tlq/s2400/IQ+Vincent+Black+Hats.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="2400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUJNdHW6knNdJLdt-vbiquKVMKt2SGg6xbCPjlSINPvQPQvVrVUQyjqnb4x-Yu1ff1hjyQb4-6argQRfm-QSI5aDTPGGFyB3EUykr_DR2vC-V7Qvn8HzXwZn2oxcafddyevSzngMXw_Tlq/s320/IQ+Vincent+Black+Hats.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">But even though he's undeniably prickly, there's still a hint of the caring person underneath. He's focused on protecting his family and helping others, even though he sees himself as an anti-hero at best and an untrustworthy villain at worst.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The hints of his return to a hero status begins in <i>Judgment</i>, when he helps the prisoners at Woodpine to overthrow the guards and escape. This is the book where he initially meets Annika, but like so many great romances, she's not overly impressed with him at first and he's more focused on the task at hand than his feelings.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEUJ8V8wdbIDd4sLNcHD8gmN7Pg4yy8BrpSYhPJWtATBvMN0CXydPLHyjBsNwW0e393tdInTaG4jPwMLF_E_FgK6Ury-93NDsumwyCD9Q9I66c8lkpIMBvgCx3jgLmRXFMdPCibJfaXtDz/s1800/Welcome+to+Freak+Central.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="912" data-original-width="1800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEUJ8V8wdbIDd4sLNcHD8gmN7Pg4yy8BrpSYhPJWtATBvMN0CXydPLHyjBsNwW0e393tdInTaG4jPwMLF_E_FgK6Ury-93NDsumwyCD9Q9I66c8lkpIMBvgCx3jgLmRXFMdPCibJfaXtDz/s320/Welcome+to+Freak+Central.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">But the part of his story that I'm most proud of is recognizing his trauma and depression. As someone who's suffered with my own mental health challenges, it was thrilling to give him a chance to do what is, in my opinion, the most courageous act of all: taking a chance on hope. Falling in love doesn't cure him, because that's not how love works. But it does give him a chance to see himself through fresh eyes and realize that maybe he's a better person than he's given himself credit for.</span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKjMjG7B1mAcM1XY7cQ6-o_tt2gNu4cbrQA31nQ3j0AYOF82UGSfycQuRsj04Rf9IveQ6VvaI_8cnhTq0DCjC6XGpFuaxQ1hgIHjrDI3hnEpTUe9KJTAy74vkHhtn3i9k4akuY0xPhjwX5/s1800/DV+-+Vincent+superpowers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKjMjG7B1mAcM1XY7cQ6-o_tt2gNu4cbrQA31nQ3j0AYOF82UGSfycQuRsj04Rf9IveQ6VvaI_8cnhTq0DCjC6XGpFuaxQ1hgIHjrDI3hnEpTUe9KJTAy74vkHhtn3i9k4akuY0xPhjwX5/s320/DV+-+Vincent+superpowers.jpg" /></a></div><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Through it all, he never loses his best quality: his sense of humour. There are times when it's bitter and dark, and sometimes it's just off-the-wall. Writing his dialogue has given me many moments of laughter and I'm glad to share them with everyone else.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">And now <a href="https://books2read.com/u/49Z6gw " target="_blank">the obligatory buy link, if you'd like to pick up your own copy of <i>Division</i></a>.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/2020/09/the-problem-with-problematic-creators.html">Previous blog post: The Problem with Problematic Creators</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/">Blog homepage</a></span></p></div>Jennifer Carole Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541375725907427671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879471081241637756.post-35949393218675923232020-09-24T01:30:00.001-07:002020-09-24T01:30:00.983-07:00The Problem with Problematic Creators<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">One thing that a lot of people have been doing during this pandemic is going back and re-watching and re-reading old favourites. And many of us are discovering that those old favourites have not aged particularly well.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">It is astounding to present-me to see how many of the shows I used to watch relied on punchlines about cross-dressing or sexuality. Not to mention the slurs and attacks on women's sexuality. There were shows that I used to look forward to every week that are now unwatchable. And that makes me sad and it makes me wonder how many toxic messages they installed in my subconscious.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8cYJDHiHEGCsA6qMF678e2gXGtpVfudDS4vE4jfQ-7YVZXyN1zqs7-WzYoBZpPrPopsk9R2Fj-i-K77DO3Or9XTSvjcOwKSe4CBVvV7GQHWGsADyLQmQtnmlo9NnQrRDPnxPK1rXzs-QJ/s144/Artists+and+Art+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="144" data-original-width="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8cYJDHiHEGCsA6qMF678e2gXGtpVfudDS4vE4jfQ-7YVZXyN1zqs7-WzYoBZpPrPopsk9R2Fj-i-K77DO3Or9XTSvjcOwKSe4CBVvV7GQHWGsADyLQmQtnmlo9NnQrRDPnxPK1rXzs-QJ/s0/Artists+and+Art+copy.jpg" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br />Because that's what problematic content does. It reinforces toxic messages that are already present in our society. Those messages encourage us to devalue and dismiss marginalized people and their experiences. They also incite fear and discomfort around targeted identities.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Sometimes that content is due to the creators being unaware of their own biases and societal influences. And sometimes, it is hard to believe that content is anything other than deliberate.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I am, of course, talking about the latest release by J.K. Rowling. Rowling has been <a href="https://www.glamour.com/story/a-complete-breakdown-of-the-jk-rowling-transgender-comments-controversy" target="_blank">very vocal against trans women</a>, questioning their right to exist and live their lives as they wish. She has equated them with predators and claimed that recognizing trans rights somehow erase or eliminate women's rights. Then, in her new book, she's made the villain a cis man who dresses as a woman in order to stalk and kill other women.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">As was noted in <i>Disclosure</i> (a Netflix documentary that I strongly encourage people to watch), a cross-dressing serial killer/predator was one of the more common tropes for a very long time in books and films. Even though, in real life, trans people are <a href="https://www.hrc.org/resources/sexual-assault-and-the-lgbt-community" target="_blank">far more likely to be the victims of assault and attack</a> rather than the perpetrators, there was a recurring message that they were somehow inherently dangerous.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I think there can be little doubt that Rowling has deliberately created this character and plot as a reinforcement of her own beliefs. Those beliefs have already caused a great deal of questioning and hurt among fans of the Harry Potter series. It can be difficult to reconcile one's own experience of a fictional world as a much needed escape. I spoke in last week's post about how <a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/2020/09/the-trouble-with-fan-fic-mandalorian.html" target="_blank">fans become deeply attached to their fandoms</a>, investing pieces of themselves in these fictional worlds and making them real. Having to repudiate those stories can feel like having to cut off a piece of themselves.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I went through this myself with another author. As a child, <i>Ender's Game</i> held a special place. It was the only book that spoke to a reality I was struggling with: that adults could deliberately lie to children and place them in painful situations. In almost every other YA story that I was reading, the adults were absent, ignorant, or secretly supportive. Often the misunderstandings and hard feelings between the main characters and their caregivers/guardians/parents could be resolved by both parties being honest about their feelings.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">In <i>Ender's Game</i>, the adults are lying to the children in order to manipulate them into fighting a war. They push the children beyond the point of endurance and eventually make them complicit in genocide. The adults are doing this knowingly and in full understanding of the trauma they are inflicting. In their minds, the ends justify the means. Those with power chose to harm those without it and to pretend they were merely helping.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">That meant a great deal to me when I read it. And yet, I will not share this book with my children or recommend that anyone else read it because its author is actively encouraging harm against the LGBTQ+ community. There are deliberately harmful messages about homosexuals in that book and many others written by him.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I've had many people argue with me about where I draw the line. They point out other authors with problematic content, like Mark Twain or Tolkien. They encouraged me to use "death of the author" textual analysis or to embrace the elements I found meaningful and discard the ones I found unacceptable. They've argued that authors' works shouldn't be censored due to their personal opinions.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">To which I reply: they have missed the point entirely.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Rowling and OSC are still alive (unlike Twain and Tolkien). They are not merely repeating contemporary prejudices but are actively seeking to alter the current world. "Death of the author" is an academic exercise for interpreting a text, not a build-your-own buffet of selective embrace. And as both Rowling and OSC are making a comfortable living off their intellectual properties, any interpretation of criticism as censorship falls short of a reality check.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">There are harmful messages all around us. We're bombarded with them and the only way to change that is to maintain constant vigilance and awareness. It's difficult enough to do when dealing with creators who are mindful and actively trying not to commit harm. When a creator insists on repeatedly pushing a toxic trope or idea, then I as a consumer of media am required to make a choice as to whether or not I wish to implicitly endorse this toxicity and risk reinforcing it in my subconscious by consuming those creations.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">It's not possible to entirely separate the art from the artist. Because art is a reflection of its creator and the way they see the world. And that view shapes how fans of that art see the world as well.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">And I'd rather see a world where people are respected and included.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/2020/09/the-trouble-with-fan-fic-mandalorian.html">Previous blogpost: The Trouble with Fan-Fic (The Mandalorian)</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/">Blog homepage</a></span></p>Jennifer Carole Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541375725907427671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879471081241637756.post-30689705354238079422020-09-17T02:22:00.002-07:002020-09-17T02:22:00.542-07:00The Trouble With Fan-Fic (The Mandalorian)<p> <span style="font-family: georgia;">I promise this blog post is not a secret cry for help in the grand style of posting something you'd never say in order to signal that you need rescue.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I love fan fiction. It's where I started writing and it's still my comfort go-to place when I need to recapture the fun and creativity of storytelling. I wouldn't have gotten through my depression in the last six months without fan fiction, both reading and writing.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">That doesn't mean there aren't problems. Or rather one specific problem.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">At the end of October, Season 2 of <i>The Mandalorian</i> will be released on Disney Plus. Those who know me know that I adored that series. As in "I will not shut up about it", "I have a major crush on Pablo Pascal" and "relentless search for the action figures" levels of adoration.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSnVIJpsQFuEdJfI7r1UdiKMu26-JtLD1c5JNPcjjDURKigtd9VkH7p4qomOk4YNYjhh5PqCk4pljXcJA6TkD-xs0xMFBTDKPvSyohs2_vDGq8hpa8Y4TN0iBwleivydiq46BKoi1SaGZC/s1200/Mandalorian.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSnVIJpsQFuEdJfI7r1UdiKMu26-JtLD1c5JNPcjjDURKigtd9VkH7p4qomOk4YNYjhh5PqCk4pljXcJA6TkD-xs0xMFBTDKPvSyohs2_vDGq8hpa8Y4TN0iBwleivydiq46BKoi1SaGZC/s320/Mandalorian.jpg" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br />So, not a big surprise that the 8 episodes of Season 1 weren't enough for me. I started doing little vignettes and scenelets almost as soon as the credits on Chapter 8: Redemption rolled. (For the curious, I decided the story needed a romance and that a Force-sensitive Kaylee-type character (from Firefly) would be the perfect match for Din and the Child.) But I kept it light because I'd already learned a major downside of writing fan-fic while a series is ongoing: <b>it makes it harder to appreciate the new official material.</b></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">In ordinary times, I would be jumping up and down levels of excitement at the prospect of Season 2. But instead I find myself hesitant. I ended up delving deep into my own version of <i>The Mandalorian</i> universe because that was the only thing I ended up being able to write while I was trying to cope with the pandemic, my family, and my own mental health. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I've got about 80k worth of a story full of adventure and romance. I feel like I know that universe's characters as thoroughly as my own. I have a backstory for Din, a rivalry with other members of the Order, and a slightly less than canonical view of whether the Mandalorian's vows are to never remove the helmet or to never let another living being see his face. I made the enclave on Navarro just one of several Mandalorian sanctuaries. I explored what the Mandalorians do with the foundlings they rescue and created my own society of masked space pirates.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">So, yeah, safe to say that I invested a lot of imagination and thought into it.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">But now I'm faced with knowing that the official writers will almost certainly not have created a version of the story that matches with what I wrote. Which means mentally sundering one or the other from what I consider to be the "real" story. (This has happened to me before. I had some fantastic ideas for <i>Fringe</i>, and as a result, I don't acknowledge Season 5 in my own personal canon. Ditto <i>X-Men 3</i>, which contradicted my two X-men fan-fic novels which were written after <i>X-2</i>.)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">In the great scheme of things, it's not a huge problem. In fact, it's a very privileged problem to have. Oh, poor me, too many great stories.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">At the same time, it's an illustration of how connected fans can become with worlds that other people have created. Fandoms are more than just a place where people who all like a particular show, book, or movie can gather. Those stories become real to us in a way that can be hard to explain to someone who hasn't experienced. We integrate parts of ourselves into those universes, sometimes directly by creating characters who are stand-ins for ourselves, and sometimes by creating our own pieces of the stories. By claiming a place for ourselves, we become a part of those universes.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Imagination and stories have always been a vital part of the human experience. And I suspect that making ourselves part of those stories has been a part of the process from the beginning. It's how we make sense of the world, by telling stories about our experiences and how we wish the world would be.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">In my case, that's in a world with a sexy single dad bounty hunter, but your world might be different.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIRliXu19wNFzbgwsLluypTyd-37el7ysKKWO5O_vQ6kNzLtZ_pVezLBszuXmovNngAlZAXoGQ8G1GUR0TvbTU2hWHeATSZUm9_hbCe7PMepjs20vbP5acBvwNNb2VdLBq1fSizFpzFU35/s320/Mandalorian+and+Baby+Yoda.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIRliXu19wNFzbgwsLluypTyd-37el7ysKKWO5O_vQ6kNzLtZ_pVezLBszuXmovNngAlZAXoGQ8G1GUR0TvbTU2hWHeATSZUm9_hbCe7PMepjs20vbP5acBvwNNb2VdLBq1fSizFpzFU35/s0/Mandalorian+and+Baby+Yoda.jpg" /></a></div><br /><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/2020/09/reclaiming-my-hea-pick-your-hotties.html" target="_blank">Previous post: Reclaiming My HEA: Choose Your Hotties</a><p></p><p><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: georgia;" target="_blank">Blog homepage</a></p>Jennifer Carole Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541375725907427671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879471081241637756.post-61124178393054203882020-09-10T01:00:00.004-07:002020-09-10T01:00:06.455-07:00Reclaiming My HEA: Pick Your Hotties<p> <span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>Reclaiming My HEA is a regular monthly feature on this blog, sharing my experiences as I go through the process of a divorce after twenty years of marriage and adjust to being single again in my forties.</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">It's been awhile since I wrote about this and I've been through a lot. As many of you may know, due to the circumstances with our children, my ex-husband and I decided to continue to share our family home so that our kids could continue to have access to both of us. It's been a difficult decision (though I'm still convinced it was the right one) and doing it during a pandemic has been especially challenging. (I speak about the challenges of sharing a house with my ex in the previous <a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/2020/04/reclaiming-my-hea-hunkering-down-sadly.html" target="_blank">Reclaiming My HEA</a>.)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">One thing that has been helpful is working with a therapist to deal with the internalized messages that are stuck in my head. It's hard for me to believe that others might find me attractive, and since I've been having to deal with just about everything at home on my own, asking for help isn't something that occurs to me.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">My therapist had a good idea. Since I am a romance writer, she suggested I try to change my internal messaging by writing little scenes that feature my own happily-ever-after. She suggested I pick a celebrity as my hero and imagine a future where I don't have to worry about money and have a devoted and caring partner.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Imagine a hot guy hanging around my house? Yeah, I can do that.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">As I considered my options, I thought that it might be fun to share some snippets on this blog.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">First step, I'll have to pick my celebrity. This is a little odd for me. I'm used to crushing on characters, not the people who play them. With the character, I'm not stuck with any less than awesome real life traits and I can ignore any real-world spouses or families with a clear conscience.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">(And for the record, this is meant to be inspiration and entertainment, with zero intention of making any person feel awkward or imposed on, especially the chosen celebrity or their families and friends. If this does happen to cross anyone's screen, I hope they'll understand that I am using their likeness as a shorthand for the kind of person I am hoping to one day find love with, not a declaration of hoping for them specifically.)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">That said, here are the gentlemen I'm considering. Votes and opinions welcome!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXAEyk1rwHOQpXUFVj68Tk0G7NSusgTDfjJW6pl90tGi744Qdy7Kx3wd3VQ3sLEVp8qwjToWaGV7LN40aKqq5nOn3AheZyGdgzSE1AkkouFaZT2lqVg4tyjEmBUHfm2JDf-FXB0Uiqbyoc/s703/fraser-mummy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="703" data-original-width="701" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXAEyk1rwHOQpXUFVj68Tk0G7NSusgTDfjJW6pl90tGi744Qdy7Kx3wd3VQ3sLEVp8qwjToWaGV7LN40aKqq5nOn3AheZyGdgzSE1AkkouFaZT2lqVg4tyjEmBUHfm2JDf-FXB0Uiqbyoc/s320/fraser-mummy.jpg" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br />Brendan Fraser. He was the go-to hot and nice guy in the late nineties and early 2000s. I absolutely developed a crush on his character in <i>The Mummy</i> and <i>The Mummy Returns.</i> And I'm probably one of the few people who absolutely loved <i>Bedazzled</i>. He's a fellow Canadian and I can't recall ever hearing anyone say something bad about working with him. I could see him as an enthusiastic, energetic guy, the sort who is always up to try something new.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLJWSjeie-FCcr26UjN-1xXH4Zp6gEXpXCio568y_MtIhtnWSQGUPBjMXa2zdGlLQ6SrBe1Bm4NEHR-yJIqfNNxDuY0Bo0AHHq0B8L7FKtZE9Kfpt5uu2vibp9xiB3CGEFJmlb97kjGw3s/s597/Brandon+Routh+-+Legends.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="553" data-original-width="597" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLJWSjeie-FCcr26UjN-1xXH4Zp6gEXpXCio568y_MtIhtnWSQGUPBjMXa2zdGlLQ6SrBe1Bm4NEHR-yJIqfNNxDuY0Bo0AHHq0B8L7FKtZE9Kfpt5uu2vibp9xiB3CGEFJmlb97kjGw3s/s320/Brandon+Routh+-+Legends.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br />Brandon Routh. He is my all time favourite Superman, and I adore his Ray Palmer in <i>DC's Legends of Tomorrow</i>. I have heard that he is a fellow geek and RPG player, which would be awesome. In my imagination, I would assume that he shares his character's love of musicals. Again, he's one of those actors whom everyone seems to love working with.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN7_zvEw7pN7rYP4wUKo2KaAXf21896ptwYiqMKJUOpt-uw1jgbPBOaY9G8eY6NjQ_NurQZbr22AnvmZCnXe0X9PkxVrciW0MWkLj_rJwoYteXWflyfdbNfDJ0eTPI6wv92ypz_7ZoFMhD/s234/Keanu+Reeves+-+To+The+Bone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="232" data-original-width="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN7_zvEw7pN7rYP4wUKo2KaAXf21896ptwYiqMKJUOpt-uw1jgbPBOaY9G8eY6NjQ_NurQZbr22AnvmZCnXe0X9PkxVrciW0MWkLj_rJwoYteXWflyfdbNfDJ0eTPI6wv92ypz_7ZoFMhD/s0/Keanu+Reeves+-+To+The+Bone.jpg" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br />Keanu Reeves. I can't think of a single Reeves role that I didn't love: <i>Matrix, Speed, Constantine, John Wick, To The Bone, </i>even <i>Bill and Ted</i>. He is notoriously sweet and kind, to the point that Romancelandia has adopted him wholeheartedly. I like to think of him as a curl up together in front of a fire, each with a book kind of guy.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Tempted though I am, reverse-harem is not an option for this particular exercise (I checked).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Any of these gentlemen would be a worthy romantic hero (or at least the versions of them that I'm imagining), so, readers, what do you think?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/2020/08/trying-something-new-audiobooks.html">Previous Post: Trying Something New: Audiobooks</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/2020/04/reclaiming-my-hea-hunkering-down-sadly.html">Previous Reclaiming My HEA: Hunkering Down (Sadly without any hunks)</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://pastthemirrorupdateandblog.blogspot.com/">Blog homepage</a></span></p>Jennifer Carole Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541375725907427671noreply@blogger.com0