I just finished writing Year of the Dog ! It had a massive plot hole that I had to fix which turned out to be more work than I expected. Here’s a snippet: “Hey, Auntie Nell.” He wrapped his arms around her, bussing her on the cheek and breathing in pikake flowers and shortbread cookies. And suddenly he was nine years old again, and her solid presence had made his chaotic world stable once more. “What are you doing here?” He usually took her to dinner on Wednesday nights, but today was Tuesday. The edges of her smile faltered a little before brightening right back up again. “What, I can’t visit my nephew?” She angled around him to enter his home. “Is this your new house? Looks lovely.” Which was a blatant lie, because the fixer-upper was barely livable, much less acceptable to a neat-freak like his aunt. She also left four matching pink and purple floral suitcases on the stoop behind her. Only then did Ashwin notice the cab driver standing slightly to the side of the walkway. “Can ...
Captain’s Log, Stardate 10.13.2006
Heroes: I’m a TV junkie, I admit it. I’m hooked on the new series called Heroes. (It’s like X-Men, but before they realized their powers and came together to become the X-Men. And without the funky costumes.)
Okay, regardless of the X-Men type storyline, one of the heroines—a high school girl—is talking to a boy she likes, the quarterback of the football team.
He’s sweet-talking her and being very flattering.
She says he doesn’t really know her very well.
He goes into this romantic spiel about how he notices she draws unicorns in the margins of her notes in class, etc.
Now here I pause the TiVo and turn to Captain Caffeine.
Skeptical Asian wife: “That’s so un-guy-like! How realistic is it for a typical guy to say something eloquent and romantic like that?”
Captain Caffeine: “It sounds romantic because he’s the quarterback of the football team.”
Confused Asian wife: “What do you mean?”
Captain Caffeine: “If he were a computer geek, he would sound like a stalker.”
Captain Caffeine has a point, methinks.
So weigh in, peeps. Are your husbands romantic? Would they say Hollywood-worthy lines just off the cuff?
If you’re single, do you dream of Shakespearean poetry romancing you? Or would you rather he shut up and buy you a new novel?
TMI:
Writing: I posted another agent post at my Story Sensei blog today.
Revisions still going. (And going, and going, and going . . .) Please continue to pray for me, that I can get them done quickly.
Heroes: I’m a TV junkie, I admit it. I’m hooked on the new series called Heroes. (It’s like X-Men, but before they realized their powers and came together to become the X-Men. And without the funky costumes.)
Okay, regardless of the X-Men type storyline, one of the heroines—a high school girl—is talking to a boy she likes, the quarterback of the football team.
He’s sweet-talking her and being very flattering.
She says he doesn’t really know her very well.
He goes into this romantic spiel about how he notices she draws unicorns in the margins of her notes in class, etc.
Now here I pause the TiVo and turn to Captain Caffeine.
Skeptical Asian wife: “That’s so un-guy-like! How realistic is it for a typical guy to say something eloquent and romantic like that?”
Captain Caffeine: “It sounds romantic because he’s the quarterback of the football team.”
Confused Asian wife: “What do you mean?”
Captain Caffeine: “If he were a computer geek, he would sound like a stalker.”
Captain Caffeine has a point, methinks.
So weigh in, peeps. Are your husbands romantic? Would they say Hollywood-worthy lines just off the cuff?
If you’re single, do you dream of Shakespearean poetry romancing you? Or would you rather he shut up and buy you a new novel?
TMI:
Writing: I posted another agent post at my Story Sensei blog today.
Revisions still going. (And going, and going, and going . . .) Please continue to pray for me, that I can get them done quickly.
Comments
Girl, I'm praying for you and those dirty, rotten revisions! Holler if you need to vent over them!
Oh, glad you like "Heroes" - my cousin plays "Peter" (the young guy who thinks he can fly but kept dropping face first in the sandbox this past week!).
As for sweet talk, it doesn't really impress me. While it might be nice every once in a while, I'd rather a guy show me he cares with his actions.
I consider myself romantic. I write poetry for my wife on my blog, for example. I prefer the metaphysical poets like John Donne, though, so I try to use startling imagery and disconcerting metaphors. I don't know if I would call "gecko toes" romantic exactly.
My wife would say, "Sure my husband is romantic, and he likes poetry. But that just means he sits on the couch with a bag of chips reading poetry instead of watching football."
True. True.
And I agree with Captain Caffeine, if it was a computer geek instead of a football player a lot of people would think it was creepy instead of romantic. So sad, but true.
Today, dh's idea of being romantic is saying, "Do you wanna?" Okay TMI, but he's military I'll cut him some slack.
To me, the most romantic part of my hubby is seeing him with our kids. He could write me poetry and buy all the flowers in the world, but nothing gels my legs more than watching him be a dad.
Okay, teary-eye moment!
Men are good at romantic actions. If I want to hear romantic words, I rent a movie.
That Man can be romantic when he wants to be, but usually when I'm about ready to up his life insurance policy again. ;)
For me, romantic words don't mean a lot unless they're backed up with actions.